BalletMet Columbus, in collaboration with Cincinnati Ballet, presents “Swan Lake” on Oct. 16-18, at the Ohio Theatre in downtown Columbus.
“Swan Lake” is a classic story about a prince who falls in love with a beautiful woman who lives as a swan by day after being cursed by an evil sorcerer. The performance, which lasts roughly two hours, follows the characters through the many obstacles they face.
“It’s important for people to come see this show because it is one of the classics, and nowadays it is hard to see a good version of any classical production,” said dancer Adam Hundt, who plays multiple characters in the show and has been a member of BalletMet for six years. “Nostalgia reasons and story reasons alone make this basically a part of history.”
Hundt has also been a professional dancer for more than 11 seasons and has been dancing since age 4.
One unique aspect of this performance is that BalletMet Columbus and the Cincinnati Ballet have come together once again, making this their first classical ballet collaboration but the third collaboration between the two companies.
The full-length production is staged by BalletMet Artistic Director Gerard Charles, Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director Victoria Morgan and Associate Artistic Director Devon Carney.
The weekend following the Columbus performances, the production will travel to Cincinnati to perform “Swan Lake” at the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
More than 50 professional dancers from both companies, as well as more than 20 children from the BalletMet Dance Academy are performing.
“It’s exciting to get to be with different dancers that you don’t necessarily dance with everyday,” Hundt said. “You get to explore how different people work. It’s a lot of fun to do a big ballet with lots of different dancers.”
The performers started rehearsals in mid-August and have been practicing in both Columbus and Cincinnati. They practice for the show six hours a day and also have a separate hour-and-a-half class per day.
BalletMet Columbus ranks among the nation’s 15 largest dance companies and has had more than 30 years of professional performances.
The ballet company receives support for its annual performance season from the Columbus Foundation, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the Ohio Arts Council, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Classical 89.7 WOSU-FM and Time Warner Cable.
The performance will take place at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets cost $29-$66, but there are ways to save. Groups of 10 or more can get discounts on tickets when ordered in advance, and students with a college ID can get $15 Student Rush tickets at the theater up to two hours prior to show time. The performance will kick off BalletMet’s 32nd season, which will also include other productions such as “Nightmoves,” “The Nutcracker” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
