Join us for BalletCollective's 2025 Fall Season at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, featuring works by Troy Schumacher, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, and others.
The Woods is Ludwig-Leone and Schumacher’s newest and perhaps most ambitious collaboration yet: exploding the rich musical universe of San Fermin’s catalogue across an enveloping set designed by Jason Ardizzone-West (Redwood, The Weeknd, Dua Lipa). The set is visually inspired by an original sculpture by Ardizzone-West: a fractured frame with a snow white surface, belying something blood red and alive beneath. Featuring a cast of 17 dancers and singers moving freely across multiple stages and amongst the audience, the set becomes a living, breathing entity, while the band, situated throughout the space, puts the audience inside the music-making. Costumes by CFDA Award-winning fashion designer Elena Velez conjure a mythic dreamscape where fantasy and reality blur over the course of the 75 minute show.
In this production, the woods become a gathering place for searching souls awaiting a chance for change. Held together by this fragile connection, everyone who enters sees their own desires and fears written across the enchanted space, and as the sun sets, they are drawn deeper into a magical and sometimes perilous world.
The music of San Fermin, lauded for its “knack for simultaneously expressing beauty and crisis,” lends itself to this expansive setting and theatrical treatment. What is the role of storytelling—and songwriting—in a constantly shifting, often terrifying reality? The Woods celebrates the alchemical power of music and dance to transform fear and loss into life-affirming and communal experiences: in a world that is always in motion, we must resolve to love.
In this spirit, The Woods is meant to be undertaken in a crowd. Drawing on elements of a live rock concert, theater, and contemporary dance, The Woods promises to be a singular and unforgettable event.
Preview The Woods at New York Stage and Film prior to its world premiere performances at Pioneer Works.
Saturday, July 26 at 8pm and Sunday, July 27 at 3pm at Marist College
“The music of THE WOODS is as smart as it is sexy, and the athletic choreography and vision to create an immersive experience for the audience will make this a must-see event,” said Ian Belknap, Artistic Director of New York Stage and Film. Listen to “The Woods” by San Fermin on Spotify or Apple Music.
Founded in 2010 by acclaimed choreographer, director, and New York City Ballet soloist Troy Schumacher, arts nonprofit BalletCollective asks not what ballet is, but what it can be. By partnering with both emerging and established art makers and thought leaders, they use a deeply collaborative, signature process to make forward-thinking ballet-based works. This long-anticipated BalletCollective presentation incorporates work by dancer-choreographers and Georgia natives Gabrielle Lamb and Artistic Director Troy Schumacher. This program features scores by composers Caleb Burhans, Phong Tran and Julianna Barwick and pieces from collaborations with artist and MacArthur Fellow Trevor Paglen, game developer Samantha Lee, Chilean installation artist Sergio Mora Diaz and science fiction writer Ken Liu. Anchored by Schumacher’s Translation, the program takes the audience through several styles of ballet.
Works by Troy on the program: Translation and The World We Left Behind
WORKS & PROCESS AT THE GUGGENHEIM:
THE NIGHT FALLS
Monday, January 13 at 7:00 PM
The Guggenheim at 1071 5th Ave
Tickets: $25 - $65+
See members of the original cast perform excerpts from BalletCollective's acclaimed dance-driven work of music theater, The Night Falls—named a "Best of 2023" by The New York Times!—interspersed with a moderated discussion with two of its co-creators, Troy Schumacher and Ellis Ludwig-Leone, led by Mena Mark Hanna, General Director and CEO of Spoleto USA.
BalletCollective’s 2024 season THE ENTRANCE IS THE EXIT will feature two world premiere ballets, including one by Troy, and a revival of his acclaimed 2023 collaboration with composer Phong Tran and tabletop role-playing game designer Samantha Leigh, The World We Left Behind, all of which creatively inspect the duality of change and the connections between endings and beginnings as interpreted by leaders in fields ranging from architecture to ballet to contemporary music to visual art.
All performances feature live musical accompaniment and a cast of dancers from the New York City Ballet.
balletcollective.com/tickets
Founded in 2010 by acclaimed choreographer, director, and New York City Ballet soloist Troy Schumacher, arts nonprofit BalletCollective asks not what ballet is, but what it can be—partnering with both emerging and established art makers and thought leaders using its deeply collaborative, signature process to make forward-thinking ballet-based works.
BalletCollective exclusively performs original, commissioned work. By its nature, it consists of a rotating group of artists and collaborators—over 280 to date—and with each new "Collective" new ideas, new challenges, and ultimately, new forms of expression emerge. BalletCollective has produced 23 original ballets with commissioned music, including two full-length works. Its most recent full-length work, The Night Falls (2023), was named a "Best of 2023" by The New York Times.
DANCERS
Dominika Afanasenkov*
Devin Alberda*
Olivia Boisson
Preston Chamblee*
David Gabriel*
Ashley Hod*
Alexa Maxwell
Kennedy Targosz*
Andrew Veyette
Sebastián Villarini-Vélez*
Kloe Walker
*Danced with BalletCollective in prior season(s)
All dancers from the New York City Ballet.
MUSICIANS
The Westerlies
Bergamot Quartet with Special Guests
Phong Tran
“ingenious, gorgeous” - The New Yorker
The studio album of the original cast of The Night Falls is now available on all streaming platforms and available for consideration for Best Opera Recording.
https://orcd.co/the-night-falls
Live performances October 31-November 2 at Trinity Commons. All performances sold out. Join the FREE STREAMING EVENT NOV 2-8 at balletcollective.com/live
THE WORLD WE LEFT BEHIND (WORLD PREMIERE)
Choreography by Troy Schumacher
Music composed and performed by Phong Tran
Inspired by a custom tabletop role-playing game by Samantha Leigh
Lighting by Ben Rawson
26 MIN
FREE STREAMING EVENT NOV 2-8 at balletcollective.com/live
BalletCollective’s 2023 season explores what happens when collaborating arts work together to investigate the outsize role chance has in life and art—and how much things out of our control can directly influence the creative process, even when meticulously crafted and planned.
Workshop performances of The World We Left Behind at Millbrook School
In his first time working for a college/university, Troy will stage All That We See his 2014 collaboration with painter David Salle and composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone for the dance department’s spring concert for a cast of 11 dancers.
book and lyrics by Karen Russell
music and lyrics by Ellis Ludwig-Leone
choreographed and directed by Troy Schumacher
DANCE, MUSIC THEATRE, OPERA | USA
February 2023
All across America, people on the brink of despair begin to have the same nightmare. A song will not leave their heads—dangerously beautiful music that lures lost souls to a mysterious grotto in Florida. With choreography that dramatizes the leap of empathy between bodies and music that channels the polarities of surrender and resistance, The Night Falls shows the visceral power of art to brace us against the abyss.
Developed and co-produced by BalletCollective, Inc. and PEAK Performances at Montclair State University. The Night Falls was developed during a Project Springboard: Developing Dance Musicals 2018 residency.
featuring the world premieres of “Forest of Shifting Time” and “The First and Last Light,” the first ballet performances in a gorgeous, new space in Lower Manhattan.
Tickets are available at balletcollective.com/tickets
composers
Augusta Read Thomas and Alex Somers
with choreography by
Bryn Cohn and Troy Schumacher
inspired by the artists
Olafur Eliasson and Douglas Fitch
including dancers from
New York City Ballet and Martha Graham
and live music performed by
Alex Somers with Wordless Music Orchestra and Akropolis Reed Quintet
Two explorers enter an unknown place with no way out but forward, and find themselves among shifting trees, dancing dinosaurs, playful insects, and more. Choreographed and directed by BalletCollective Artistic Director Troy Schumacher and set to a vibrant, commissioned score by Augusta Read Thomas for the Akropolis Reed Quintet, Forest of Shifting Time features whimsical costumes and props by artist and designer Doug Fitch and lighting by Ben Rawson.
Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre
Friday, September 9, 2022 I 8 p.m.
Sunday, September 11, 2022 I 3 p.m.
Ferst Center for the Arts
Enjoy the world premiere of a ballet made in creative collaboration between a renowned choreographer, esteemed research scientists, and a celebrated dance company.
In what Georgia Tech Arts and Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre (TMBT) have dubbed the Neuroethics Grand Challenge, the two companies along with acclaimed choreographer Troy Schumacher are bringing to life through dance an innovative exploration of mechanical interventions into the human body and mind.
Our brain is the path to human experience. Interacting with the adaptive brain has the potential to challenge our self-understanding, arguably more than any other scientific discipline. The collaborative partnership between Georgia Tech, Emory University, and TMBT brings you to the intersection of neuroscience, technology, and ethics in a new work animated by the dancers’ exquisite artistry.
In addition to the creative team, the collaborators contributing to the work are Christopher Rozell, professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech, Karen Rommelfanger, director of the Neuroethics Program at Emory University, and Chethan Pandarinath, assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech and principal investigator at the Systems Neural Engineering Lab.
Commissioned in part with support from the Charles Loridans Foundation.
The past several months, we've been beautifully busy at BalletCollective planning exciting world premieres and developing collaborations with some incredible artists. As we prepare to enter the studio next week in Millbrook, NY, we are writing to personally update you on our pivotal and exciting plans.
Over the next weeks, BalletCollective will be in residency at Dutchess Day School, Millbrook School, and the Wethersfield Estate on June 20-30 and July 17-31 beginning the choreographic process for two world premiere collaborations with dancers from New York City Ballet, San Fransisco Ballet, and Juilliard:
NEW BALLET 1: Artistic Director Troy Schumacher choreographs in collaboration with award-winning composer Augusta Read Thomas and the clever, crafty designer Doug Fitch.
NEW BALLET 2: LA-based choreographer Bryn Cohn, "a brilliant mind" (The Dance Enthusiast), creates her first work for BalletCollective in collaboration with film and ambient composer Alex Somers and Icelandic-Danish sculptor Olafur Eliasson.
IN-STUDIO REHEARSALS and WORKSHOP PERFORMANCES
Sunday, June 26: observe an in-process open rehearsal and discussion with choreographers Bryn Cohn and Troy Schumacher.
Tuesday, July 26: attend a dancer meet-and-greet choreography event at the Wethersfield Estate gardens.
Friday evening, July 29 & Saturday afternoon, July 30: join us for two public performances of the first drafts of these new ballets, as we transform the gymnasium at Dutchess Day School into a performance space! Tickets will be made available in early July.
Following their widely-praised debut at SMF 2017, BalletCollective’s 2020 return incorporates work by dancer-choreographers and Georgia natives Gabrielle Lamb and Artistic Director Troy Schumacher. Lamb grew up in Savannah and is now New York-based; she won a Princess Grace Award for Choreography in 2014. A magnetic soloist with the New York City Ballet (NYCB), Schumacher founded BalletCollective to produce collaborative works that expand the boundaries of artistic disciplines and resonate with a wide audience. This program features scores by composers Caleb Burhans, Ellis Ludwig-Leone and Julianna Barwick, and results from collaborations with artist and MacArthur Fellow Trevor Paglen, acclaimed post-pop painter David Salle, Chilean installation artist Sergio Mora Diaz and science fiction writer Ken Liu. Anchored by Schumacher’s Translation, the program takes the audience through several styles of ballet.
“Addressing central questions about the genre of ballet—music, gender, body language, academic vocabulary—and without strain.” – The New York TImes
Lucas Theatre for the Arts
Approx. 2 hours
$37, $47, $57, $67
Join us for excerpts from three recent repertory works now available for touring!
Please email Michael@balletcollective.com for seating.
BALLETCOLLECTIVE CREATES AND PERFORMS FORWARD-THINKING WORKS OF ART THAT REFLECT THE WORLD WE LIVE IN, commissioning emerging and established artists and thought leaders to collaborate using an original process that results in ballet-based works.
Founded in 2010 by New York City Ballet Soloist and choreographer Troy Schumacher, BalletCollective exclusively performs commissioned, collaborative work that reimagines ballet for 21st century audiences and has collaborated with a roster of more than 50 acclaimed artists, choreographers, composers, musicians, designers, and dancers. BalletCollective has been presented by the Joyce Theater, NYU Skirball Center, Guggenheim Works & Process, Guggenheim Bilbao, Telluride’s Palm Theater, the Fire Island Dance Festival, and the Savannah Music Festival.
FEATURING TROY’S FIRST BALLET FOR THE MARTHA GRAHAM COMPANY!
Comprising the “most skilled and powerful dancers you can ever hope to see” (The Washington Post), Martha Graham Dance Company performs the iconic dance maker’s most celebrated work, Appalachian Spring, in concert with a Peak Performances commission, The Auditions by choreographer Troy Schumacher and composer Augusta Read Thomas. This new work has been designed to resonate with Graham’s classic, which turns 75 this year. “America’s foremost new-music group” (Alex Ross), the International Contemporary Ensemble joins the Graham Company for these world-class renditions of new music by Thomas and the original Pulitzer Prize–winning score for Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland.
FEATURING TROY’S FIRST BALLET FOR THE MARTHA GRAHAM COMPANY!
Comprising the “most skilled and powerful dancers you can ever hope to see” (The Washington Post), Martha Graham Dance Company performs the iconic dance maker’s most celebrated work, Appalachian Spring, in concert with a Peak Performances commission, The Auditions by choreographer Troy Schumacher and composer Augusta Read Thomas. This new work has been designed to resonate with Graham’s classic, which turns 75 this year. “America’s foremost new-music group” (Alex Ross), the International Contemporary Ensemble joins the Graham Company for these world-class renditions of new music by Thomas and the original Pulitzer Prize–winning score for Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland.
FEATURING TROY’S FIRST BALLET FOR THE MARTHA GRAHAM COMPANY!
Comprising the “most skilled and powerful dancers you can ever hope to see” (The Washington Post), Martha Graham Dance Company performs the iconic dance maker’s most celebrated work, Appalachian Spring, in concert with a Peak Performances commission, The Auditions by choreographer Troy Schumacher and composer Augusta Read Thomas. This new work has been designed to resonate with Graham’s classic, which turns 75 this year. “America’s foremost new-music group” (Alex Ross), the International Contemporary Ensemble joins the Graham Company for these world-class renditions of new music by Thomas and the original Pulitzer Prize–winning score for Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland.
FEATURING TROY’S FIRST BALLET FOR THE MARTHA GRAHAM COMPANY!
Comprising the “most skilled and powerful dancers you can ever hope to see” (The Washington Post), Martha Graham Dance Company performs the iconic dance maker’s most celebrated work, Appalachian Spring, in concert with a Peak Performances commission, The Auditions by choreographer Troy Schumacher and composer Augusta Read Thomas. This new work has been designed to resonate with Graham’s classic, which turns 75 this year. “America’s foremost new-music group” (Alex Ross), the International Contemporary Ensemble joins the Graham Company for these world-class renditions of new music by Thomas and the original Pulitzer Prize–winning score for Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland.
FEATURING THE WORLD PREMIERE OF TROY’S LATEST WORK, FARAWAY, AND AN EXCERPT FROM TRANSLATION
Titled “Faraway,” this season’s collective includes the work of artist Zaria Forman’s NASA commissioned flights over the Arctic and Antarctic, Trevor Paglen’s exploration into machine learning, photojournalist George Steinmetz’s paragliding through the world’s deserts, and science fiction author Ken Liu’s meditation on the awareness of the human experience of “now.”
On the program is an accomplished roster of collaborators, including performances by 24 members of The Knights, 8 dancers from New York City Ballet, and world premieres from composers Judd Greensteinand Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec collaborating with choreographers Preston Chamblee and BalletCollective Artistic Director Troy Schumacher and , who is the recipient of BalletCollective’s Commission for Developing Choreographers.
Additional contributions come from existing repertory contributed by choreographer Gabrielle Lamb and composers Julianna Barwick,Caleb Burhans, Christina Courtin & Alex Sopp, and Gyorgy Kurtag.
FEATURING THE WORLD PREMIERE OF TROY’S LATEST WORK, FARAWAY, AND AN EXCERPT FROM TRANSLATION
Titled “Faraway,” this season’s collective includes the work of artist Zaria Forman’s NASA commissioned flights over the Arctic and Antarctic, Trevor Paglen’s exploration into machine learning, photojournalist George Steinmetz’s paragliding through the world’s deserts, and science fiction author Ken Liu’s meditation on the awareness of the human experience of “now.”
On the program is an accomplished roster of collaborators, including performances by 24 members of The Knights, 8 dancers from New York City Ballet, and world premieres from composers Judd Greensteinand Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec collaborating with choreographers Preston Chamblee and BalletCollective Artistic Director Troy Schumacher and , who is the recipient of BalletCollective’s Commission for Developing Choreographers.
Additional contributions come from existing repertory contributed by choreographer Gabrielle Lamb and composers Julianna Barwick,Caleb Burhans, Christina Courtin & Alex Sopp, and Gyorgy Kurtag.
FEATURING THE WORLD PREMIERE OF TROY’S LATEST WORK, FARAWAY, AND AN EXCERPT FROM TRANSLATION
Titled “Faraway,” this season’s collective includes the work of artist Zaria Forman’s NASA commissioned flights over the Arctic and Antarctic, Trevor Paglen’s exploration into machine learning, photojournalist George Steinmetz’s paragliding through the world’s deserts, and science fiction author Ken Liu’s meditation on the awareness of the human experience of “now.”
On the program is an accomplished roster of collaborators, including performances by 24 members of The Knights, 8 dancers from New York City Ballet, and world premieres from composers Judd Greensteinand Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec collaborating with choreographers Preston Chamblee and BalletCollective Artistic Director Troy Schumacher and , who is the recipient of BalletCollective’s Commission for Developing Choreographers.
Additional contributions come from existing repertory contributed by choreographer Gabrielle Lamb and composers Julianna Barwick,Caleb Burhans, Christina Courtin & Alex Sopp, and Gyorgy Kurtag.
FEATURING THE WORLD PREMIERE OF TROY’S LATEST WORK, FARAWAY, AND AN EXCERPT FROM TRANSLATION
Titled “Faraway,” this season’s collective includes the work of artist Zaria Forman’s NASA commissioned flights over the Arctic and Antarctic, Trevor Paglen’s exploration into machine learning, photojournalist George Steinmetz’s paragliding through the world’s deserts, and science fiction author Ken Liu’s meditation on the awareness of the human experience of “now.”
On the program is an accomplished roster of collaborators, including performances by 24 members of The Knights, 8 dancers from New York City Ballet, and world premieres from composers Judd Greensteinand Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec collaborating with choreographers Preston Chamblee and BalletCollective Artistic Director Troy Schumacher and , who is the recipient of BalletCollective’s Commission for Developing Choreographers.
Additional contributions come from existing repertory contributed by choreographer Gabrielle Lamb and composers Julianna Barwick,Caleb Burhans, Christina Courtin & Alex Sopp, and Gyorgy Kurtag.
TMBT is proud to present an immersive work by Atlanta native Troy Schumacher, a dynamic soloist and accomplished choreographer with the New York City Ballet!
For his Atlanta premiere of "Translation", Troy will expand upon his 2017 version, which included a talented list of collaborators: original music by Julianna Barwick, light installation by Sergio Mora-Diaz, and science fiction writer Ken Liu.
"Its in the tension between the purity and the clamour of the everyday, that the theme for "Translation" was born." - Troy
Unique dance from a range of styles returns to the heart of the Hudson Valley when contemporary, modern and ballet performances join the lineup of this year's Hudson Valley Dance Festival on Saturday, October 6, 2018. This day of enchanting dance in Catskill, NY, is produced by and benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
The lineup for the festival's sixth edition includes performances by contemporary companies Bryn Cohn + Artists and Doug Varone and Dancers, and modern dance legend Paul Taylor Dance Company, as well as choreography by Marcus McGregor, Ray Mercer and Troy Schumacher. Additional performers will be announced after Labor Day. Performances are subject to change.
Tickets are available at DRADance.org
Works and Process and the Guggenheim Bilbao present Troy's international choreographic debut.
“fresh, unaffected, contemporary” – The New York Times
Enjoy new choreographies by BalletCollective, a non-profit arts collective based in New York, fruit of a collaborative process involving dancers, choreographers, and composers, presented by Works & Process at the Guggenheim.
Works & Process has been possible thanks to the Ford Foundation through the Institute of International Education’s Global Travel and Learning Fund (GTLF).
Choreographed by Troy Schumacher
Commissioned scores by Julianna Barwick, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, and Mark Dancigers
Conceptual artistic collaborations with science fiction writer Ken Liu, poet Cynthia Zarin, and photographers Dafy Hagai and Paul Maffi
Performed by members of New York City Ballet
“The collaborative process is everything to us. It pushes us to consider different artistic methods, to bend and stretch our notions of traditional ballet and the world around us,” said BalletCollective founder Troy Schumacher. “For this program, I assembled a group of my favorite BalletCollective works that deal with various perspectives of human connection. Vastly different yet equally poignant, the works inspired new combinations of movement and musical in way that we hope expands the language of ballet and resonates with a wide audience.”
The Wind Still Brings, Troy's third thrilling work for New York City Ballet features a new arrangement of William Walton's Piano Quartet in D Minor by Robert Miller, costumes by Jonathan Saunders, the recent chief creative officer of Diane von Furstenberg, and lighting by Mark Stanley. An ensemble work for fourteen dancers, all members of NYCB's esteemed corps de ballet, there are no leads, only community. The title comes from the phrase "Whatever the wind may bring," and serves as a sort of mantra: Whatever we are dealing with, whether it be chaos, disaster, joy, or hope, The Wind Still Brings and we have to face it together.
photo: Paul Kolnik
The Wind Still Brings, Troy's third thrilling work for New York City Ballet features a new arrangement of William Walton's Piano Quartet in D Minor by Robert Miller, costumes by Jonathan Saunders, the recent chief creative officer of Diane von Furstenberg, and lighting by Mark Stanley. An ensemble work for fourteen dancers, all members of NYCB's esteemed corps de ballet, there are no leads, only community. The title comes from the phrase "Whatever the wind may bring," and serves as a sort of mantra: Whatever we are dealing with, whether it be chaos, disaster, joy, or hope, The Wind Still Brings and we have to face it together.
photo: Paul Kolnik
The Wind Still Brings, Troy's third thrilling work for New York City Ballet features a new arrangement of William Walton's Piano Quartet in D Minor by Robert Miller, costumes by Jonathan Saunders, the recent chief creative officer of Diane von Furstenberg, and lighting by Mark Stanley. An ensemble work for fourteen dancers, all members of NYCB's esteemed corps de ballet, there are no leads, only community. The title comes from the phrase "Whatever the wind may bring," and serves as a sort of mantra: Whatever we are dealing with, whether it be chaos, disaster, joy, or hope, The Wind Still Brings and we have to face it together.
photo: Paul Kolnik
This fall at NYU Skirball Center, BalletCollective presents Translation, a performance that explores the rapid evolution of communication we’re experiencing today: the abbreviation of words, the mediation of reality through screens, artificial intelligence and machine vision, and more. The program will include the premiere of two new ballets choreographed by Troy Schumacher and Gabrielle Lamb, both set to original and commissioned scores that will be performed live for the first time, alongside two returning duets by Schumacher from the BalletCollective repertory.
