Within the Golden Hour costumes courtesy of Ballet Arizona
Swimmer costumes courtesy of San Francisco Ballet
Performance underwritten by The Robert and Virginia Barnett Fund of the Artistic Director’s Circle
COMPANY BALLET REPETITEURS
Angela Agresti, Rory Hohenstein, Eduardo Permuy
CHOREOGRAPHER-IN-RESIDENCE
Claudia Schreier
DEAN OF THE CENTRE FOR DANCE EDUCATION
Sharon Story
THE COMPANY
Santiago Bedoya, Severin Brotschul, Khulan Burenjargal, Georgie Grace Butler, Valeria Chaykina, Catherine Conley, Larissa Dal’Santo, Talisson Farias, Brooke Gilliam, Jessica He, Gianna Horton-Sibble, Airi Igarashi, Darian Kane, Matoi Kawamoto, Milei Lee, Sojung Lee, Jordan Leeper, Guilherme Maciel, Juliana Missano, Miguel Angel Montoya, Marius Morawski, Mayu Nakayama, Denys Nedak, Carraig New, Sayron Pereira, Sophie Poulain, Ángel Ramírez, Júlio Santos, Mikaela Santos, Anderson Souza, Paxton Speight, Emanuel Tavares, Jonas Tutaj, Munkhjin Ulziijargal, Luiz Fernando Xavier, Rei Yamaguchi, Nicholas Yurkevich, Rachel Olivia Zinman
ATLANTA BALLET 2
Pierce Bevans, Caroline Giltner, Daniel Gray, Sayaka Iwase, Camille-Margaret Jackson, Jacob Lainchbury, Santiago Larronda, Emily McAllister, Sakura Natorigawa, Avery Nelson, Isabela Oku, Leo O’Reilly Okuno, Dyhan Pierre, Ícaro Queiros, Gianni Salazar, Eliza Soto, Kahlen Wright
Atlanta Ballet 2 courtesy of Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education
PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
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Dorothy Moses Alexander - Atlanta Ballet Founder, 1929 - 1960
Robert Barnett - Artistic Director Emeritus, 1961 - 1994
John McFall – Artistic Director, 1994 - 2016
PROGRAM NOTES*
As the sun sets and rises, the golden hour casts the familiar in ephemeral light before returning it to what it once was. Dance lives in much the same way: a live performance, able to be repeated but never quite duplicated, is a fleeting presentation of a time-intensive and deeply loved process of creation and collaboration in the studio, immersed in inspiration, refinement, and discovery.
Val Caniparoli, choreographer of Aria, asserts that “music is number one,” expanding, “it is absolutely central to your work, not secondary… It is not the steps I first think of. I am most inspired to create by being in the room with the dancers and the music.” Caniparoli’s relationship to music is more than foundational it is integral. Having studied it since early childhood, he attended Washington State University for music and theatre. His performance and choreographic career unfurled — just shy of two years into formal training — after joining the San Francisco ballet which later became his artistic home for more than five decades. Throughout his choreographic repertoire, his musical choices reflect this deep engagement and disciplinary knowledge, informing his use of diverse scores as the principal foundation of his work.
In Dunayevsky Pas de Deux, a world premiere by Yuri Possokhov — San Francisco Ballet’s Choreographer in Residence and the choreographer of Atlanta Ballet’s The Nutcracker — music and dance share the stage in harmonious collaboration with live piano accompaniment, making the synergistic relationship between musician and dancer visible in real time. Reflecting on his experience working with Atlanta Ballet and its company pianist, Possokhov notes, “the combination of dance and live music, it elevates our soul.”
Loosely based on the 1964 short story of the same title, Swimmer dives into the psyche of a mid-century American man determined to swim home through his neighbors’ pools. Introduced to the story in the early stages of his relationship with his wife, Possokhov abstracted the tale, making it increasingly introspective and allowing narration and abstraction to coexist. The swimmer journeys as the day fades, navigating life’s currents and confronting fragments of memory, only to return to a home that no
Yuri Possokhov Val Caniparoli Claudia Schreier Christopher Wheeldon
longer exists. In this program, excerpts Lolita and Nighthawks are presented as vignettes. Ultimately, Possokhov reminds us that we are all swimmers — traveling through one another’s lives, absorbing and reshaping what we encounter as it informs our own identities.
Claudia Schreier — Atlanta Ballet’s Choreographer in Residence since 2020 — has a creative process in which music becomes the current that guides movement. “When I am creating, I start with the music,” she explains, “and I listen to it more times than you could’ve imagined… from that, I can then start to detail what movement qualities are coming out.” Collaboration becomes the means by which it takes shape. Reflecting on her first work with Atlanta Ballet, First Impulse (2019), Schreier noted, “the work that I do can’t exist without the bodies on which I create, and when those dancers are part of the creative process in a collaborative way that respects my original intent… that’s really the best you can ask for. I come in with set ideas knowing full well that they will morph and change.” For Schreier, choreography is not imposed but discovered and shaped in the studio through the dancers’ instincts.
Coming off her world premiere of The Rite of Spring earlier last season, telling the story of community and human struggle against nature’s inexorable forces, Schreier retains the same investigative mindset. Taking the title You Dig from activist and composer Julius Eastman’s poem Stay On It, she draws inspiration from a score that functions as a driving manifesto, a call to action, a praise of perseverance in the face of adversity, and above all, a joyful rebellion.
Christopher Wheeldon’s abstract work Within the Golden Hour, inspired by Gustav Klimt, alternatively asks the audience to turn their gaze inward. A leading figure of the Vienna Secession at the turn of the 20th century, Klimt is best known for works such as The Kiss and for his use of gold leaf, flattened perspective, and intricate ornamentation, dissolving the boundary between bodies and the decorative space surrounding them.
Wheeldon, an Artistic Associate of The Royal Ballet, describes his ballet as a journey through a diaphanous exhibition, much like the gallery of Klimt’s paintings that first inspired him. He presents shifting groupings, relationships, and vignettes for the audience to absorb rather than decode. As he explains, “The beauty of an abstract ballet is that the audience gets to find their own story, find their own truth in the piece… do not fight the beauty, because that is all this ballet is meant to be.”
Together, these works reveal the breadth of contemporary ballet. They span narrative and abstraction, bridging classical and contemporary styles all while exploring various genres from folk to jazz through a curated mix of world premieres and celebrated repertory. Through Possokhov, Schreier, Caniparoli, and Wheeldon, this program becomes a series of striking vignettes, distinct voices united by process and illuminated for a brief moment in time. Like the golden hour itself, it is fleeting, brilliant, and unfolding now.
* Program Notes by Margaux Nicolas
GENNADI NEDVIGIN (Artistic Director), in February 2016, was named Atlanta Ballet’s fourth artistic director in the Company’s then 87-year history. Nedvigin, born in Rostov, Russia, began his training at age 5. At 10, he was accepted into the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Upon graduating, he joined Moscow Renaissance Ballet as a soloist before he was invited to dance with Le Jeune Ballet de France in Paris. In 1997, while on tour in the U.S., San Francisco Ballet (SFB) Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson offered Nedvigin a soloist contract. After three years, he was promoted to principal dancer. During 19 seasons at SFB, Nedvigin won the International Competition’s Erik Bruhn Prize (1999). He has also received three Isadora Duncan Dance Awards (2001, 2010 and 2017). Along the way, Nedvigin was fortunate to work with many world-renowned choreographers. In addition to his dancing career, Nedvigin also taught master classes and staged ballets in the U.S. and abroad before becoming an artistic director. Recently, Nedvigin sat on juried panels at the World Ballet Competition in Orlando, the International Ballet Competition held in Jackson, Mississippi, the Japan Grand Prix and the Youth America Grand Prix. Under Nedvigin’s guidance, Atlanta Ballet has established the Academy training program, which includes a top-tier performance ensemble, Atlanta Ballet 2, representing his commitment to training for the next generation of professional dancers.
TOM
WEST (Executive Director) assumed his role as Atlanta Ballet’s Executive Director in 2021. West’s career in arts management spans more than 25 years, including leadership roles at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and American Film Institute. An actor and theatre director by training, West received a Master of Arts in arts management from American University and began his career in arts management at the Kennedy Center in 1997, where he rose to serve as Vice President of Development, overseeing all fundraising programs for the National Symphony Orchestra and the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and leading Farrell’s effort to fund a remount of Balanchine’s Don Quixote. In 2007, West served as Vice President of Development for the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 2010-2021, West served as the Chief Advancement Officer for the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles, where he championed the development of new programs to provide bridges to the film industry for under-represented storytellers in Hollywood. West established the AFI National Council in 2011, a community of philanthropists from across the United States who serve as champions for excellence in the art of film and opportunities for the next generation of great storytellers. Since joining Atlanta Ballet in 2021, West’s focus has been on Atlanta Ballet’s long-term financial health and prestige, expanding engagement in the greater Atlanta region and breaking down historic barriers to full participation in the artform of Ballet for all.
SHARON STORY (Dean of the Centre for Dance Education) joined Atlanta Ballet after a professional dance career that spanned more than 20 years and included tenures with Joffrey Ballet, the School of American Ballet, Stars of New York City Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and 10 years with Boston Ballet. Her Boston Ballet tenure included international tours with Rudolf Nureyev. In 1996, along with her role as ballet mistress, Story became dean of Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education (Centre), which has grown to become one of the largest dance schools in the nation. The Centre is nationally recognized for its programs and community initiatives. Under Story’s direction, the Centre achieved accreditation with the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD). She serves on the board of directors for NASD. In 2021, Story received Atlanta Ballet’s Dorothy Alexander Award. She received the 2015 Women Making a Mark Award from Atlanta Magazine and was featured in the Arts ATL Legacy Series 2018. Story is committed to providing a noncompetitive atmosphere and access to dance education that is shaped by the community’s needs, is innovative and inspires the commitment and excellence that are the trademarks of Atlanta Ballet.
ANGELA AGRESTI (Company Repetiteur) grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she began her training at the Jordon College Academy of Dance and later transferred to North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) for ballet. After UNCSA, Agresti danced with Cincinnati Ballet for one season before joining Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam where she danced a mix of classical ballets, Balanchine works, Hans van Manen repertoire, contemporary and neoclassical works, and new creations. Agresti has been featured in William Forsythe’s Second Detail, Alexei Ratmansky’s Don Quichot, Shen Wei’s Sacre du Printemps, and other notable ballets, such as The Dream, Paquita and Swan Lake. During her time dancing in Amsterdam, Agresti gained experience as a choreographic assistant for multiple choreographers’ stage, film, and festival works. She traveled to Riom, Switzerland, assisting works by Juanjo Arques and Peter Leung for the Origen Cultural Festival. She also worked with Peter Leung on the first ever virtual reality ballet entitled Nightfall. Upon returning to the U.S. in 2018, she assisted Annabelle Lopez Ochoa in the making of Tulips and Lobster for Kansas City Ballet and re-staged the work for the company the following season. Since joining Atlanta Ballet in 2022, she has worked with classical repertoire such as Don Quixote, La Sylphide, and Coppélia, as well as new works for Remi Wörtmeyer, Garrett Smith, Juliano Nunes, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Agresti has had the privilege of guiding dancers in Tu Tu (Stanton Welch), Classical Symphony (Yuri Possokhov), 7 for Eight (Helgi Tomasson), and Prodigal Son (George Balanchine), and has staged the North American premiere of Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon
RORY HOHENSTEIN (Company Repetiteur) was born in Washington D.C., where he began dancing at the age of six. Hohenstein furthered his training from the age of 12 at the Kirov Academy of Ballet. At 17, he joined Le Jeune Ballet de France in Paris. In 2000, he joined San Francisco Ballet as a member of the corps, being promoted to soloist in 2006. In 2008, he moved to New York, joining Christopher Wheeldon’s company, Morphoses, performing in its home seasons at New York City Center and at Sadler’s Wells in London. He spent a season dancing with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company before joining the Joffrey Ballet in 2011, where he continued to be a leading artist with the company through the 2018-19 season. Some personal highlights include dancing the roles of Romeo in Krzysztof Pastor’s Romeo and Juliet, Riff in Jerome Robbins’ West Side Story Suite, Fancy Free, Red Man in Lar Lubovitch’s Elemental Brubeck, The Roper in Agnes De Mille’s Rodeo, Levin in Yuri Possokhov’s Anna Karenina, Forgotten Land from Jiří Kylián and Wayne McGregor’s Eden/Eden. As a Repetiteur Rory has staged several works from choreographers Helgi Tomasson, Lar Lubovitch, Liam Scarlett, and Justin Peck. He has been a Company Repetiteur with Atlanta Ballet since 2019.
EDUARDO PERMUY (Company Repetiteur) was born in Cuba, where he began his training at the age of seven at Laura Alonso’s ballet school Pro-Danza, later joining the National Ballet School of Cuba and finishing at Miami City Ballet School under the tutelage of Nancy Raffa. At the age of 17, Permuy started his professional career with Miami City Ballet as an apprentice and he went on to enjoy a career of 18 years also dancing for American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, Joffrey Ballet, Ballet West, Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and appearing as guest artist with a few others. During this time, his repertoire included most of the classics and a vast number of ballets from the Balanchine repertoire, ranging from corps to principal roles. He also had the opportunity to perform ballets from Gerald Arpino, Robert Joffrey, Jiří Kylián, Kurt Joss, John Cranko, Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, Twyla Tharp, Helen Picket, Nicolo Fonte, Antony Tudor, Ulysses Dove, Michael Smuin, Val Caniparoli, Alberto Alonso, Benjamin Millepied, Leonide Massine, and Amy Seiwert. Throughout his career, Permuy feels blessed to have learned from figures like Nancy Raffa, Fernanado Bujones, Martha Bosh, Sir Anthony Dowell, Christopher Carr, Eddie Villella and Clinton Luckett. In 2021, he joined Cleveland Ballet as a director of repertoire, where he had the opportunity not only to perform ballet master duties but also was able to return to the stage as a character dancer, performing the roles of Don Quijote in the ballet by the same name and Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker. This is Permuy’s fourth season with Atlanta Ballet.
CLAUDIA SCHREIER (Choreographer-in-Residence and Choreographer, You Dig) has choreographed, directed, and produced for dance, opera, and film across the U.S. and internationally. She has created over 50 works for various companies and organizations, including San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Vail Dance Festival, Richmond Ballet, Guggenheim Works & Process, ABT Studio Company, Juilliard Opera, New York Choral Society, and New York Choreographic Institute. Her works for Atlanta Ballet include The Rite of Spring, Nighthawks, Carnivale, Fauna, Pleiades Dances, and First Impulse, named a 2019 Standout Performance by Pointe Magazine. Schreier and Atlanta Ballet partnered with the Cathedral Choir Society in 2022 to present Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette at the Washington National Cathedral. In 2021, Schreier released Force of Habit, a film commissioned by Guggenheim Works & Process and co-presented by Atlanta Ballet. She has contributed to programs at the White House, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, including the Kennedy Center Honors. Her work is the subject of two documentaries, most recently PBS’s Emmy Award-Winning “Dancing on the Shoulders of Giants” (Capital Region). Schreier presented her TEDx talk “Thinking On Your Feet,” at Columbia University in 2018. She is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award, Toulmin Fellowship at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, Lotos Prize, and Suzanne Farrell Dance Prize.
LARISSA DAL’SANTO Chapecó, Brazil
SEVERIN BROTSCHUL Glen Arbor, Michigan
CATHERINE CONLEY Chicago, Illinois
GEORGIE GRACE BUTLER Roswell, Georgia
BROOKE GILLIAM Boulder, Colorado
JESSICA HE Rancho Cucamonga, California
AIRI IGARASHI Gunma, Japan
DARIAN KANE Lincoln, California
MATOI KAWAMOTO Tokyo, Japan
JORDAN LEEPER Jamestown, New York
GUILHERME MACIEL São Paulo, Brazil
JULIANA MISSANO Lloyd Harbor, New York
KHULAN BURENJARGAL Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
SANTIAGO BEDOYA Medellín, Colombia
GIANNA HORTON-SIBBLE Hornell, New York
SOJUNG LEE Chungju, South Korea
VALERIA CHAYKINA St. Petersburg, Russia
TALISSON FARIAS Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
MILEI LEE Melbourne, Australia
Cali, Colombia
NEW Juneau, Alaska
JÚLIO
Araruama, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fortaleza, Brazil
Atlanta Ballet dancer portraits courtesy of Kim Kenney.
LUIZ FERNANDO XAVIER São Paulo, Brazil
MARIUS MORAWSKI Łódź, Poland
SAYRON PEREIRA Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
REI YAMAGUCHI Hokkaido, Japan
MIGUEL ANGEL MONTOYA
DENYS NEDAK Odessa, Ukraine
CARRAIG
ÁNGEL RAMÍREZ Trinidad, Cuba
MIKAELA SANTOS Manila, Philippines
ANDERSON SOUZA Santo Angelo, RS, Brazil
MAYU NAKAYAMA Tochigi, Japan
SOPHIE POULAIN Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
PAXTON SPEIGHT Poquoson, Virginia
EMANUEL TAVARES
NICHOLAS YURKEVICH San Francisco, California
SANTOS
JONAS TUTAJ Chicago, Illinois
MUNKHJIN ULZIIJARGAL Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
RACHEL OLIVIA ZINMAN Montreal, Quebec, Cananda
creative team
VAL CANIPAROLI (Choreographer and Costume Designer, Aria). Val Caniparoli’s versatility has made him one of the most sought-after American choreographers internationally and is most closely associated with San Francisco Ballet, his artistic home for more than 51 years. He first worked under the Co-Directorship of Lew Christensen and Michael Smuin, and in the early 1980s, was appointed resident choreographer. He was appointed as a rehearsal assistant and principal character dancer under Helgi Tomasson’s Artistic Directorship where he continued to create such internationally performed works such as Lambarena, Ibsen’s House, Connotations, Aria, Double Stop, Foreshadow, Hamlet & Ophelia and Pulcinella and is currently working with the company under the new Artistic Director leadership of Tamara Rojo. Caniparoli has contributed to the repertories of more than 60 companies, including Finnish National Ballet, Texas Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, BalletMet, Kansas City Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Boston Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Smuin Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ballet West (resident choreographer 1993-97), Washington Ballet, Israel Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Singapore Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, State Theatre Ballet of South Africa, Grand Rapids Ballet and Tulsa Ballet (resident choreographer 2001-06). Caniparoli has also choreographed for the Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, and The Metropolitan Opera. He has worked on several occasions with the San Francisco Symphony and with San Francisco’s esteemed American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). Caniparoli’s full evening-length ballets include Lady of the Camellias, five different productions of The Nutcracker for Royal New Zealand Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and Tulsa Ballet (co-created with Ma Cong), Jekyll & Hyde for Finnish National Ballet and Val Caniparoli’s, A Cinderella Story choreographed to music of Richard Rodgers for Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Lambarena, one of his signature works, was featured on “Sesame Street” and was nominated in 1997 for the Prix Benois de la Danse for Best Choreography.
YURI POSSOKHOV (Choreographer, Dunayevsky Pas de Deux, Lolita, Nighthawks) danced for 10 years with the Bolshoi Ballet, performing leading roles in the company’s classical and contemporary repertoire. While performing, Possokhov studied choreography and ballet pedagogy at the State College of Theatrical Arts, completing the five-year course in 1990. He was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet for two years before joining the San Francisco Ballet (SFB) as a principal dancer in 1994. During his 12 years dancing with SFB, he began choreographing. Upon his retirement from dancing in 2006, he joined the artistic staff at San Francisco Ballet as choreographer in residence. He has created 14 ballets for SFB and continues to choreograph new works for the company each season. Possokhov choreographs ballets for companies worldwide. In 2015, his full-length for the Bolshoi Ballet, A Hero of Our Time, was met with critical acclaim, and the company invited him to stage a full-length ballet based on the life of Rudolf Nureyev that premiered in December 2017. For these two ballets, Possokhov received the prestigious Benois de la Danse Award, established by the International Dance Union. Yuri Possokhov is a frequent guest choreographer with Atlanta Ballet. His Classical Symphony, Don Quixote and Firebird are also part of Atlanta Ballet’s repertoire. You can learn more at yuripossokhov.com.
Photo by Chris Hardy
20 creative team
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON (Choreographer, Within the Golden Hour) trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1991. In 1993, he joined New York City Ballet and was promoted to Soloist in 1998. He was named NYCB’s first Resident Choreographer in July 2001. Since then, Wheeldon has created and staged productions for the world’s major ballet companies. Wheeldon is Artistic Associate of The Royal Ballet where he has created many works including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale, both of which were co-productions with The National Ballet of Canada. He has also choreographed for the Metropolitan Opera, created ballet sequences for the feature film Center Stage (2000) and Sweet Smell of Success on Broadway (2002), created a special excerpt for the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics and was the Artistic Director for Les Arts Decoratif’s Fashion Forward exhibit in Paris (2016). In 2014, Wheeldon directed and choreographed the musical version of An American in Paris, which had productions in Paris, on Broadway, and in London. Most recently he directed and choreographed MJ The Musical (2022), both winning four Tony Awards, including Best Choreography. The latter is currently on Broadway, touring in America, London’s West End (Olivier award for Best Theatre Choreographer), Hamburg, and Australia. His many other awards include an Outer Critics Award for Best Choreography and Direction, the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center, the American Choreography Award, the Dance Magazine Award, multiple London Critics’ Circle Awards, the Leonard Massine Prize, the Benois de la Danse and an Olivier Award. In 2016, Wheeldon was named an Order of the British Empire (OBE) and was made an Honorary Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
ABIGAIL DUPREE-POLSTON (Costume Designer, You Dig) came to ballet from a career in fashion design, after attending Savannah College of Art and Design. She designed specialty athletic apparel before transitioning to design for the stage. Dupree-Polston has worked in both ballet and opera, designing works such as Kin for the San Francisco Ballet, The Source for the Miami City Ballet, and various pieces including The Rite of Spring, Nighthawks, Carnivale, and Fauna with choreographer Claudia Schreier.
PETER MUMFORD (Lighting Designer, Within the Golden Hour). Mumford has created designs for opera houses, dance companies and theatres worldwide. Recent work includes: Falstaff (Greek National Opera); Dance of Death (Orange Tree Theatre); Grace Pervades and As You Like It (Theatre Royal Bath); Indian Ink, House of Games, Rock ‘N’ Roll and The Invention of Love (Hampstead Theatre); Roberto Devereux (Bergamo); The Promise and 4000 Miles (Chichester Festival Theatre); Boys on the Verge of Tears (Soho Theatre); Orfeo ed Eurydice (Hannover); Drop The Dead Donkey (UK Tour); The Pearl Fishers and Requiem (Opera North); Die tote Stadt (Düsseldorf); Peter Grimes (Paris/ROH/Madrid/Rome); Madama Butterfly (The Met, NY); The Mask of Orpheus (ENO); Fidelio (Glyndebourne); The Rake’s Progress (Grange Festival); Beauty and Sadness (Hong Kong); Don Quixote (Birmingham Royal Ballet); Corybantic Games and Within the Golden Hour (Royal Ballet); A Number (Bridge); Far Away (Donmar); My Name Is Lucy Barton (NY) and Three Sisters (National Theatre). Mumford has received Olivier Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Dance and Best Lighting Design for The Bacchai (National Theatre) and a Knight of Illumination Award for Sucker Punch (Royal Court). He is a double Tony nominee (2019) Best Lighting Design for The Ferryman and for King Kong (NY). He directed the concert staging and designed lighting and projection for Der Ring des Nibelungen (South Bank Sky Arts Opera Award) and Der Fliegende Holländer (Opera North); Otello (Bergen Opera) and Fidelio (Paris/Garsington Opera). www.petermumford.info
Photo by Benjamin Rivera Photography
creative team
LISA PINKHAM (Lighting Designer, Aria). Currently resident lighting designer for Houston Ballet, Pinkham has been designing lighting for dance for more than 35 years, working with classical, contemporary, modern and urban companies. Her lighting can be seen in the repertories of many national companies including: American Ballet Theatre; Boston Ballet; Houston Ballet; Joffrey Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. Internationally her work is included in the repertories of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Berliner Staatsballett, Wiener Staatsballett, and Singapore Dance Theatre. From 1991-1999 she was Lighting Director for San Francisco Ballet and designed the lighting for over 35 of the company’s productions. She was Lighting Designer for Alonzo King’s LINES Contemporary Ballet from 1994-2001.
BEN RAWSON (Lighting Designer, Dunayevsky Pas de Deux, Lolita, Nighthawks, You Dig; Associate Lighting Designer, Aria, Within the Golden Hour; and Scenic Designer, You Dig) is an Atlanta-based Lighting Designer for Theatre, Opera, and Dance, member USA 829. Theatrical/Opera design work can be seen at The Alliance Theatre (GA), Detroit Opera (MI), Florida Studio Theatre (FL), Glimmerglass Opera (NY), Utah Opera (UT), Atlanta Opera (GA), Theatrical Outfit (GA), Center Rep (CA), Aurora Theatre (GA), Actors Express (GA), and others. Dance design work includes choreographers Ana Maria Lucaciu, Troy Schumacher, Claudia Schreier, Remi Wörtmeyer, Bruce Wells, Danielle Agami, and Omar Roman De Jesus, as well as with Atlanta Ballet (GA), BalletCollective (NY), Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre (GA), Fly On A Wall (GA), and others. Rawson has also worked across the country as an Associate & Assistant Lighting Designer for San Diego Opera (CA), The Alliance Theatre (GA), Berkshire Theatre Festival (MA), Atlanta Opera (GA), Utah Opera (UT), Glimmerglass Festival (NY), Playmakers Repertory Company (NC), and Atlanta Ballet (GA). benrawsondesign.com
LEONOR TEXIDOR
(Costume Designer, Within the Golden Hour) has served as Costume Director for Ballet Arizona since September 2001, bringing a distinguished international background and decades of artistic experience to the company. Born in Puerto Rico, she developed an early interest in the visual and performing arts, which led her to pursue formal studies in textiles and costume design at the University of Barcelona in Spain. Her education there provided a strong foundation in fabric science, historical costume, and design craftsmanship that continues to inform her work today. Prior to joining Ballet Arizona, Texidor spent 25 years working for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at WIPR Channel 6 in Puerto Rico, where she served as Artistic Director. During her tenure, she designed and supervised costumes for a wide range of productions, including films, television programs, and popular soap operas. This extensive experience in broadcast media sharpened her ability to work under tight schedules while maintaining high artistic and technical standards. At Ballet Arizona, Texidor oversees all aspects of costume production, from design interpretation and construction to fittings, maintenance, and archival preservation. She collaborates closely with choreographers, designers, and production teams to ensure costumes enhance storytelling while meeting the physical demands of dancers. Her work spans classical ballets and contemporary creations, contributing significantly to the company’s visual identity. Her career reflects a deep dedication to costume design as an essential element of performance and artistic expression. Assistant Design for film include Warners Bros. La Coquito directed by Pedro Masó. Design for television include “Angélica, mi vida” (Telemundo International – NY, LA, Puerto Rico). Designs for advertising campaigns include Guastella Films, Gurdi Films. Designs for ballet include: Ib Andersen’s 2003 Chinese in The Nutcracker, Topia, Round, The Four Seasons, Rio, Redesigned tutu for Cinderella; Second to Last (Cerrudo), Within the Golden Hour (Wheeldon), Mambaz (Iovino), Akelarre (Iovino).
creative team
MARK A. ZAPPONE (Costume Designer, Lolita, Nighthawks) served Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) for five seasons as costume designer, shop supervisor, and wardrobe master (1983–1988). He then moved to Monte Carlo, where he managed costume shops for Les Ballets de MonteCarlo and Le Cabaret de Monte-Carlo, and subsequently continued on to Switzerland and Amsterdam with Holiday on Ice, and then back to Seattle to work with a variety of companies, including PNB. Zappone has collaborated with many well-known choreographers and designers, including Lucinda Childs, Maurice Sendak, Christopher Wheeldon, Kent Stowell, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine Trust, Helgi Tomasson, Molissa Fenley, Dominique Dumais, Kevin O’Day, Martin Pakledinez, Christopher Stowell, Yuri Possokhov, Paul Tazewell, Paul Gibson, and Nuno Corte-Real, among others. In addition to his many designs for PNB, he has designed for San Francisco Ballet, New York City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Spectrum Dance Theatre, Peter Boal Solos, and Wear Moi Dancewear of London.
WESTERN-LI
SUMMERTON (Pianist, Dunayevsky Pas de Deux) joined Atlanta Ballet in 2022 as Company Pianist, where he debuted with the company in Claudia Schreier’s Pleiades Dances, playing with the “fluid dynamism that paired well with Schreier’s richly varied stream of ideas” (Arts ATL). Later that year, he was featured in Arts Atlanta’s “Six Atlanta Artists to Watch” for his musical role at Atlanta Ballet. Since then, he has been a frequent soloist and collaborator with both Atlanta Ballet dancers and the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, performing in works such as Justin Peck’s In Creases, Cathy Marston’s Snowblind, and Ben Stevenson’s Three Preludes. Most recently, Summerton performed seven movements of Bach Keyboard Concertos with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra for Helgi Tomasson’s 7 for Eight. He has also served as both Orchestra Personnel Manager and Music Librarian for the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. Summerton has extensive experience in collaboration between music and dance, having played for numerous ballet companies across the United States and Europe. Originally from Bellingham Washington, he received his Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance with a minor in business from Portland State University. Summerton has since studied with renowned pianists throughout the Pacific Northwest including Judith Widrig, Ralph Markham, Kenneth Broadway, Anita King, Jean-David Coen, and Hwakyu Lee; as well as compositional studies with Renee Favand-See and Kenji Bunch.
For the full creative team behind this production, visit atlantaballet.com/ performances/golden-hour
Manda Wilhite, Senior Director of Advancement, Major Gifts and Board Liaison
Natasha Harris, Director of Human Resources
Dana Hylton Calabro, Director of Technology and Sales Operations
Sherren Sandy, Director of Advancement, Donor Engagement
Kelly Criss, Director of Advancement, Leadership Gifts
PATRON SERVICES
Francesca Frederick, Director of Advancement, Institutional Gifts
Megan Pearson, Patron Services Manager
Stephen Hall, Patron Services Associate
MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS
CENTRE FOR DANCE EDUCATION
Gennadi Nedvigin, Artistic Director
Sharon Story, Dean
Serena Chu, Atlanta Ballet 2 Repetiteur
CENTRE FOR DANCE EDUCATION
Gennadi Nedvigin, Artistic Director
Diane Caroll, Community Partnerships Director
Sharon Story, Dean
Kelly Tonina Cooper, Centre Administrative Director
Kelly Tonina Cooper , Centre Administrative Director
Diane Caroll Sales, Community Partnerships Director
Ansilla Bearden, Buckhead Centre Manager/ Summer Programs Manager
Kate Gaul, Buckhead Centre Principal
Mia Givens, Virginia-Highland Centre Manager/ Adult Dance Coordinator
Evan Rozier, Front Desk Manager
Nicole Adams, Virginia-Highland Centre Principal Ansilla Bearden, Satellite Manager
Brittney Flowers, Centre Education Associate
Academy Faculty
Faculty
Serena Chu, Anna Penny, Natalya Vyashenko, Kirill Zaretskii
Part-Time Faculty
Marlena Abaza, Shirley Bennett, Sean Bennett
Sophia Doctoroff, Patron Services Associate
Tricia Ekholm, Chief Marketing O cer
Kate Biddle, Group Sales Manager
Allison Kang, Director of Public Relations
Taylor Graves, Interim Graphic Designer
ADVANCEMENT
Brian Wallenberg, Video Content Producer
Nicole Pietro, Interim Chief Advancement Officer
Myredith Momongan, Associate Director of Group Sales
Brandon Brown, Senior Director of Individual Giving
Toni C. Vacinek, Associate Director of Marketing Communications
Nicole Adams, Alice Balhatchet, Ansilla Bearden, Shirley Bennett, Haley Brink, Darby Burgess, Serena Chu, Harmony Clair, Kelly Tonina Cooper, Kameron Davis, Nardja el-Shabazz, Kate Gaul, Ashley Gibson, Nell Heflin Goza, Jennifer Inman, LaToya Princess Jackson, Aaron James, Malik Jenkins, Caroline Kraehe, Sergio Masero, Loren McFalls, Arneshuia Nelson, Anna Penny, Chantia Robinson, Diane Caroll Sales, Roscoe Sales, Erin Smith, Jasmine Stevenson, Abigail Tan-Gamino, Grace Thompson, Jennifer Van Meter, Calla Vaughn, Natalya Vyashenko, Martine Weber
Accompanists
Kelly Criss, Senior Director of Institutional Giving
Ansleigh Brown, Individual Giving Manager
Zoey Fleck, Social Media Manager/Graphic Designer
Kathryn Gutierrez, Special Events Manager
PATRON SERVICES
MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS
Lindsay Smith, Associate Director of Patron Services
Tricia Ekholm, Chief Marketing Officer
Desiree Houston, Patron Services Manager
Fiona Shaw, Marketing and Communications Director
Mallory Hazen , Patron Services Assistant
Jasmine Martinez , Patron Services Assistant
Alane Marco, Design Director
Josh Reynolds , Patron Services Assistant
Tumi Akin-Deko, Communications Coordinator
PRODUCTION
Henry Woods, Manager of Marketing Strategy and Data Analysis
Dave Smith, Production Manager & Technical Director
Amber Times, Social Media Manager
Sicily Palms, Company Manager
Nicole Walters, Production Stage Manager
PRODUCTION
Jane Kuipers, Assistant Stage Manager
Kristin Kelley , Assistant Stage Manager
Nicole Walters, Director of Production
Jonathan Fries, Technical Director
COSTUMES
Jai Auzenne, Production Stage Manager
Colleen McGonegle, Costume Director
Abby Polston, Draper
Susan Carter, Costume Construction Supervisor
Abby Parker, Company Shoe Manager/Wardrobe Supervisor/Costume Technician
Chloe Gervais, Costume Technician
Maddie Simmons, Costume Technician
Ashleigh Dobrin, Finisher
Georgie Grace Butler, Diane Caroll, Kelly Tonina Cooper, Kameron Davis, Taia Galloway, Mia Givens, Jennifer Inman, Madelin Jamison, Courtney Johnson, Calla Kallina, Matoi Kawamoto, Stephany Kuzminski, Janan Mirza, Alyssa Myers, Arneshuia Nelson, Abi Pace, Andrea Pell, Chantia Robinson, Lay’la Rogers, Roscoe Sales, Ericka Shannon, Anderson Souza, Caitlin Spencer, Jasmine Stevenson, Abi Tan-Gamino, Emanuel Tavares, Rebecca Trionfo
Elizabeth Grimes, Aleksandra Korshunova, Yulia Rice, Gretel Rodriguez, Kyla Zollitsch
Centre Education Associates
Accompanists
Stephanie Kosarin, Yulia Rice, Kyla Zollitsch
Imani Austin-Edwards, Shannon Geary, Flora Mangio, Hui-Wen Peng, Kaitlin Roemer, Jada Russell, Samantha Schuermann, Emma Seif
Centre Education Associates
Atlanta Ballet Boutique
Anna Ames, Imani Banks, Daniel Gray, Sidney Hall, Megan Leach, Emily McAllister, Rania Mirza, Ava Price, Evan Rozier
Leslie Campbell Judge, General Manager Nardja el-Shabazz, Asst. General Manager, Atlanta Ballet Boutique
Atlanta Ballet Boutique
Louise Gordon, Retail Operations Manager
Alina Chaudhri, Boutique Coordinator
Concessions: Concession stands are located in the center of the lobbies. All sales are cashless - credit or debit card only.
Emergency Information: In the event of an emergency, please locate the nearest usher who will direct you to the appropriate exit.
Elevators: Elevators are located on each side of the lobbies on all levels.
Lost and found: Items are turned into Public Safety on the day of a performance. To inquire about a lost item, please call Public Safety at 770.916.2911.
Parking: Day of parking is available for $20 (credit or debit card only). There are 1,000 on-site parking spaces; 700 in a four-level deck and 300 more in a surface lot.
Restrooms: Located on house right and house left of all three lobbies. Family restrooms are located on house right of all three lobbies. Mobility-impaired patrons may use any of our restrooms.
Smoking: Smoking, vaping and e-cigarettes are prohibited inside the building.
Special assistance: Persons requiring access assistance are asked to contact the Ticketmaster at 800-982-2787 for advance arrangements. Audio clarification devices are available to our hearing-impaired guests at no charge. This is on a first-come, first-served basis. These are available at the Synovus Box Office. Wheelchairs are available upon request. All items require a form of identification to be held until the item is returned.
Prohibited items: The venue does not check items. Please visit https://www. cobbenergycentre.com/plan-your-visit/ prohibited-itemssecurity for more information.
ATLANTA BALLET REQUESTS
All patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket to be admitted to the performance. Please be aware that not all events are suitable for children. Infants will not be admitted to adult programs. Parents will be asked to remove children who create a disturbance.
Late arrivals will be seated in alternative seating until intermission when you can then access your seats.
We recommend arriving at least 45 minutes early so you have time to visit concessions and get to the seats you purchased. Doors to Cobb Energy Centre open 90 minutes prior to the performance. •
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Photography and videography of the performance is strictly prohibited.
Please turn off all cellphones before each performance.
Audio & video recording devices are not permitted.
Please unwrap all candies and cough drops before the perfomance.
