By Steve Sucato

Ohio Contemporary Ballet’s annual free performance at Cain Park this Saturday, June 21, is a bittersweet one as the company celebrates the retirements of longtime company dancers Kate Webb and Antonio Morillo. The beloved dancers have been the focal point of many of the company’s marquee dance works, thrilling audiences and critics alike. 

A native of Richmond, Virginia, 31-year-old Webb will retire from OCB after a decade with the company. {CLICK HERE to read my interview with Webb about her career, retirement, and what’s next.}

She received her early dance training at the School of Richmond Ballet, where she was also a trainee with the professional company. After graduating from the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts, she attended Butler University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance Arts Administration. While at Butler, she performed with its student dance company in Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.  

Since joining Ohio Contemporary Ballet in 2015 (then known as Verb Ballets), she has performed and taught for the company, participated in international tours to Cuba and Taiwan, and performed in the Gerald Aprino Centennial Celebration in 2024 in Chicago. Webb has also been a guest dancer with Starr Foster Dance Project, Ballet Legato, Hudson Conservatory, and Cleveland City Dance.  

“A big reason why I have stayed with the company for so long is leadership’s belief in me,” says Webb. “They provided me with opportunities to learn and grow as an artist, and I greatly appreciate both them and my time here.”  

Dr. Margaret Carlson, Producing Artistic Director of OCB, said of Webb: “Kate’s mastery of both contemporary and classical forms, combined with her exceptional acting skills, has distinguished her as a truly remarkable dancer within the company. Kate has always danced with unparalleled passion, as if every performance could be her last, pouring her heart into every movement. She is truly an inspiration.”

Retiring from OCB after nine years, 34-year-old Morillo is a first-generation Cuban American born in Coral Springs, Florida. Unlike many of his male peers, who began their dance training in childhood, Morillo didn’t take his first ballet class until he was 20 at Point Park University, where he was a musical theater major. After transitioning from musical theater to dance, he earned an Associate of Arts in Dance Performance from Valencia College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from the University of South Florida. {CLICK HERE to read my interview with Morillo about his dance career, retirement from OCB, and his next adventure} 

He joined Ohio Contemporary Ballet (then known as Verb Ballets) in 2016 and participated in two international tours with the company to Cuba. In 2024, he performed in the Gerald Aprino Centennial Celebration in Chicago. Morillo has also been a guest artist with the Next Generation Ballet, Tampa City Ballet, and Hudson Conservatory of Ballet. In 2017, he was selected by the Martha Graham Company to choreograph and present at the Next@Graham Studio Series in New York City.

“Antonio joined the company with a background in musical theater, bringing a natural talent for dramatic acting while dedicating himself to refining his ballet technique,” said Carlson. “Over the years, I have had the privilege of watching him excel in a wide range of roles, showcasing his range and growth as an artist.”

Morillo, commenting on his time at OCB, said: “I really appreciated that [Associate Artistic Director] Richard Dickinson made the space for me to take the male lead in many of his and others’ ballets.”

For Saturday’s Director’s Choice program at Evan Amphitheater, Carlson elected to let Webb and Morillo pick some of their favorite ballets from OCB’s repertory to dance one last time. 

Both Webb and Morillo will dance in reprises of two of Heinz Poll’s group ballets. The first, “Light Breeze” (1984), is danced to music by Jazz alto saxophonist David Sanborn. The company debuted the 14-minute ballet for ten dancers this past April at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall on the University of Akron campus. 

The second, Poll’s and OCB’s signature ballet, “Bolero” (1996), will close Director’s Choice. Set to Maurice Ravel’s iconic score of the same name, the 16-minute-plus “Bolero” is danced in bare feet, with the dancers’ eyes closed until the last note of the music. Morillo will, for the last time, dance the role of the ballet’s red-caped central figure, whose rapid spins and authoritative cape-waving to close the piece is one of ballet’s most thrilling dance sequences. 

Individually, Webb will be featured in excerpts from Poll’s tribute to the old Hollywood glamour of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in “Eight by Benny” (1992), set to music by Benny Goodman. And Morillo will partner fiancée and fellow company dancer Kelly Korfhage in Gerald Arpino’s stretchy and fast-paced pas de deux, “Light Rain” (1981). Webb and Morillo will dance together in the closing section of Dickinson’s “Four Last Songs” (2013), a ballet about loss and longing. It is danced to the final section of Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs, entitled “At Dusk,” a song about the acceptance of death as a peaceful transition.

Area dance fans won’t want to miss this final farewell to Webb and Morillo as members of Ohio Contemporary Ballet. The two talented performers will be missed. Director’s Choice is also filled with repertoire favorites that are sure to entertain and create lasting memories.

 Ohio Contemporary Ballet presents Director’s Choice, a celebration of retiring company dancers Kate Webb and Antonio Morillo on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 8 p.m. (Gates open at 7 p.m.). Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater, 14591 Superior Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The performance is Free and open to the public, with general admission seating. Evans Amphitheater is covered and protected from the rain. 

This free performance is generously sponsored by James D. Graham & David M. Dusek, and Leslie Kaufman & Scott Cowen.

Join OCB after the show at Afterglow, hosted by James D. Graham & David M. Dusek. Enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and great company in celebration of OCB’s 2024-25 season achievements and the incredible careers of Kate Webb and Antonio Morillo. Tickets are $100 per guest. Address provided upon RSVP at ocballet.org/afterglow25