DANCESCAPES Will Open East Coast Contemporary Ballet's Eighth Season

East Coast Contemporary Ballet (ECCB) will open its eighth season at The Quick Center for the Arts in Fairfield on Saturday, November 7 at 7:30pm with Dancescapes, a seven-work program bringing together pieces from across the company's history alongside a world premiere.

Founded in Connecticut in 2019 by husband-and-wife artistic directors Claire Mazza and Alejandro Ulloa, ECCB has built an entirely original repertory, creating dozens of new works that pair the technique and tradition of classical ballet with contemporary movement and ideas. Still active as dancers as well as choreographers and directors of the company, Mazza and Ulloa remain at the center of the work they have spent the past eight seasons building.

Dancescapes brings that body of work together in one evening, moving from the first piece ever created for ECCB through works that have evolved with the company, more recent repertory and a world premiere created for its eighth season.

'For us, creating new work has always been at the heart of this company,' notesMazza and Ulloa. 'To bring together pieces that were part of ECCB's very beginning with works that have changed and grown over the years, and then place them alongside something we are creating right now, feels like a real reflection of who we are,' they continue. 'These works hold different moments in the life of the company, but they are all part of the same ongoing conversation between the artists, the work and the audience.'

Opening the evening is Brushstrokes, co-choreographed by Mazza and Ulloa and inspired by the Impressionist era and the physical act of painting. Set to Nicolas Flagello's Lautrec Suite, the work translates the movement of brushstrokes across a canvas to the stage, building from a blank space into a work of art. The score was made available to ECCB by the composer's widow, Diane Flagello, a longtime supporter of the company.

The program will also feature the world premiere of Power Play, a new work by Mazza set to composer Cristina Spinei's Dopamine Machines. Created for four women, the piece offers a dynamic contemporary ballet exploration of femininity.

Among the works returning from ECCB's inaugural season is Through You, the first piece ever created for the company and the first Mazza and Ulloa choreographed together. Eight seasons later, the husband-and-wife founders will return to the stage together to perform the tender duet, which traces the changing stages of love and companionship. Its inclusion places the personal and artistic partnership that helped launch ECCB alongside the company's newest work.

The program also includes Then & Now, Ulloa's reflective trio exploring the passage of time through nostalgia and hope; Constant Growth Propels, an athletic male duet dating to ECCB's inaugural performances; and A Man Called Claude, Mazza and Ulloa's playful, darkly comic 2024 work set in a surreal world where the line between reality and imagination is never entirely clear.

Also dating to the company's first season is Vessels, which has continued to develop alongside ECCB. First performed in three sections, the work has since expanded to five, moving from neoclassical ballet through contemporary ballet and contemporary dance. Set to music by Gotan Project, the work gradually sheds the structures and conventions introduced at its beginning, ultimately asking what remains when those external layers fall away. Vessels will close the evening.

Together, the seven works trace ECCB's evolution through a repertory built entirely around original creation. Since its founding, the company has developed that body of work piece by piece, with collaboration between dancers, choreographers, musicians and audiences central to its approach.

That relationship with its audience has also shaped ECCB's presence throughout Fairfield County. Since 2021, the company has co-produced the Fairfield County Dance Festival, bringing free professional dance performances to parks and public spaces throughout the region. In 2026 alone, ECCB performed seven free outdoor shows in seven Connecticut communities, reaching hundreds of audience members.

This fall, ECCB will continue that community engagement with a Salon Series leading up to Dancescapes. The intimate events will offer audiences an excerpt from the upcoming program, an interactive artist talk-back and a behind-the-scenes look at the rehearsal process, creating an opportunity to experience the work at close range before the full program reaches the Quick Center stage.

The Salon Series will take place Friday, October 16 at 7:00 PM at Darien Arts Center; Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 PM at Norwalk Art Space; and Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 PM at MoCA Westport.

ECCB will also present its full fall repertory at Gibney Theater in New York City on Friday, October 30 at 7:30 PM, before returning to Fairfield County for Dancescapes at the Quick Center.

Dancescapes will be presented Saturday, November 7 at 7:30 PM at The Quick Center for the Arts in Fairfield, Connecticut, located at 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, Connecticut.