Cleveland Ballet Debuts a New ‘The Nutcracker’ Production Rich in Tradition [PREVIEW]

Cleveland Ballet The NutcrackerConnor Palace – Playhouse SquareDecember 13-22, 2024 By Steve Sucato This holiday season, Cleveland Ballet is giving area audiences something it has not seen in decades: A The Nutcracker production steeped in ballet’s tradition. This Friday, December 13, through Sunday, December 22, at Playhouse Square’s Connor Palace, the company will debut artistic director Timour Bourtasenkov’s new The Nutcracker production. The 2-act ballet is … Continue reading Cleveland Ballet Debuts a New ‘The Nutcracker’ Production Rich in Tradition [PREVIEW]

Cleveland Ballet Brings the Fright to Open its New Dance Season [PREVIEW]

Cleveland Ballet Dracula and The Masque of the Red DeathMimi Ohio Theatre – Playhouse SquareOctober 18 & 19, 2024 By Steve Sucato Cleveland Ballet embraces the macabre spirit of Halloween to open its 2024-25 season on October 18 & 19 at Playhouse Square’s Mimi Ohio Theatre. Continuing the artistic relationship cultivated last season by Cleveland Ballet’s new artistic director, Timour Bourtasenkov, the company will present four … Continue reading Cleveland Ballet Brings the Fright to Open its New Dance Season [PREVIEW]

Classic Hollywood Glitz, Glamour, and Dance and Music Entertainment are Brought to Life in ‘Strictly Gershwin’ [PREVIEW]

By Steve Sucato The iconic Jazz Age music of American songwriting team George and Ira Gershwin is celebrated in the dance and music extravaganza Strictly Gershwin this weekend, October 4-6, at Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre. Co-commissioned initially by Playhouse Square President & CEO Craig HassallAM while at the English National Ballet, Royal Albert Hall, and Raymond Gubbay, Ltd., Strictly Gershwin is a two-hour celebration … Continue reading Classic Hollywood Glitz, Glamour, and Dance and Music Entertainment are Brought to Life in ‘Strictly Gershwin’ [PREVIEW]

Popular ‘Carmen’ Ballet Returns to Open Cleveland Ballet’s Ninth Season [PREVIEW]

By Rena Vysnionis (with Steve Sucato) Cleveland Ballet opens its 2023-2024 mainstage season at Playhouse Square’s Connor Palace, September 22-23, with the triple bill Carmen & Other Works. Here’s a look: “Pas de Dix” from the 1898 ballet Raymonda features exquisite original choreography by Marius Petipa for five couples to the inspiring score by Alexander Glazunov. It is one of the most performed works by major ballet companies worldwide. Casting: Gabriela Checo, Alexander Guzmán, … Continue reading Popular ‘Carmen’ Ballet Returns to Open Cleveland Ballet’s Ninth Season [PREVIEW]

‘Nina-isms’ highlight Cleveland Ballet’s Masterclass with Legendary Ballerina Nina Ananiashvili 

By Steve Sucato The week before Nina Ananiashvili’s State Ballet of Georgia’s U.S. tour began, the former Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Houston Ballet star came to Cleveland to fulfill a promise she made to friend Gladisa Guadalupe to teach a masterclass for her Cleveland Ballet. Ananiashvili and Guadalupe became fast friends after meeting as jurors at the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition in 2019. … Continue reading ‘Nina-isms’ highlight Cleveland Ballet’s Masterclass with Legendary Ballerina Nina Ananiashvili 

Lake Erie to don ‘Swan Lake’ moniker in honor of Cleveland Ballet’s upcoming production

By Julia Tze   CLEVELAND, OH – Mayor of Cleveland Justin M. Bibb has announced that Lake Erie will don the name ‘Swan Lake’ in recognition of the premiere of Cleveland Ballet’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, a production sponsored in part by Roe Green and the Roe Green Foundation. “I am honored to offer this Proclamation in recognition of Cleveland Ballet, our City’s resident professional ballet company, … Continue reading Lake Erie to don ‘Swan Lake’ moniker in honor of Cleveland Ballet’s upcoming production

Cleveland Ballet’s ‘Swan Lake’ Looks To Be Its Best Yet [PREVIEW]

By Steve Sucato When Gladisa Guadalupe’s reconstituted Cleveland Ballet emerged on Northeast, Ohio’s dance scene in 2014, it was a fledgling professional ballet company with modest expectations. Now entering its 8th season, with an ever-improving roster of dancers, a growing budget nearing 3 million dollars, and much of the other trappings of a proper ballet organization, expectations are much higher as the troupe has taken … Continue reading Cleveland Ballet’s ‘Swan Lake’ Looks To Be Its Best Yet [PREVIEW]

Improved Cleveland Ballet Shines in ‘The Nutcracker’ [REVIEW]

Cleveland BalletThe NutcrackerPlayhouse Square – Connor Palace TheatreCleveland, OHDecember 3-5, 2021 By Steve Sucato Cleveland’s premier The Nutcracker production by the Cleveland Ballet returned once again to Playhouse Square December 3-5 after a yearlong hiatus because of the global pandemic. The annual production that regularly plays to sold-out audiences, was performed for the first time at the larger Connor Palace Theatre. In doing so, the … Continue reading Improved Cleveland Ballet Shines in ‘The Nutcracker’ [REVIEW]

Heading into its 7th Season, Cleveland Ballet Is Making Huge Strides

By Steve Sucato If you haven’t been paying close attention to Cleveland Ballet of late, the company has gotten rather big, rather fast. Founded in 2014, it has gone from a fledgling ballet troupe with a handful of dancers and being funded out of pocket by company founders Gladisa Guadalupe, a dancer with the former Cleveland Ballet which folded in 2001, and Russian businessman, Dr. … Continue reading Heading into its 7th Season, Cleveland Ballet Is Making Huge Strides