BalletX presents its 2025 Winter Series with works by Nicolo Fonte, Caili Quan, and Gregory Dawson

In the video introduction to Steep Drop, Euphoric, Nicolo Fonte described inspiration in the tension and drama of music by Ezio Bosso and Ólafur Arnalds. The title also refers to the roll of Marley—a type of slip-resistant vinyl dance flooring—used as a set piece and prop. Fonte, resident choreographer of Ballet West, created this dance for BalletX in 2019. The questions Camille Bacon-Smith’s review raised then about the symbolism of the prop remain, but Steep Drop, Euphoric is visually arresting.

The drape-like Marley contrasts with ethereal costumes by Christine Darch, and the movement combines groundedness with lightness. Pairs and groups share each other’s weight, then seem weightless in a series of duets. Francesca Forcella slowly unrolls the Marley, then rolls herself inside it. The stage fills with movement and the strings swell before the dancers lift Forcella at the finish.

An important choreographic voice

Figments of Song, the world premiere by Caili Quan, invokes a different kind of drama in celebrating joy. The work draws inspiration from popular music, as Quan explained in the video intro, with its songs coming from the AM Gold CDs that her mother played for years. This greatest-hits compilation boasts laughable late-90s infomercials. Yet Figments of Song captures the youthful energy and joie de vivre of timeless tunes by the Drifters, Benda Lee, and Ray Charles. Costumes by Darch in black, white, and red underscore the work’s pairing of classic and contemporary.

Figments of Song provides viewers a respite from endless bad news and wintry storms. Jared Kelly, Jerard Palazo, and Ashley Simpson are especially fun to watch, and Luca De-Poli and Forcella shine in a duet. This dance will make you smile and tap your toes, and it made me marvel at the power of art to lift spirits and bring people together, not unlike professional sports at their wholesome best. A freelance choreographer and former BalletX dancer, Quan stood out as a rising star when I profiled her in summer 2024. This piece establishes her as an important choreographic voice, one whose vision of connection and fun the world needs now.

“Incredible possibilities”

The program concludes with Sojourner, a world premiere by Gregory Dawson. Artistic director of dawsondancesf, Dawson is a former LINES Ballet dancer who now works in Alonzo King LINES educational programs. Pianist Luke Carlos O’Reilly composed Sojourner’s jazz score, and he joins a group of musicians to perform it live, alongside Arnetta Johnson’s trumpet, Yesseh Furaha-Ali’s saxophone, Nimrod Elab Speaks’s bass, Isaiah Witherspoon’s drums, and Joe Keim’s percussion on a raised platform at the back of the stage. Dancers physically interact with the platform, heightening the interplay between their movement and the music’s rhythms.

The “limitless creativity” of jazz music offers “incredible possibilities for collaborating with dancers,” as Dawson explained in the program notes. The combination of music and movement infuses Sojourner with vibrance. The piano brings both features to life, moving them through loops, ebbs, and flows before reaching a crescendo. Aswirl with movement, Sojourner takes a jazz-like approach to space and tempo. Groups of dancers cluster around the stage, each moving in different ways to their own tempo. Their bodies resemble the instruments fading in and out of the score, discrete but combining into a stronger, greater voice. Flesh-toned, fitted costumes by Martha Chamberlain expose the dancers’ limbs and resemble second skins.

Heartfelt world premieres

The 2025 Winter Series scores another victory for BalletX. The world premieres by Dawson and Quan lend the program the heart lacking in the 2024 Fall Series. Yet BalletX fans longing to see the emotive dancers sink their teeth into interesting roles must wait for the premiere of Jennifer Archibald’s Maslow’s Peak—a full-length dance inspired by Lord of the Flies—in May. The company’s timing was not as crisp as usual on opening night, though the average viewer may not have noticed. Like Philly’s other pro athletes, dancers perform the seemingly impossible and make it look easy.

At top: The BalletX company in Nicolo Fonte’s ‘Steep Drop, Euphoric’ in the 2025 Winter Series. (Photo by Scott Serio for BalletX.)