Dance for the Soul

Texas Ballet Theater makes grand comeback with holiday favorite and 3 world premieres

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker 2021

Texas Ballet Theater will open its 2021-2022 season with its annual holiday production of The Nutcracker.

Photo by Steven Visneau

Texas Ballet Theater is finally returning to its resident performance venues in both Fort Worth and Dallas, starting with the cherished holiday tradition The Nutcracker.

DFW's premier dance company tried to maintain a presence during the pandemic, offering a variety of virtual events and, most recently, an outdoor performance. In the 2021-2022 season, announced June 3, they will present a somewhat shortened schedule of performances at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, as well as Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theatre in Dallas.

The season will open with thee annual holiday production of The Nutcracker, choreographed by TBT Artistic Director Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., running first at Winspear Opera House, November 26-December 5, before moving to Bass Performance Hall, December 10-26. The beloved holiday ballet is back after being scrapped entirely last season.

Per usual, the company will trade tradition for whimsy for one night only when they present The Nutty Nutcracker for the December 17 performance in Fort Worth. The annual parody features zany characters and pop culture moments woven into the conventional Nutcracker story.

Dancers will next perform in "A Tchaikovsky Evening," a mixed repertoire production featuring George Balanchine’s iconic Serenade and two world premieres — Star Crossed by Stevenson and Violin Concerto in D by TBT Associate Artistic Director Tim O’Keefe. That production will run February 11-13 at the Wyly Theatre and February 18-20 at Bass Performance Hall.

The company will close its season with the world premiere of Stevenson’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, running May 6-8 at Winspear Opera House and May 20-22 at Bass Performance Hall. This ballet was originally scheduled to close the 2019-2020 season.

“With a return to the stage and three world premieres, this may be Texas Ballet Theater’s most thrilling season yet,” Stevenson said in a statement. “Our dancers are looking forward to performing again, and we can’t wait to welcome both familiar and new friends into the audience.”

Season package subscriptions are now on sale at texasballettheater.org or calling the Box Office at 877-828-9200, option 1. Single tickets for productions will go on sale August 2.

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Season Announcement

Kitchen Dog Theater unleashes immersive 2025 season in new Dallas space

Kitchen Dog Theater presents Safe at Home

Photo by Jordan Fraker

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Seven years after announcing it had purchased a building in the Design District, Kitchen Dog Theater is finally ready to move into its new home.

The third and final production of its 2025 season — the theater company's 34th — will take place all around the new "Doghouse." The other two productions will follow the immersive format at non-traditional performance spaces that was established last season.

With three fully produced events that each run the gambit from captivating and gutsy to heartfelt and hilarious, the monthly New Works Festival Staged Readings Series returns, as does the 23rd annual PUP Fest, nurturing high school talent from all over DFW.

First up is the area premiere of Will Eno's Wakey, Wakey, directed by KDT's artistic director Tina Parker and starring KDT co-artistic director Christopher Carlos.

"Is it now? I thought I had more time." These first words in Will Eno's play are spoken by Guy, a man who knows, like all of us on some level, that he is about to die. The play questions why we are here and the journeys that everyone takes to eventually get to the same place. Performances will take place at Expo Park, 840 Exposition Avenue, and run February 7-23, 2025.

Production No. 2 is full of mystery: The title and performance location will be announced soon and run in March/April 2025.

The Happiness Gymby Ken Weitzman closes out the season in August 2025 (exact dates TBA).

This regional premiere is a joyous, experiential event based on the science of well-being. Participants take part in a curated theatrical experience meant to boost their sense of happiness, joy, and feelings of connection. This one-of-a-kind project will be the soft opening to Kitchen Dog’s new theater and will take place all over the entire facility, giving patrons unparalleled access to KDT’s new home.

From March to July 2025, the 26th annual 2025 New Works Festival will showcase four-to-five staged readings of the newest and most exciting local and regional playwrights working in contemporary theater today. Each reading will feature some of DFW's most accomplished actors and directors and will take place at different venues across DFW.

For its 23rd annual event, PUP Fest will feature six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by DFW high school students, featuring student actors directed by area professional directors. PUP Fest is the culminating event of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players. Performance location is TBA, but the event will happen June 7, 2025.

For more information, visit kitchendogtheater.org or call 214-953-1055.

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