NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- September 11, 2024 – Nashville Ballet, the largest professional dance company in the state of Tennessee, recently made its highly-anticipated UK debut at Ballet Nights in London, England. Ballet Nights featured world-class dancers, emerging artists, modern masterpieces, new creations, legacy works, live music and spoken word at a brand new location for the series, Cadogan Hall.
As part of the special evening, a brand new duet, LETO, created and choreographed by Nashville Ballet’s own Artistic Director and CEO Nick Mullikin, was premiered and performed by two of Nashville Ballet’s most prestigious dancers, Sarah Pierce and James Lankford. The work was scored by Maurice Ravel and was performed live by Ballet Nights’ in-house pianist, Viktor Erik Emanuel.
LETO was inspired by the poem of Henri de Régnier that Maurice Ravel gave homage to when he wrote this magical piece.
"Nashville Ballet was thrilled to partner with Ballet Nights for our London debut and our first return overseas in over 20 years," said Nashville Ballet Artistic Director and CEO Nick Mullikin. "Seeing our dancers share a stage with some of the biggest names in ballet was an honor. It solidified that we are on the right path as a company. We truly are building something special here in Nashville. Something that can resonate around the world. I hope this helps our audiences locally realize the value of this organization and appreciate just how amazing the Nashville Ballet artists are.”
The Ballet Nights event was designed to celebrate live music and dance, featuring classical ballet, neoclassical and contemporary dance.
“It was a huge honor to be entrusted with the very first London staging of a performance by Nashville Ballet,” said Ballet Nights Founder & Artistic Director Jamiel Devernay-Laurence. “Cadogan Hall audiences loved Nick Mullikin’s duet LETO which was performed by two of Nashville Ballet’s amazing dancers. Our virtuoso Ballet Nights pianist, Viktor Erik Emanuel, accompanied the dancers on Cadogan Hall’s Steinway with the lyrical piece, ‘Jeux d’eau’ by French composer Maurice Ravel. This exciting new development in partnering with Nashville Ballet at Cadogan Hall is also a statement of intent for Ballet Nights’ vision to create a free-flowing exchange of essential international voices for our audiences here in the UK, and for our developing audiences globally.”
ABOUT NASHVILLE BALLET
Nashville Ballet, the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee, presents a varied repertoire of classical ballet and contemporary works by noted choreographers, including original works by Artistic Director and CEO Nick Mullikin and other guest artists.
Nashville Ballet has announced its 2024-25 season lineup that includes the beloved classics like Dracula with George Balanchine’s Serenade, Nashville’s Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty, all choreographed by Artistic Director Emeritus Paul Vasterling. Season ticket holders' support helps to sustain Nashville Ballet’s artistic and educational excellence, accessible arts education to children and adults throughout the Nashville area and beyond, contributing to the city’s vibrant arts and cultural landscape.
Season tickets and packages, including select performances, and single-show tickets are now available through NashvilleBallet.com or by calling 615-297-2966 ext. 710.
Nashville Ballet and the second company, NB2, provide more than 55,000 arts experiences to adults and children annually through virtual and in-person season performances and Community Engagement programming. Nashville Ballet curriculum-based Community Engagement and Education Programs bring dance education to over 12,000 students in over 25 schools across 21 council districts in Middle Tennessee. School of Nashville Ballet provides exceptional dance training to students ages two and up.
Nashville Ballet receives public funding from Metro Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Contributions from local, regional, and national institutional funders, community partners, and hundreds of generous individuals provide ongoing support for Nashville Ballet’s mission-critical programs.
To learn more about Nashville Ballet, please visit NashvilleBallet.com.
ABOUT CADOGAN HALL
CADOGAN HALL is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a concert venue. A classic London architectural jewel, it was designed in the Byzantine Revival style by architect Robert Fellowes Chisholm and opened as a church in 1907.
Its fortunes declined towards the end of the 20th century until Cadogan Estates rescued it from oblivion. The newly named Cadogan Hall opened in 2004 as a state-of-the-art concert hall and the new home of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
ABOUT BALLET NIGHTS - One-Year Anniversary:
Jamiel Devernay-Laurence: “The September show marks a special moment in our story, as we launch Ballet Nights into an exciting new venue: Cadogan Hall Sloane Square. It has been a year of adventure and growth for the Ballet Nights team since our launch last September - fielding new ideas, experimenting and expanding into new spaces and with the support of so many exciting artists from across the dance ecology.
After opening the platform to more artists than ever before through our Ballet Nights Spotlight and New Voices programmes, we continue in our mission to reach more audiences for dance and celebrate artists at all stages of their careers. With our first international landing ahead of us in Australia later this month, the launch of our brand-new Masterclasses series worldwide, and the introduction of more international artists and companies into our lineups, we look forward to presenting many more Ballet Nights in the UK and abroad.”
For more information, please visit www.balletnights.com.
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