Texas Ballet Theater will present a mixed repertoire performance choreographed exclusively by women for the first time in its more than 60-year history. “International Woman” is one of four productions just announced for the 2024-2025 season.
“I think it’s long overdue that Texas Ballet Theater is doing an evening like this,” artistic director Tim O’Keefe said.
O’Keefe took the helm in July of 2023 following longtime leader Ben Stevenson, who held the post from 2003-2022.
“It’s my job to challenge the dancers, to challenge you. I need to give you the classics. I need to keep that going for dancers, for their technique,” O’Keefe said. “I need to push you and expose you to different styles of choreography, different ballets, new choreographers. … It’s just finding the right balance each year to do that.”
In addition to the contemporary ballet, the upcoming season includes “The Nutcracker,” “Cinderella” and “Giselle.”
Fort Worth performances
“Cinderella”: Sept. 20-22
“The Nutcracker”: Dec. 13-29
“International Woman”: Feb. 21-23, 2025
“Giselle”: May 2-4, 2025
“Giselle” is the first ballet O’Keefe saw, so it is a full-circle moment for him to have the chance to put his own mark on the ballet — though he said he is judicious with what he changes.
“Act 2 is gorgeous. You don’t touch that,” he said. “But Act 1 you can choreograph.”
Recent productions of “Dracula” and “The Nutcracker,” broke attendance records.
“Every ZIP code in the metroplex … a resident from every one of those ZIP codes attended our performances,” Executive Director Vanessa Logan said.
They hope to build on the success of 2023 and the momentum of 2024 thus far.
“Last year we saw over 100,000 people in our season,” Logan said. “And this year we are trending to beat that.”
Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policyhere.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.