Park City Institute partners with BalletNEXT

The Park City Institute is partnering with BalletNEXT as part of the 2022-23 Main Stage Series. The partnership will include two performances and a collaboration with a previously scheduled performance. Photo: Kazuo ota.

PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City Institute is partnering with BalletNEXT as part of the 2022-23 Main Stage Series. The partnership will include two performances and a collaboration with a previously scheduled performance.

BalletNEXT was founded in 2011 by former principal ballerina of American Ballet Theatre, Michele Wiles. Her vision was to produce boundary-crossing performance projects and one-of-a-kind, immersive training opportunities.

Executive Director for the Park City Institute Ari Ioannides said, “Adding Michele’s collaborative creativity to our 2022-23 Main Stage Series will bring another layer of artistry to the diversity of an exciting season of performances.”

BalletNEXT will make its Eccles Center premiere on Sunday, January 8, at 3:00 p.m. This special performance will be the Park City premiere of Surmisable Units, which is set to Steve Reich’s “Piano Phase” and opens with a solo by Wiles, who is then joined by a cast of five BalletNEXT dancers.

“It is truly an honor to be performing and partnering with Park City Institute on the Eccles Stage this season,” Wiles said. “As Park City’s local ballet company, BalletNEXT is focused on building impactful partnerships between world-class dance and the creative organizations in our community. These partnerships are the platform for unexpected and dynamic performances.”

The music will be played on two pianos with one pianist, Elliott Figg, who is a graduate of the Historical Performance Program at the Juilliard School. Choreography is by Brian Reeder, a former dancer with William Forsythe, New York City Ballet, and American Ballet Theater.

BalletNEXT will then join Hub New Music on Sunday, February 5, at 3:00 p.m. Called “contemporary chamber trailblazers” by the Boston Globe, their performances provide an excellent creative foundation for BalletNEXT. Michael Avitabile of Hub said, “We were thrilled at the idea of collaborating with a local dance company, especially one as amazing as BalletNEXT. Working with dancers and adding a new dimension to the music really gives us a renewed sense of energy. We feel lucky that this can happen!”

BalletNEXT is scheduled to present an additional show on Sunday, March 26, at the Eccles Center. Tickets and more information are available at ParkCityInstiute.org.