A monthly digest of select dance news and performance impressions, primarily from the regions I cover in Ohio, and parts of Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania.

By Steve Sucato

Welcome to my first Airings monthly digest. I see a lot of dance and receive a lot of news that I cannot always write separate articles or reviews about. This monthly digest is my way of sharing some of that in a concise format.

[NEWS AND NOTES]

Northeast Ohio’s The Movement Project has put out a call for contributors to its techMOVES AI & Dance Survey. The initiative is a collaboration between The Movement Project, Miryam G. Johnson, a Detroit-based choreographer and educator dedicated to Black liberation practices, and Lauren Bedal, a Los Angeles-based designer and expert in human-computer interaction. With Knight Foundation funding, the initiative aims to reduce barriers in the dance field by offering open-source technologies that can be integrated into daily artistic practices. You can take the 10-15 minute survey by clicking here. <<

Dancing Wheels Company & School President/Founding Artistic Director, Mary Verdi-Fletcher, announced the Verdi-Fletcher Dance and Disability Scholarship Fund. It was created by Robert Fletcher, Susan Ingle, and Mary Verdi-Fletcher to support and grow physically integrated dance (PID) in the state of Ohio. This fund will provide scholarships for both students and instructors who are passionate about inclusive dance and want to advance their training in this specialized field. Applications are now open for submission on the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education’s website, with final determinations made by July 2025. For more information about the Fund, visit their website at www.oaae.net. <<

Cincinnati Ballet announced the appointment of Alyssa Wang as the company’s new Music Director, beginning with the 2025–2026 Season. Wang currently serves as Assistant Conductor of Boston Ballet and is the Co-Founder and Principal Conductor of the Boston Festival Orchestra. The company also welcomed back former dancer Erina Noda as its new Rehearsal Director. Noda, a native of Yokohama, Japan, is currently a stager for Septime Weber’s The Wizard of Oz. <<

Several dance organizations announced their 2025-2026 dance seasons. See the listing below, which includes one highlight from their season. Click on the organization name to see their full schedule.

BalletMet will introduce fans of the company to a healthy dose of new artistic director Remi Wörtmeyer’s ballets in Remi, Remi, Remi, showcasing the North American premieres of “Miroirs,” “Concerto Mondrian,” and “Rite of Spring,” October 17-25, at the Riffe Center’s Davidson Theatre in Columbus, Ohio. <<

Canton Ballet celebrates its 60th Anniversary Season: Legacy in Motion, culminating April 24-25, 2026, with The Greatest of All Time, a gala program featuring favorite works from across the company’s 60-year history, including brand new ballets. <<

Cincinnati Ballet dances into the jazz age with the regional premiere of choreographer Septime Webre’s The Great Gatsby at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 7 – 15. <<

Cleveland Ballet will present Handel’s Messiah, March 20-22, 2026, at KeyBank State Theatre. Perhaps the largest production the 11-year-old company has produced, it will feature a live orchestra and choir performing the renowned masterpiece. The production follows the biblical narrative, from the prophecy of Christ’s birth to his crucifixion and triumphant resurrection. <<

DANCECleveland, which will feature the Northeast Ohio premiere of Cleveland icon Dianne McIntyre’s In the Same Tongue on November 15 at Playhouse Square’s Mimi Ohio Theatre. <<

Dayton Ballet opens its season with artistic director Brandon Ragland’s (after Jules Perrot) version of Giselle, October 10-12, at the Victoria Theatre in Dayton. The ballet is about love, betrayal, madness, and forgiveness, where a young woman dies of a broken heart, yet her spirit returns to save the man who deceived her. <<

Grand Rapids Ballet presents Sherlock, October 24-26, at Peter Martin Wege Theatre in Grand Rapids. A co-production by Nashville Ballet and Ballet Idaho, the new ballet is choreographed by GRB resident choreographer Penny Saunders and takes audiences deep into the world of Sherlock Holmes, blending stunning choreography with immersive storytelling and a touch of noir. <<

North Pointe Ballet will celebrate its 10th anniversary season with Ballet in the Park, its free annual concert at Lakeview Park, part of Lorain County Metroparks, on September 5. The program will feature excerpts from NPB’s past performances, reflecting on ten years of accessible dance. Lawn seating — bring a blanket or a chair. <<

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, which will celebrate the United States’ 250th Anniversary with America 250, with the PBT Orchestra, February 20-22, 2026, at Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center. The star-spangled program includes Lisa de Ribere’s The Mighty Casey, George Balanchine’s Stars & Stripes Pas de deux, Ben Stevenson’s Three Preludes, and Paul Taylor’s Company B. <<

Pittsburgh Dance Council, which opens its season on September 20 at Pittsburgh’s Byham Theater with France’s Compagnie Hervé KOUBI in Sol Invictus. The work combines contemporary and urban dance movements, capoeira, and martial arts. <<

Texture Contemporary Ballet opens its 15th season with Infinite Abundance, July 11-13, at Pittsburgh’s New Hazlett Theater. The mixed repertory program features world premieres and returning favorites. <<

Toledo Ballet’s new season opens October 24 & 25 with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The spooky tale of Ichabod Crane and the mysterious Headless Horseman. With choreography by artistic director Eric Otto and music by composer Jonathan Heck. <<

SOME PERFORMANCES TO CHECK OUT IN JUNE:

BalletMet presents Black Voices, June 6-14 at the Riffe Center’s Davidson Theatre in Columbus, Ohio. Experience a World Premiere by Jennifer Archibald, a Columbus Premiere from Dwight Rhoden, and the return of Red Angels by Ulysses Dove. — BalletMet will perform a Free outdoor showing of Black Voices at the Columbus Arts Festival on June 7 at 11 am at Bicentennial Park Stage, Columbus. <<

Co-Presented by Springboard Danse, Pittsburgh’s slowdanger presents ABYSS at the Smithfield-Liberty Parking Garage Rotunda in Pittsburgh on June 7. ABYSS is an iterative and site-specific dance and sound performance intervention that examines the ways in which we present ourselves in public and social gathering spaces. The work examines our bodies’ (abysses) states of being within public structures and their relationship to other bodies – the site, vibration, groove, physical labor, absurdity, power, and release. Part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival. <<

The Three Rivers Arts Festival (TRAF) Dance Battle returns for its 11th year on June 7 at Dollar Bank Main Stage in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. This year’s event will feature an All Styles battle, offering cash prizes and trophies to the finalists. DJ Inception will be spinning for the entire event. <<

Djapo Cultural Arts Institute presents “The Spirit of Juneteenth: Liberated. Rooted. Alive” on June 14 at Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater in Cleveland Heights. <<

Dancing Wheels Company & School presents its 44th Anniversary Gala Benefit and Performance “Remember… Reimagine… Renew” on June 14 at Public Hall (Cleveland Public Auditorium. The program features the world premiere of Rodeo Reimagined, a modern take on Agnes de Mille’s classic, iconic Western tale, with choreography by Amy Hall Garner and a new score by Paul Fergusson played live by the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. <<

Cleveland Dance Project Company’s third annual Community Collab Performance: CONVERGENCE takes place on June 14 at Cleveland’s Near West Theatre. The showcase features works by CDP Company and 12 choreographers, including Renee Clippinger, Bethany Schulz, Jessica Bennett, Heather Sakai and Alexandra Martinez, Theresa Holland, Rashawn Kadeem, Joel Linebach and Bird Thurman, Cait Wallenhorst, Teagan Reed, and Deanna Stanton. <<

Blakk Jakk Dance Collective presents its 4th Annual Juneteenth Celebration on June 15 at Disciples Christian Church in Cleveland Heights. <<

Ohio Contemporary Ballet presents Director’s Choice, June 21 at Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater in Cleveland Heights. The FREE mixed repertory program celebrates the retirement of longtime OCB dancers Kate Webb and Antonio Morillo and includes some of their favorites that they danced with the company. <<

Cleveland Ballet presents Ballet at the Barn on June 20 in Bratenahl, Ohio. The elegant spring evening fundraiser is hosted by Madeleine Parker, Cleveland Ballet board member and benefactor, at her home, a transformed carriage house and horse stable on the former Holden estate. Includes cocktails, dinner, and performances by the Cleveland Ballet in excerpts from Paquita, Harlequinade, and the Balcony Pas de Deux from Romeo and Juliet. <<

June 25, at New York’s Chautauqua Institution, the Chautauqua School of Dance’s annual All-Star Alumni Dance Gala is a celebration of the School’s exceptional alumni. Slated are performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s James Gimer, New York City Ballet principal dancer Isabella Lafreniere, dance star Brooklyn Mack, Miami City Ballet principal soloist Taylor Naturkas, and soloist Brooks Landegger. <<

[PERFORMANCE IMPRESSIONS]

The 21st iteration of Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks series at the James Levin Theatre featuring Northeast Ohio dance troupes, continued this month with Blakk Jakk Dance Collective‘s Rhythms of Heritage. The program, on May 2, included three repertory pieces by company Associate Artistic Director Darnell Weaver and was highlighted by the title work that explored the ancestral connections and similarities between South African Gumboot dance and American Stepping. Co-choreographed by Weaver and RonDale Simpson, Blakk Jakk’s Executive Artistic Director, the pair got the most out of Rhythms of Heritage’s cast of predominantly community and student dancers, who joined Blakk Jakk’s handful of company dancers and apprentices. Simpson and Weaver nicely tailored the piece’s choreography to match the dancers’ skill levels, creating a well-crafted, inspirational, and entertaining work. Kudos to Simpson, Weaver as the Elder character/narrator, and tiny but fierce step dancer Makayla Sheppard, who nearly stole the show.

Sadly, a power failure at the theater cancelled the Saturday, May 10 performance of Ajayi Dance’s Again and Again and, which I was to attend. An unexpected consolation was a large and wonderful gathering of Northeast Ohio’s dance community members who came to see the show, remaining in the theater’s lobby area to converse, and a moving impromptu song from the show sung by Ajayi Dance’s cast to those assembled. 

Closing out DanceWorks 2025 was the joint production, Common Threads, performed by project-based dance companies Christina Lindhout & Artists and Blissed Out Human Collective. Their performance on Friday, May 16, opened with Lindhout & Artists’ program half entitled “Our Knees Hurt.” Choreographed by Lindhout with sister Sabrina Lindhout, the contemporary dance work was an impressive effort. Cleverly crafted and solidly performed by the work’s cast of local independent dancers, “Our Knees Hurt” used humor to explore themes of gender inequity. Memorable performances included the work’s self-titled and hard-driving opening section, danced with power and punch to killer music by Christina’s husband Ian Waddell, dancer Teagan Reed’s deliciously over-the-top performance in “squished,” Kenya R. Woods’ in “sandwich interlude,” and the cast of “corps (waltz of the Knees), a slapstick parody of The Nutcracker ballet’s “Waltz of the Flowers,” in which the dancers dropped the facade of “ballet effortlessness” to show how corps de ballet dancers can really feel onstage. 

Described as a sequence of dance movement vignettes about building, unraveling, and repair, Blissed Out Human Collective’s “Unravel,” directed by Amanda Butterfield, essentially presented a prop work themed on crocheting and the use of yarn. Its cast of nine dancers (including Butterfield) moved through yarn-constructed landscapes in postmodern choreography that harkened back to the earliest days of dance being presented at CPT. While an intriguing idea that combines crochet with dance, the 20-minute-plus piece suffered, as many prop works do, from being tied to creating movement centered around the prop, which limited the work’s movement scope and added an element of tedium. <<    

BalletMet’s matinee performance of Sleeping Beauty on May 4 at Columbus’s Ohio Theatre was the last given by beloved company dancer Rachael Parini. The nine-year company veteran’s career was cut short after being diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder (read my interview with Parini here). 

Parini portrayed the role of the evil fairy Carabosse in the company’s traditional and rather satisfying production. She arrived onstage in a grand entrance inside a black swan sleigh accompanied by two bird-like minions. 

Cold, calculated, and sharp in her movements, Parini as Carabosse commanded the stage, much like badass actress Angela Bassett, casting withering looks and striking fear into the hearts of the ballet’s other characters.  It was a memorable final performance for Parini and the audience. <<

Septime Webre’s popular ballet The Wizard of Oz made its way to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre May 9-18 at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh. Having reviewed the ballet’s premiere by Kansas City Ballet in 2019 (read here), the ballet, with a few updates, retained its Broadway-esque approach and appeal for dance and non-dance audiences alike. A frisky Toto dog puppet, an animated tornado, complete with Miss Gulch flying across the stage on her bike, a colorful and wonderfully danced poppy field scene, and the Emerald City being converted into a mirror-balled dance club, gave this production mass appeal that PBT’s dancers ran with. The entire cast was brilliant, especially opening night cast members Tommie Lin Kesten as Dorothy, Madeline Gradle as Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch, and the trio of Corey Bourbonniere as the Scarecrow, Colin McCaslin as the Tin Man, and Matthew Griffin as the Cowardly Lion. <<

[COMINGS AND GOINGS]

Ohio Contemporary Ballet announced the retirements of company stalwarts Kate Webb and Antonio Morillo. Both will be attending graduate education programs. Morillo at Case Western Reserve University. Their last appearance with the company will be at a FREE performance on Saturday, June 21, at Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater in Cleveland Heights. I have also learned that dancer Sikhumbuzo Hlahleni is taking a sabbatical from the company and returning to South Africa. <<

Longtime BalletMet dancer Rachael Parini retired from the stage after her final performances as Carabosse in the company’s production of Sleeping Beauty. Dancer Cooper Verona will also be leaving the company at the end of the 2024-2025 season. Find out more at balletmet.org. <<

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT) announced these roster changes for the 2025-2026 season. Apprentices Emry Amoky and Abigail Huang were promoted to the corps de ballet,  Josiah Kauffman and David O’Matz were promoted to soloists, and Colin McCaslin and Grace Rookstool (whom I profiled in 2024 as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” artists) were promoted to the rank of principal dancer. 

Joining PBT this season will be new company apprentices Aoi Asano and Isak Sorenson, who attended the PBT School Graduate Program, along with Michael Stadtherr, who comes from Tulsa Ballet II, and new corps de ballet dancers Henrique Barbosa from Houston Ballet and Ethan Clarisey from Boston Ballet II. 

Moving on from PBT are popular soloists Corey Bourbonniere, who spent 13 years with the company, and 2015 Pointe Magazine’s “Stars of the Corps” honoree Marisa Grywalski. Also moving on are corps de ballet members Amanda Morgan, Sam DerGregorian, and Jacob Miller, as well as apprentice Nathan Smith. Find out more at pbt.org <<

[PASSINGS]

While not in May, I would be remiss in not honoring my dear dance friend of over thirty years, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux (Bonnefous), who died of heart failure on April 13. He was 82. I got to know the former Paris Opera Ballet and New York City Ballet principal dancer, as well as his wife, New York City Ballet legend Patricia McBride, during my annual summer visits to the Chautauqua Institution to cover the dance programming that JP curated for several decades. I will miss his friendly demeanor, passion for dance, and concern for dancers’ well-being, as well as our conversations on dance and life, and his many stories about his career. <<

Cincinnati Ballet announced that former principal dancer Janessa Touchet died peacefully surrounded by family on May 15 in Carmel, Indiana. <<