A Houston premiere and a world premiere highlight the Houston Ballet's 2024-2025 season, the company has revealed. Those two offerings are among the six ballets included in the season, which continues to showcase a company at the top of its artistic game.
The season opens with John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid, making its Houston premiere. With music by Lera Auerbach, it tells the familiar story of a mermaid who makes a deal with a sea witch in exchange for the chance to find true love. The show will run September 6-15.
The season continues September 19-29 with Velocity, a mixed repertory program that includes Come In with choreography by Aszure Barton and music by Vladimir Martynov; a world premiere program choreographed by Silas Farley and a commissioned score by Kyle Werner; and the titular Velocity choreographed by Stanton Welch, AM with music by Michael Torke.
Beloved holiday classic The Nutcracker returns to the Wortham Theater Center stage as a season add-on, running November 29-December 29, and features Welch's choreography set against Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's iconic score.
The Ballet launches the new year with In the Night, another mixed rep that runs February 27-March 9, 2025. The program includes Jerome Robbins' In the Night set to a score by Frédéric Chopin; Welch's Maninyas with music by Ross Edwards; and Celts, choreographed by Lila York and featuring music by The Chieftains, Mason Daring, William J. Ruyle, Bill Whelan, and Celtic Thunder.
Another classic, The Sleeping Beauty, takes the stage March 13-23, featuring choreography by Ben Stevenson O.B.E., and Tchaikovsky's recognizable score.
The world premiere of Raymonda comes to life May 29 to June 8, with choreography by Welch, music by Alexander Glazunov, and costumes and set design by Roberta Guidi di Bagno. This marks Welch's eighth full-length ballet created for Houston Ballet’s repertory.
The season closes June 12-22 with Sparrow, which features Theme and Variations with choreography by George Balanchine and music by Tchaikovsky; Four Last Songs with choreography by Stevenson O.B.E. and music by Richard Strauss; and Sparrow choreographed by Welch and music by Simon & Garfunkel.
“The incredible range of ballets offers growth for our dancers as well as audiences,” artistic director Julie Kent said in a statement. “From curtain up to curtain down, this season explores the depth and breadth of this art form, and I’m so excited to be involved in presenting works we’ve never seen before and the kind of classics that are a wonderful way to introduce new audiences to ballet.”
Two additional season add-ons bring Houston Ballet traditions back to the stage with the Margaret Alkek Williams Jubilee of Dance, December 6, and the Academy Spring Showcase, April 25 - 26, 2025.
Season tickets for the six-ballet series start at $171. For more details, see houstonballet.org.
Photo by Amitava Sarkar (2020). Courtesy of Houston Ballet.
Principals Melody Mennite and Soo Youn Cho perform in The Sleeping Beauty.
Another view of the garden. Photo by Brian Austin, courtesy of Rothko Chapel.