NJPAC to Present New Jersey Ballet's NEW VOICES. BOLD VISIONS. in April 2026
The program features a world premiere by Princess Grace Award winner Roderick George, Penny Saunders' Sur Le Fil, and Ulysses Dove's Red Angels.
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center will present New Jersey Ballet, under the artistic direction of Maria Kowroski, in New Voices. Bold Visions - a dynamic celebration of the artists shaping the future of ballet. Performances take place on Friday, April 24, 2026 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 3:00 PM at NJPAC.
A highlight of the program is Red Angels, Ulysses Dove's landmark 1994 work originally created for New York City Ballet's Diamond Project and now entering New Jersey Ballet's repertory. A showstopper since its premiere, the work fuses the precision of classical ballet with unexpected vernacular movement, creating a work of visceral intensity. Four dancers, dressed in striking scarlet and illuminated in fiery light, perform with unrelenting athleticism to an electrifying score for solo electric violin. Dove himself described the work as an exploration of the Balanchine aesthetic - its speed, legginess, and formality - refracted through his own bold, dramatic lens. "The dancers are angelic," he remarked. "And for me, the angels of the senses are red."
The program also features a world premiere by Roderick George, acclaimed choreographer and 2024 recipient of the prestigious Princess Grace Award for Dance Performance and Choreography - one of the highest honors in American dance. George's new work promises to bring the same visionary energy and dynamic physicality that have made him one of the most sought-after voices in contemporary ballet.
Rounding out the evening is Sur le Fil, a striking work by Penny Saunders, Resident Choreographer at Grand Rapids Ballet and recipient of the 2016 Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship. Known for her evocative, cinematic style, Saunders brings a rich emotional depth and visual storytelling to the stage.
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