Dear Atlanta Ballet Friends:

We’ve started 2014 with a bang here at Atlanta Ballet. Coming off the record breaking Nutcracker run, we had enormous success in February with both our productions. Our presentation of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette was well received and it showcased our Company’s strength artistically and physically; performances like these keep us moving toward meeting one of our pivotal strategic goals: to consistently produce compelling performances of extraordinary works. Pinocchio, our one-hour family ballet, surpassed its ticket sales goal and was enjoyed by those who attended. It’s vital to our mission that we share these types of productions with Atlanta and the energy at Atlanta Ballet is electric as we look forward into the rest of our season.

This month we present Modern Choreographic Voices (MCV) our first of two multi-dimensional programs this season. The three works chosen for this production represent the best of what the landscape of dance offers in this era. We’re asking a lot of our Company to challenge and push themselves to showcase for you the diversity in styles that exists in dance today. In one production, they’ll take you from classical to Gaga movement to a fresh vision of contemporary ballet through abstract narrative. It’s this kind of collaboration of choreographers, Alexei Ratmansky, Ohad Naharin, and our own Tara Lee, that propels our commitment to build a distinctive repertoire. We intend to show you what is happening in dance and movement right now, in the moment, on the stage in Atlanta. We’ll continue this drive throughout the season as we move into Stephen Mills’ Hamlet in April and MAYhem in May.

When you visit the theater in the coming months, be sure to see us in the lobby to renew your subscription for the 14|15 Season, which we’ll announce at the end of the month. Stay tuned.

Reflecting on how boldly this season has begun and promises to continue, it would be impossible for me not to reflect on last month’s Atlanta Ballet Ball. The night is a fundraiser for Atlanta Ballet and the Centre for Dance Education but this night in particular held additional priceless value. It was a night to truly take a retrospective look at where we’ve come from as a Company and recognize Artistic Director Emeritus Robert Barnett for his critical role in establishing Atlanta Ballet as a Company that presents and creates the best, and the freshest, the most powerful and passionate dance of its time. It was an honor to spend an evening expressing our gratitude for such a strong, established history. Thank you Mr. Barnett. And thank you to all our patrons who shared the evening with us in support of Atlanta Ballet’s past, present, and future.

I’ll see you all at the theater.

Arturo Jacobus
Executive Director
Atlanta Ballet