by Olivia Borgula

The Washington Ballet’s 2023-2024 season was announced earlier this summer with some highly anticipated productions, including Such Sweet Thunder, The Nutcracker, Jazz Icons, and Beyond Boundaries. The season showcases an impressive range of styles, highlighting the versatility of the company's dancers. The lineup features carefully selected contemporary pieces, ballet adaptations of Shakespearean classics, vibrant jazz tributes, and a colonial-themed rendition of The Nutcracker that is befitting of the nation's capital.

The season comes after artistic director Julie Kent left the Washington Ballet to lead the Houston Ballet. The search for a replacement is ongoing and will likely not be finalized until September or later. The company also lost nine dancers, with three retiring and six accepting other positions. The loss of Gian Carlo Perez and Adelaide Clauss, who performed principal roles, may leave opportunities for emerging talent. Despite experiencing a loss of nearly a quarter of their company dancers, the troupe delivered performances to packed audiences at CityCenter and the USA International Ballet Competition earlier this summer. These successful end-of-season achievements have helped maintain high morale as the leadership of the Washington Ballet grapples with challenges to rebuild their company.

The Washington Ballet’s season kicks off with a tribute to jazz legend and Washington native Duke Ellington. Nearly 70 years ago, Ellington recorded “Such Sweet Thunder,” a groundbreaking jazz suite inspired by the works of Shakespeare. The season's inaugural performance will feature excerpts from ballet adaptations of Shakespearean works set to the iconic score. The captivating pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by Sir Kenneth McMillan, will grace the stage alongside Sir Fredrick Ashton's The Dream, a ballet inspired by Shakespeare's beloved A Midsummer Night's Dream. Following these two choreographic legends, the audience will be treated to Brett Ishida's Macbeth-inspired piece titled Shall We Three Meet Again and Silas Farley's Dowland Dances, set to the music of the Elizabethan composer John Dowland. Such Sweet Thunder is scheduled to run from October 26th to October 29th at the Warner Theatre.

The Washington Ballet’s The Nutcracker is the second production of the season, starting its month-long run at the end of November. Self-described as “charmingly-D.C.,” the company’s interpretation of the classic ballet is set in 1882. It follows a George Washington Nutcracker who must battle King George III, the company’s spin on the Rat King, all the while traversing through cherry blossom trees and historical Georgetown streets. The production includes more than 100 dancers from the company and the Washington Ballet School. Similar to many ballet companies, The Nutcracker’s production generates substantial revenue, sometimes accounting for as much as 45% of the income. This year's production of The Nutcracker is a time-honored tradition and a necessary financial step, particularly in light of the Washington Ballet's efforts to rebound from budget cuts resulting from the impact of COVID-19.

In a city rife with jazz legends, it's fitting that the third performance of the season, Jazz Icons, pays another tribute to the music genre. The production features two anticipated world premieres by prominent choreographers Jessica Lang and Dwight Rhoden. Jazz, as a dance and style of music, will both be present as dancers fill the grand Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center. Jazz Icons, a nod to jazz history and trailblazing musical figures, runs Feb. 14 - Feb. 18, 2023.

In a preview for Beyond Boundaries, the final production of the season of the 2023-2024 season, a woman is draped in shimmering cloth and wielding claw-like fingernails. She wears a striking avant-garde floral headpiece, crowning her head alien-like — A true promise of mystery. The final production, curated by renowned choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, is a compilation of contemporary works containing experimental, contemporary pieces, including Ochoa’s acclaimed Delusional Beauty, originally commissioned for the company in 2019. Beyond Boundaries serves as a dramatic departure from the classical works presented earlier in the season. You can catch Beyond Boundaries from May 22nd to May 26th at the Kennedy Center.

Olivia Borgula is an undergraduate at the University of Maryland studying journalism and information sciences. She is currently pursuing arts journalism as her career path.