City Ballet of Boston (CBB) under the artistic direction of Tony Williams, presents Ballet Banquet, an unforgettable celebration of dance, including stage premieres by choreographers Gianni Di Marco and Morgan Brown Sanborn. With dancers from City Ballet of Boston and youth dancers from the Tony Williams Dance Center, these performances feature six distinct contemporary works at the historic Strand Theatre in Dorchester, April 26–28.

The performances open with Ben's Trumpet, a vibrant jazz-ballet piece based on the children’s story book, Ben’s Trumpet, by Caldecott Honor Award-winning author and illustrator Rachel Isadora. Tony Williams and Rachel Isadora first met while they were both company members at the Boston Ballet, and have continued collaborating since, most notably on the setting of Ben’s Trumpet. The piece first premiered in 2009 at the Wheelock Family Theatre with sets by Charles Baldwin, who is re-designing his original sets with fabrication by Wooden Kiwi for this 2024 production, and costumes by Dustin Rennells.

Sleeping Beauty: The Awakening is an abridged version of the classic ballet choreographed by Gianni Di Marco, followed by Baba Ghanoush, choreographed by Tony Williams. Following are two stage premieres, The Gathering, choreographed by Gianni Di Marco, and Tableau, a three-movement work choreographed by CBB company member Morgan Brown Sanborn. The program also includes Slanting Sun, choreographed by Marcus Schulkind.

Alongside the CBB company dancers and youth dancers, guest artists for Ballet Banquet include ChrissyAnn Carpenter, continuing CBB’s partnership with Brooklyn Ballet; Joe Gonzalez, Complexions Contemporary Ballet company member; and Haissan Booth, South Carolina Ballet company member.

The performances, at the Strand Theatre (543 Columbia Rd., Boston, MA 02125), take place on Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 27 at 3 p.m.; and Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m. Tickets start at $20 and are available at cityballetofboston.org.

This program is supported in part by grants from the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, Roger and Rachel Brunswick, and the Cinnamon Fund.

Program:
Ben's Trumpet—choreographed by Tony Williams; set design by Charles G. Baldwin
Sleeping Beauty: The Awakening—choreographed by Gianni Di Marco
Baba Ghanoush—choreographed by Tony Williams
The Gathering—choreographed by Gianni Di Marco (stage premiere)
Slanting Sun—choreographed by Marcus Schulkind
Tableau—choreographed by CBB company member Morgan Brown Sanborn (stage premiere)