Ballet Theatre of Maryland and Full Circle Dance Company to Perform LINEAGE

Two of Maryland's top professional dance companies—Ballet Theatre of Maryland and Full Circle Dance Company—will unite this spring in a performance that explores ideas of heritage and legacy, with special focus on the contributions of women.

The show LINEAGE will be presented one night only, Thursday, March 12, 2026, at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts. 

Blending the grounded power of modern dance and the soaring sweep of ballet, LINEAGE shines a light on mothers and matriarchs as sources of creativity and sustenance. Each company will present works that illuminate the theme, and dancers from both ensembles will share the stage in a rousing final work that will have the audience clapping and stomping along. 

LINEAGE will also invite members of the audience to participate directly in the artistic process in a small but deeply personal way. One of the works on the program features a quilt created by a local artist that reflects real stories of female ancestors. Before the performance, audience members will be invited to write on bits of fabric the names of their own female ancestors. These fabric scraps will be inserted inside the quilt, honoring the ancestors of the LINEAGE audience in a concrete way on the stage. 

LINEAGE marks the third fruitful collaboration between two companies that belong to different dance traditions but that share many values and creative interests. 

“Both of these professional companies are genuinely interested in innovating together,” said Full Circle Artistic Director Donna L. Jacobs. “Ballet and modern dance diverge in many ways, and they are inheritors of many different legacies, but they also share some important roots. In LINEAGE, we can explore the great value in our differences as well as our common ground. It is inspiring, and artistically enriching, for us to be together on this journey.”

“This collaboration is deeply meaningful to Ballet Theatre of Maryland,” said Artistic Director Nicole Kelsch. “Working alongside Full Circle Dance Company allows us to celebrate the distinct voices of ballet and modern dance while honoring the women whose legacies shape both our lives and our artistry.  Ballet and modern dance carry different traditions, yet both are shaped by generations of women whose creativity, strength, and resilience continue to guide us; and LINEAGE invites our audiences to reflect on this heritage—not as something distant, but as something living, shared, and personal.”

“The Gordon Center is thrilled to be the host and home for this creative partnership with the support of the Maryland State Arts Council Touring Grant,” said Sara Shalva, the Gordon Center's Chief Arts Officer. “This type of performance, which blends styles and genres, and builds relationships on stage and off, is exactly the mission centered work our Baltimore County based performing arts center is called to do.”

LINEAGE: 

Ballet Theatre of Maryland and Full Circle Dance Company

Thursday, March 12, 2026, 7:30 pm

Gordon Center for Performing Arts
3506 Gwynnbrook Avenue
Owings Mills, MD 21117