Roaring Ahead
The Great Gatsby
Aronoff Center for the Arts
650 Walnut Street
Friday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 8, 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 9, 1 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets and info at cballet.org
Can’t repeat the past? Why, of course you can!
Especially when it’s a retelling of the Great American Novel, with a live jazz band, tap dancer, singer, actor, dog, and dancers from Cincinnati Ballet.
Cincinnati Ballet brings the North American premiere of Septime Webre’s The Great Gatsby to the Aronoff Center for the Arts for eight performances, Nov. 7–15. I
t’s Gatsby like you’ve never seen it before.
Internationally acclaimed choreographer and Hong Kong Ballet Artistic Director Septime Webre has created a full-length ballet, retelling the classic story of the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
“The Great Gatsby is an unforgettable invitation into the Roaring Twenties, filled with glittering parties romance, and the irresistible energy of live jazz,” says The Katherine and Richard Rosenthal Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director Cervilio Amador. “With dazzling choreography, spectacular projections, and a state-of-the-art LED wall, this production immerses audiences in a world that feels larger than life. At its heart, Gatsby’s story of hope, ambition, and longing will resonate long after the curtain falls.”
To bring Webre’s grand production to North America, various ballet companies joined forces to share the ambitious costs of shipping and assembling the set from Hong Kong. Kansas City Ballet will perform The Great Gatsby following the November premiere in Cincinnati.
This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, The Great Gatsby, that inspired Webre’s full-length ballet version. Cincinnati Ballet will celebrate this anniversary in style, bringing along local singer Mandy Gaines, local actor and narrator Wesley Carman, two tap dancers, and live jazz band, Billy Novick's Blue Syncopators from Boston, to join company dancers on stage.
The production also features an original score by Billy Novick and costumes by Tim Yip, best known for his work on the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction.