BalletX Presents Sidd: A Hero’s Journey, a World Premiere Ballet

BalletX was founded in 2005 by Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan, and is led by Cox, whose tenure as Artistic & Executive Director has produced over 100 world premiere ballets by nearly 60 choreographers, a record “few companies can match,” according to The New York Times. Under Cox’s leadership, BalletX has been hailed as an “epicenter of creation” (Dance Magazine) and “place of choreographic innovation” (The New Yorker), putting Philadelphia on the map as an international destination for contemporary ballet.

Beaver Creek audiences will be treated to a world premiere ballet by Nicolo Fonte, co-commissioned by BalletX and the Vilar Performing Arts Center. Inspired by the classic Herman Hesse novel Siddhartha, this evening length work, underwritten by Sara Friedle and Michael Towler in honor of VPAC’s twenty-fifth anniversary season, will debut on March 25, 2023.

Choreographer Nicolo Fonte is known for his daring and original approach to dance. His work embraces a unique movement language as well as a highly developed fusion of ideas, dance, and design. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Fonte started dancing at the age of 14. He studied at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York, San Francisco Ballet, and New York City Ballet Schools while completing a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at SUNY Purchase. After a distinguished career dancing with Peridance in NYC, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal, and NachoDuato’s Compañía Nacional de Danza in Madrid, Fonte retired from performing in 2000 to devote himself to choreography. Since that time, he has created or staged ballets on 25 companies around the world. He has served as the Resident Choreographer for Ballet West in Salt Lake City since 2012, and the Resident Choreographer at Oregon Ballet Theatre since 2016.

Sidd: A Hero’s Journey features artistic collaborator and dramaturg Nancy Meckler, lighting and set design by Michael Korsch, costume design by Mark Eric, and puppet design by Sebastienne Mundheim.

“A wellspring of buzzing inspiration” – The Ballet Herald