The Metropolitan Ballet Company, founded by former Pennsylvania Ballet standout Lisa Collins Vidnovic, is bringing some of the region’s most talented students to the stage Saturday, April 1, at 7 p.m. for a "Variations/Collaborations" concert at William Penn Charter School's Kurtz Center in East Falls.
The production will include premieres by Da'Von Doane, formerly of Dance Theatre of Harlem; Sarah Mettin, artistic associate at Metropolitan, and Maleek Washington, who won the 2022 Princess Grace Foundation Award winner for choreography). "We are excited and honored to perform 'Panorama' by the legendary choreographer Martha Graham," Vidnovic said.
Anne Souder, a soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company, has staged this historic ensemble piece for the company. Annabella Castellanos and Aisling Daly, students from Springside/Chestnut Hill Academy, will share the stage with Naomi Dean, a Germantown Friends School student.
The program features a diverse range of music and styles: Doane's classical piece is set to Vivaldi's Suite No. 2; Mettin's "Epitaph" features Philip Glass music; Washington's premiere, "When it rains, it pours," includes a contemporary score by Darryl Joseph. Graham's "Panorama," which debuted 88 years ago in Bennington, Vt., has a score by Norman Lloyd. Standout performers from Settlement Music School, The William A. Loeb Chamber Ensemble, and the Myer Schwartz Advanced Study Trio will also perform.
Maggie Gorman, creative consultant for Metropolitan, praised the hardworking dancers who balance school and ballet: "These extraordinary young women work diligently at school all day and then head to the ballet studio for classes and rehearsals all night, preparing new choreography for a live performance!"
Metropolitan has been a launch pad for brilliant choreographers including Jessica Lang, Kanji Segawa, and Tommie Waheed-Evans, as well as their 2023 artists. Metropolitan alumni now dance with the Philadelphia Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and other top trainee programs. In 2022, Metropolitan celebrated its 25th anniversary season.
Vidnovic founded the nonprofit Metropolitan Ballet Company to offer performance experience for pre-professional dancers. Named one of "seven local studios in America cultivating top talent" by Pointe Magazine (October/November 2011), the Metropolitan Ballet Academy is a classical ballet school established in 1996 in Jenkintown.
Before founding Metropolitan, Vidnovic danced for a decade with the Pennsylvania Ballet and served as ballet mistress. Throughout her impressive four-decade professional career, she performed numerous leading roles in classical and contemporary repertoire and collaborated with some of the world's most renowned choreographers.
Based in Jenkintown, the Metropolitan Ballet Company offers performance training for pre-professional dancers, scholarships, and outreach programs to foster a love and appreciation of dance within the community. The company will next perform alongside BalletX on May 5.
Saturday’s performance marks the first time Metropolitan has returned to Kurtz since 2019. The 2020 concert was canceled with just two weeks' notice due to COVID.
Tickets to "Variations/Collaborations" are $25 and available online at metballet.ticketleap.com. For information, visit metropolitanballetacademy.com.
