BWW Preview: BalletMet Announces 2017-18 Season Filled with Collaborations, World and Company Premieres

BalletMet's 40th anniversary season will take audiences from the company's intimate performance space to the glittering land of Oz.

The Columbus-based ballet company, which was founded in 1978, recently announced its 2017-18 season on its website.

The season begins on Oct. 20 with a collaborative showcase of local talent from BalletMet, the Ohio State University Department of Dance and the Wexner Center for the Arts. Parallel Connections, which will be performed at Ohio State's Mershon Auditorium through Oct. 21, will feature choreography by James Kudelka, as well as William Forsythe and Merce Cunningham, who have both received the Wexner Prize. The show will conclude with BalletMet and student dancers performing Ohad Naharin's Minus 16 together.

Also included in the upcoming season is Front Row: A Collection of Short Ballets, which will celebrate its world premiere in BalletMet's performance space on Nov. 9. The show will bring together three new works by choreographers Ma Cong, Andrea Schermoly and BalletMet artistic director Edwaard Liang and present them in an intimate setting that gives the audience a close-up view of the performance.

In December, the annual holiday favorite The Nutcracker returns to the Ohio Theatre, featuring choreography by Gerard Charles and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

After the new year, BalletMet will take the stage at the Davidson Theatre, formerly known as the Capitol Theatre, for the world premiere of Liang's interpretation of Giselle. The Davidson Theatre will also host March's Tour de Force: A Collection of Short Ballets, featuring works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Liang.

The season will end with the Columbus premiere of Liang's Dorothy and the Prince of Oz, presented in collaboration with the Tulsa Ballet. The show combines puppetry, fantastical scenic design and dancing to depict Dorothy, Glinda and Scarecrow's return to Oz.

Single tickets to all shows for the 2017-18 season are available May 1. Information about subscription renewals and season package options is available on the BalletMet website.

For more information about BalletMet and its upcoming season, visit www.balletmet.org.

BalletMet's 2017-18 season is as follows:

Parallel Connections

Oct. 20 - 21, 2017

Mershon Auditorium

Front Row: A Collection of Short Ballets

Nov. 9 - 19, 2017

BalletMet Performance Space

The Nutcracker

Dec. 8 - 24, 2017

Ohio Theatre

Giselle

Feb. 9 - 17, 2018

Davidson Theatre

Tour de Force: A Collection of Short Ballets

March 16 - 24, 2018

Davidson Theatre

Dorothy and the Prince of Oz

May 4 - 6, 2018

Ohio Theatre