About the Production
Three choreographies – three visions for a contemporary ballet. Visionary Dances brings together dance artists who have each found an individual approach to the academic dance and have taken classical ballet into new dimensions.
While Twyla Tharp was one of the first to unite the classical and modern worlds and whose In the Upper Room celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026, Justin Peck and Wayne McGregor are currently among the most important and sought-after choreographers.
The evening opens with Justin Peck’s Heatscape. Peck belongs to the most sought-after and highly acclaimed choreographers of his generation. For Heatscape he was inspired both by the differing temperatures of human relationships and the energetic streets of Miami. Together with the artist Shepard Fairey, Peck creates a fusion of ballet and street art.
Yugen* is an evocation of mercurial beauty through simple means. A term derived from Japanese aesthetic theory, the work presents and explores a mysterious profound grace through the relationships of eleven bodies on stage.Set to and inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s evocative Chichester Psalms, Wayne McGregor collaborated with ceramicist and author Edmund de Waal to create a pure aesthetic on stage.
“One of the greatest ballets of all time” is how The New York Times described Twyla Tharp’s 1986 work In the Upper Room. Tharp, one of the most important contemporary choreographers, broadens the boundaries of ballet and modern dance alike. Set to a score by Philip Glass, In the Upper Room unites a broad spectrum of movement: classical vocabulary meets athleticism, pointe shoes appear alongside sneakers, and raw power is combined with remarkable grace.
