Complexions Contemporary Ballet to Perform STAR DUST at Aronoff Center

The Complexions Contemporary Ballet, under the artistic leadership of co-founders Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, will perform its transfixing tribute to the life and music of David Bowie on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 7:30 PM at the Aronoff Center's Procter & Gamble Hall. The event is part of the Cincinnati Arts Association's 2025-26 CAA PRESENTS! Season.

Led by dance icons Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, Complexions Contemporary Ballet has awakened audiences to a new, exciting genre with their singular approach of reinventing dance and contemporary ballet. Armed with a rich Alvin Ailey lineage and a cadre of sixteen stunning dancers, Complexions has been hailed as a “matchless American dance company” by the Philadelphia Inquirer and “game changing” by London's The Guardian. 

The program opens with favorites from Retro-Suite, a series of short works celebrating 30 years as a company. The second half is STAR DUST, an utterly transfixing tribute to the life and music of David Bowie, full of glitter and glam. This ballet takes an array of his hits and lays a visual imprint, inspired by his unique personas and his restless invention artistically, to create a Rock Opera-style production in his honor. With Bowie's 40+ year career and 25 albums that stretch across musical borders, STAR DUST pays homage to the iconic and chameleonic spirit of what can only be described as… BOWIE.  Get ready to witness the raw power and diversity of Complexions as they redefine what ballet can be.

Dwight Rhoden (Co-Founding Artistic Director / Principal Choreographer)

A native of Dayton, OH, Rhoden has established a remarkably wide-ranging career, earning distinction from The New York Times as “one of the most sought out choreographers of the day.” Rhoden began dancing at age seventeen, and performed with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz De Montreal, and as a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

In 1994, alongside Desmond Richardson, he founded Complexions Contemporary Ballet, bringing their unique brand of contemporary ballet to the world, forging a center for innovation and cutting-edge programming. Rhoden's choreography has been the lynchpin of the company's repertory development. In three decades, he has created over 100 ballets for Complexions, as well as for numerous other companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Arizona Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, BalletMet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, New York City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, PHILADANCO!, Mariinsky Ballet, Zenon Dance Company, The Washington Ballet, The Houston Ballet, and The San Francisco Ballet, among many others.

Rhoden has also choreographed for So You Think You Can Dance, E! Entertainment's Tribute to Style, AMICI, Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity, and Mozart Her Story, and collaborated with artists including Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Paul Simon, Nina Simone, and many more. He is the recipient of The New York Foundation for the Arts Award, The Choo San Goh Award for Choreography, The Ailey School's Apex Award, and an Honorary Doctorate from the Boston Conservatory in recognition of his extensive contributions to the field of dance.

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