(FRENCHTOWN, NJ) -- The Roxey Ballet Company is celebrating its ability to rise up, move forward and create a new season of new beginnings after the pandemic and Hurricane Ida. The Roxey Ballet Company was offered temporary space through their official school, The Mill Ballet School, from the New Hope Eagle Fire Company after the destruction of their former home in Lambertville, NJ from Hurricane Ida. The New Hope location is now the official home of the Mill Ballet School at 46 N Sugan Rd., New Hope, PA 18938 and one of two locations where The Roxey Ballet Company will rehearse and present works. The new headquarters for the Roxey Ballet is 6 Seventh Street, Frenchtown, NJ 08825. The Roxey Ballet Company remains committed to serving all New Jersey communities in all aspects of programming and education/outreach.
Despite the loss of revenue from the pandemic and the black box theater from Hurricane Ida, The Roxey Ballet Company prevails with an adventurous spring season of productions presenting Carmen, Frida, Mowgli (The Jungle Book Story), Graduation Ball, and The C-Word: Stories of Triumph Over Breast Cancer. Tickets are available for purchase online.
Carmen (April 1 – 3) is a one-act contemporary ballet stylized in abstract décor choreographed by Executive and Artistic Director, Mark Roxey. Carmen is a sensually vivid and passionate story of lust and treachery based on the fabled temptress of Seville. The story follows the downward spiral of Carmen based on Prosper Merimee’s novel and Georges Bizet’s opera. The ballet first captivated audiences at its premiere at Prince’s Theater in London, 1949. The tale of seduction and betrayal with a central love duet between Carmen and Don Jose is said to be among the most sensual couplings put on the ballet stage.
Frida (April 1 – 3), choreographed by Giovanni Ravelo, tells the story of Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican artist known for her many portraits and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Enthused by the country's popular culture, she employed a naïve folk art style to explore questions of identity, post colonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society. Her paintings often had strong autobiographical elements and mixed realism with fantasy. Kahlo is known for painting about her experience of chronic pain from a life of surgeries. This work explores the life of one of the most profound artists of our time.
Mowgli (April 23 & 24), based on Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, depicts a young man raised by wolves and tempered by the dangers of the jungle. Mowgli struggles to find his way back to the village populated by this own kind. Mark Roxey’s virtuosic choreography melds perfectly against the vivid sets that capture the wildness of the protagonist. An evocative score by Czech composer Milan Svoboda mingles traditional orchestration with anthemic set pieces that draw on European pop music. Mowgli is a family-friendly performance for children of all ages communicating that one should let go of one's fears and move forward.
Graduation Ball (April 23 & 24) is a one act ballet first presented by the original Ballet Russe at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, Australia, on March 1, 1940. The ballet is set in a fashionable Viennese school for girls during the 1840s. The headmistress has invited the cadets of the city's military academy to attend a ball celebrating the graduation of the senior class. The senior and junior girls have planned a series of divertissements as the evening's entertainment and are greatly excited by the event. Flirtations, exuberant dances, and a secret romance ensue.
Roxey Ballet is providing a Sensory Friendly informal presentation of Mowgli and Graduation Ball Saturday, April 9th at 4:00pm. Click here for tickets.
The C-Word: Stories of Triumph Over Breast Cancer (May 13, -15) is an original theatrical, healing arts initiative engaging in performances and movement workshops combining dance, music, art, and theater celebrating the lives of 22 breast cancer survivors. It is a song-cycle/ballet musical theatre event conceived staged and choreographed by Mark Roxey with original music and lyrics by songwriting team Robert Maggio and Matthew Hardy. The C-Word is designed to develop audience intellect about cancer by detaching the cultural stigma associated with the disease to encourage compassionate, community involvement and provide a creative outlet for healing through performance and movement workshops. It provides: an outlet for growth, empowerment through education, comfort through holistic movement, and encourages survivors to find their individual voices emboldening them to assist others in self-sufficiency.
For 28 years Roxey Ballet has communicated their values of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility through innovative performances, education programs, and dance training impacting New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. Roxey Ballet remains committed to bringing exciting, original, and thought provoking programs grounded in DEIA ideals. The Roxey Ballet Company, the world-class, all-inclusive, contemporary ballet company that builds community and cultural bridges through dance fostering a creative environment of growth for all.
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