jessica wallis
Setting the Stage In 2012, Wallis founded Ballet in Cleveland to bring the country's best ballet to our most popular performance venues. Now she's reshaping it into Ballet in the City, and she's doing the same for other towns. Along with professional ballerina Allison DeBona, she also established the ArtEmotion Summer Intensive, a two-week residency for intermediate and pre-professionals, at Playhouse Square. On Pointe Misty Copeland, the first black female principal ballerina in the American Ballet Theatre, performed at the organization's annual gala in March. "We bring these first-class dancers to big-name venues and theaters ... out of respect for the art form," says Wallis. Barre Crowd Shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Flesh and Bone have renewed an interest in ballet, jazz and other dance forms. "Ballet is not a dying art," Wallis says. "Ballet is a visual art and very relevant, so it's the perfect time to capitalize on that resurgence and bring ballet to every city." Perfect Pair The Ballet in the City relaunch on Sept. 19 features Kathryn Morgan, the former New York City Ballet soloist, in the world premiere of The Red Shoes. "We collaborated with Morgan to create this new piece," says Wallis. // Roxanna Coldiron
Inlet Dance Theatre
Sept. 11, Connor Palace Theatre, inletdance.org
For Playhouse Square's Dance Showcase, a duo performs 10, a futuristic number set to an electronic score that honors two company dancers, Joshua Brown and Elizabeth Pollert. "[At] the end of the duet, they continue looking off into the future on a diagonal as the lights go out," says Bill Wade, founder and executive artistic director.
Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal
Oct. 4, EJ Thomas Hall, dancecleveland.org
If Black Swan bewitched you, don't miss Closer, a 20-minute romantic duet by Benjamin Millepied, the film's choreographer and Natalie Portman's husband, set to Philip Glass' stirring piano piece Mad Rush. The Canadian company also performs the primitive-style Rouge and space-themed Cosmos.
Cleveland State University Theater and Dance: Ubu Roi
Nov. 5-15, Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre, csuohio.edu
When Ubu Roi first debuted in 1896, curse words and gruesome violence shocked the original Victorian audience so much that they stormed out of the theater. The satire that critiques money, politics and corruption bucks logic with abrupt changes such as jumping from a scene in the desert to one in the snow-capped Alps. // Madeline Smanik