The Nevada Ballet Performs The Wizard of Oz at The Smith Center

The Wizard of Oz celebrates the magical adventure of Dorothy and Toto. Experience an adventure of a lifetime when the Nevada Ballet Theatre presents its 2022-23 season finale and Las Vegas Premiere of The Wizard of Oz at The Smith Center May 18-21.

This astonishing journey to the Emerald City captures the heartfelt, daring, joyful dancing. Add fanciful costumes, stellar stagecraft, a superb score, and flying monkeys to the fantasy for an astounding performance.

Choreographer Septime Webre shines in the challenge to bring something new to the show using over 50 dancers. Septime is an internationally recognized ballet director, choreographer, educator, and advocate. He has served as Artistic Director for the Hong Kong Ballet, The Washington Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, and Halcyon, a Washington DC-based foundation, launching an annual international Festival for Creativity.

Costume designer Liz Vandal and her team created over 250 costumes for this production, including 112 hats using nearly 4,000 yards of fabric and 7,000 hours of sewing time. The 115 pairs of pointe shoes, some of them made of rubies, completes the many looks of the show. Puppet designer Nicholas Mahon utilizes the magical use of puppetry to bring the world of Oz to reality with the dancers as part of the fantastic illusions.

A Presenting Sponsorship by Light & Wonder makes this Las Vegas premiere possible. “We are extremely grateful for the generous support of Light & Wonder for our Las Vegas premiere of The Wizard of Oz,” said Nevada Ballet Theatre President and CEO Beth Barbre. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to align our brands creatively, and we look forward to working with Light & Wonder to bring a magnificent theatrical experience to local audiences."

“We are thrilled to partner with Nevada Ballet Theatre to celebrate our long-standing relationship with the Wizard of Oz franchise,” said Tracy Skenandore, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Light & Wonder. “Just as meaningful to us is NBT’s focus on educational programs for youth, and we look forward to finding ways to build upon this great work to continue fostering the arts and investing in diverse communities in the months and years to come.”

Adding to the excitement, over 20 students from Nevada Ballet Theatre’s affiliated school, the Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre, will be featured in the roles of Poppy Seeds, Grasshoppers, and Baby Ballerinas.

Nevada Ballet Theatre will close its 2022-2023 Performance Season with the Las Vegas premiere of Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz, with support by Presenting Sponsor Light & Wonder, May 13-21 at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets may be purchased by calling The Smith Center Box Office at (702) 749-2000 or visit www.nevadaballet.org. For this series of performances, no children under five years of age are admitted to the performances; all patrons must have a ticket regardless of age, and babies held in arms will not be admitted.

Nevada Ballet Theatre to Present Blue Until June

NBT’s mid-winter triple bill repertory will feature amazing works that will surely move any heart.

Nevada Ballet Theatre’s mid-winter triple bill repertory will feature unique works that capture love, heartache, hope, and romantic gestures. Blue Until June will be performed at The Smith Center, with two performances on February 18 and 19.

Blue Until June is a striking blend of renowned choreographer Trey McIntyre’s very athletic, classically based choreography and sultry, vulnerable vocals by the incomparable Etta James. Exploring the American archetypes of romantic love and the inevitable heartache in pursuit of such idealized aims, Blue Until June dives headlong into the fantasy we see on screen and hear in song.

Equally thrilling will be the World Premiere of Intimacy With Strangers, a new work by groundbreaking choreographer Sidra Bell, set to the music of Immanuel Wilkins. Bell’s creations demand of the performers both physical power and tender expressiveness and have been described as “brainy, exuberant and audacious.” (San Francisco Chronicle). Bell describes her process as intuitive, and collaborative, and emphasizes the integration of multiple design elements and languages. Her work combines design, media, and fashion creating a singular vision in contemporary dance.

When describing Intimacy With Strangers Bell said, “This new work is crafted for the viewer to reconnect to the tenderness and imperfection of human connection and communal moving. The dance is the negotiation of bodies moving together in moments of sensuality, support, and risk.”

NBT is honored to have her create a new work in its company of artists. The presentation of this new work by Sidra Bell in NBT’s 2022-2023 season is made possible, in part, with support from Dance/USA in partnership with the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

Rounding out the program, NBT will perform George Balanchine’s gorgeous ballet Allegro Brillante, set to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 3. According to the George Balanchine Trust, Allegro Brillante is characterized by what Maria Tallchief (the ballerina on whom the bravura leading role was created) calls “an expansive Russian romanticism.” The music’s vigorous pace makes the steps appear even more difficult, but the ballet relies on strong dancing, precise timing, and breadth of gesture. Balanchine said: “It contains everything I know about the classical ballet in 13 minutes.”

As a courtesy to our ticket holders, no children under 5 years of age are admitted to the performances.

Blue Until June will be performed at The Smith Center, located at 361 Symphony Park Ave., at 7:30 p.m. on February 18 and 2 p.m. on February 19. For more info, click here.

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