Six beloved dance companies span a thrilling range of movement and music—including Alvin Ailey’s iconic Revelations, Mark Morris Dance Group’s Burt Bacharach tribute, the all-male Trocks’ 50th anniversary tour, Complexions Contemporary Dance’s Love Rocks, Twyla Tharp’s Diamond Jubilee with Third Coast Percussion, and Malandain Ballet Biarritz’ Vivaldi-inspired The Seasons.
Our Season
Mark Morris Dance Group
Mark Morris teams up with musical collaborator Ethan Iverson for The Look of Love, a wistful and heartfelt homage to the chart-topping songs of Burt Bacharach. A towering figure of popular music, Bacharach is known for his soaring melodies and unique orchestrations influenced by jazz, rock, and Brazilian music.
This playful and vibrant work features original choreography by Morris and new musical arrangements by Iverson, performed live by an ensemble of piano, trumpet, bass, and drums, with Broadway star Marcy Harriell on lead vocals.
November 2 and 3, 2024
Dance
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo: 50th Anniversary Tour
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo brings its internationally beloved troupe of male dancers to Detroit to perform a brilliant combination of skillful pointe work and hilarious parodying of classical ballet favorites such as Swan Lake and The Dying Swan.
The world’s foremost all-male comic ballet company, this ensemble of the highest technically proficient dancers parodies the conventions of romantic and classical ballet while making serious statements about gender identity and equality. The Trocks will be accompanied by live music from the Detroit Opera Orchestra.
November 23 and 24, 2024
Dance
Complexions Contemporary Ballet: 30th Anniversary
Making their Detroit Opera House debut, Complexions Contemporary Ballet has awakened audiences to a new, exciting genre with their singular approach of reinventing dance and contemporary ballet. Led by dance icons Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson with stunning gifted dancers and powerful choreography, Complexions has been hailed as a “matchless American dance company” by the Philadelphia Inquirer and “game changing” by London’s The Guardian.
December 7 and 8, 2024
Dance
Twyla Tharp Dance: Diamond Jubilee
Twyla Tharp celebrates her 60th anniversary with a Coast-to-Coast tour featuring her Olivier-nominated Diabelli Variations, set to Beethoven’s masterpiece of the same name. The first and only choreographer to take on the intensely demanding and demonically complex work, Tharp makes visible the elegant humor and depth of the composer’s layered genius.
The program also features a new work in collaboration with composer Philip Glass, their first since 1986. A reimagining of Glass’s Aguas da Amazonia score is augmented with new music and accompanied live by Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion, performed on a unique collection of custom-designed percussion instruments.
This groundbreaking evening is not one to be missed and is sure to dazzle audiences with its stellar dancing and phenomenal musicianship.
February 1 and 2, 2025
Dance
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at The 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance. The Ailey company has gone on to perform for an estimated 25 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents–as well as millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings, and online platforms.
Today, the Company continues Mr. Ailey’s mission by presenting important works of the past and commissioning new ones. The program’s repertoire will be announced at a later date.
March 14 -16, 2025
Dance
Malandain Ballet Biarritz: The Seasons
Malandain Ballet Biarritz has become one of the most important companies of the French choreographic landscape. This original production combines Antonio Vivaldi’s famous Four Seasons and the little-known works of his contemporary and compatriot Giovanni Antonio Guido. Guido’s Seasons awakens memories of belle danse (baroque dance), which emerged in the seventeenth century from the ideal of governing one’s body and mind, and moving with grace, accuracy, and lightness. With Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, dancers are moved by a more natural, more human form of dance.
April 26 and 27, 2025
Dance
Season Brochure