Artists: Mirella Costa Neto & Michael Caye; Photo by Virginia Trudeau
Ballet120: Defining a New Era of Dance
BY KENDALL HARDIN
Ballet120 pirouetted onto the Las Vegas arts scene in the fall of 2018, just a year before the pandemic whacked the world. Small but artistically mighty, the company is putting its fresh spin on classical dance.
Founded by dancer and choreographer Benjamin Tucker, this re-imagined company comprises a core team of a dozen highly-trained professional dancers from around the world who make Las Vegas their home.
The mission of Ballet120 is “to inspire, educate and give back through the art of dance.” The company’s overarching goal is to make dance more accessible to audiences through digital channels and unconventional venues outside the concert hall. In short, to deliver dance to the people in exciting new ways which are intimate, direct, imaginative, and fun.
The company is also laser-focused on creating new works and dedicated to collaboration, not only among its peer corps of dancers but also with local and national composers, choreographers, and artists in all disciplines. To date, Ballet120 has created over 40 new works, including ten new commissions with guest choreographers.
Breaking Through: A New Kind of Company
So, what is reflected in Ballet120’s name? The company started by creating short, original dance videos posted on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram to showcase performances of 120 seconds or less.
The dancers further “informalized the artform” by performing in contemporary dress against stunning architectural backdrops and breathtaking natural landscapes that characterize the Las Vegas Valley.
“There are many different ways to experience classical dance today,” Ben noted. “For many, it is a rare and unfamiliar form. But ballet doesn’t have to be scary. We want people to discover through our performances – whether live or recorded – that it is impossible to be bored!”
Ballet120 also accomplished a rare feat in 2020: they kept rehearsing and performing throughout the pandemic – appearing live in streamed performances in such local venues as The Space and MEET Las Vegas.
As a unique twist, they also like to mix it up with classical variations in concert – combining ballet and pointe with ballroom, contemporary, tango, and even tap and hip hop styles – offering audiences a range of styles within and beyond traditional ballet. Hardly boring or stuffy!
“The vignettes move quickly, like our brief attention span in a fast-paced world,” cited Emma McGirr, another founding artist member of Ballet120. “It’s five or eight minutes and then on to the next piece, without the lengthy repertoire and elaborate set changes of classically-staged story ballets. What I love most about our small, close-knit company is the peer collaboration and constant creation of new works. Plus the ability to keep moving forward during the pandemic.”
Like other members of Ballet120, Ben and Emma are principal dancers and guest artists who have performed coveted lead roles with established companies in such cherished works as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Dracula, to name but a few. As highly-trained athletes, company dancers have continued to rehearse during the pandemic twice a week in rented studio space inside the Summerlin Dance Academy, ramping up rehearsal time with guest choreographers as performance dates draw near.
Photo of Ekaterina Pokrovskaya by Elisa Terry
Inventing Imaginative Partnerships
One of the most distinguishing factors is Ballet120’s many community collaborations with local cultural organizations, musicians, visual artists, photographers, and video/film artists, as well as with composers, choreographers, and technology savants. “Our events are not just a recital,” noted Ben. “They are a full experience of dance enriched by other artists.”
One of the company’s first films, “Butterflies,” was selected to be screened at Concept, a Las Vegas dance film showcase. The company was also invited to perform in Ballet Tuscon’s annual show “Footprints at the Fox” in 2018 and 2019.
In early 2019, Ballet120 was commissioned to create and perform a new work set to original music for The Composer’s Showcase in Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
As COVID first hit in the spring of 2020, the company premiered a collaborative video focused on the quarantine experience, entitled “Daydreaming of Tomorrow,” which paired a solo dancer with virtuoso violinist De Ann Letourneau, concertmaster of the Las Vegas Philharmonic.
Despite the pandemic lockdown, Ballet120 was able to host a summer intensive via Zoom for young dancers, offering classes in ballet, pointe, and contemporary movement.
In October 2020, the company worked with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra to create a pop-up concert, “Sights and Sounds of the City,” to announce HSO’s 2020-21 season, broadcast from the atrium of Henderson City Hall.
Photo of Betsy Lucas courtesy of Ballet120
“It was our first experience doing a live-stream with the city as well,” recalled Sarah O’Connor, executive director of HSO, who also heads up Eat More Art Las Vegas and The Producers Alliance. “It turned into an incredible public-private partnership for all of us, as we discovered how to deliver our first shared performance online, given all the safety mandates of the pandemic. We’re already talking about ways we can partner together in the new season ahead – this time live on stage.” Two weeks later, Ballet120 followed up with a full concert, “A New Age of Dance,” live-streamed from The Space LV.
In May 2021, the company launched its first live evening of dance for audiences at MEET Las Vegas, starring eleven dancers in ten original works featuring ballroom styles, contemporary movement and tap, and a classical ballet repertoire. Before the concert started, local photographer-illustrator Elisa Terry delighted audiences with her extraordinary photographic montage that captured the spirit of Ballet120 dancers.
Most recently, Ballet120 launched a robust season finale on September 4 (2021) at the Nicholas Horn Theatre with a concert aptly tagged “Expressions of the Stage.” The performance featured premieres by three prestigious guest choreographers: Phaedra Jarrett, Caroline MacDonald, and Tristan Sosa, plus a new work by local composer Rylan Leo Helmuth—all complementing the company’s signature style directed by Benjamin Tucker. With a program packed with past audience favorites and excerpts from the classics (and a few surprises thrown in for fun), the company toasted the end of its 2020-21 season and welcomed next year’s kick-off in September.
Art of the Dance in a New Era
“I am amazed at what Ballet120 has done for its dancers, as well as for local choreographers and venues,” declared Marcus Bugler, an ardent supporter and himself an accomplished dancer with a resume stretching from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to Cirque du Soleil in Sin City, where he helped launch “O” and “Zumanity.”
Photo of Betsy Lucas by Elisa Terry
“Ballet120 has created a home base for the dancers, which I consider the company’s core strength,” Marcus explained. “Their performances are a breath of fresh air in how they mix it up and forge experiences that wow their audiences.”
No doubt Ballet120’s use of short social media blasts provides a natural magnet for younger audiences who are online aficionados. But Erin Augustein, Executive Director of the Schrader Youth Ballet Company in Parkersburg, West Virginia (where she and Emma both studied ballet as girls), offers an expanded point of view.
“In no way does the technology angle make the dance experience any less valid. I think it might actually expose older audiences to new insights and content, who up until now have only experienced classical ballet in a large-scale audience venue.
“We’ve been very supportive and proud of Ballet120’s pioneering efforts. We’ve bought company t-shirts and organized watch parties for Zoom concerts for our students. As a member of the National Society of Arts & Letters, I helped Ballet120 become the subject of one of the Society’s featured lectures on today’s expectations and standards for professional dancers on and off stage.”
Photo of Ekaterina Pokrovskaya courtesy of Ballet120
While many established dance companies have shuttered their operation until late 2021 – or indefinitely until the virus stops surging – Ballet120 remains on its toes. “We are continuing the art of the dance in a new era of dance,” underscored Rachel Nelson, another of Ballet120’s inaugural artists.
“We keep moving forward and work with what we have to create new concepts and new performances. All of us love the artistic freedom and collaborative environment of a small company. We trust the vision that Ben has shaped.”
During these darkest times, Ballet120 has pioneered a new community of dance in the heart of Las Vegas – one that pulses with shiny new works and ingenious partnerships. A company that has embraced new technology and unconventional venues to make ballet affordable, accessible, and anything but boring to today’s audiences.
“As we continue to break down barriers and partner with kindred spirits, Ballet120 is firmly grounded in the local community,” states Ben. “No matter where we travel to perform, Las Vegas will always be our home.”
Give Ballet120 a whirl at the company website: ballet120.org;
Facebook: @Ballet120; and Instagram: @_ballet120
Photo of Michael Caye courtesy of Ballet120
