Avant Chamber Ballet (ACB) has something for audiences of all ages. The Dallas-based ballet company is expanding its programming for its 2025-2026, adding a new series of family-friendly productions. ACB’s 13th season includes two distinct subscription series: The Classic Series and The Family Series. All performances of the season will be at the Moody Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District.
Reaching out to young audiences has become a priority for ACB.
“It’s really important to take children to see the performing arts for their imagination and creativity but it’s not easy to afford for a whole family to go. We wanted to do this series so taking your family to the theater is about the same cost as going to the movies,” said Katie Puder, ACB’s Artistic Director.
Expanding the season is a big challenge for the company.
“It’s close to producing twice the shows this season! It’s a huge step up for us, but we are growing a lot this year behind the scenes with new artistic staff and moving into a new studio that will let us have multiple rehearsals happening at the same time,” Puder said.
Jordan Fraker
Jordan Fraker
The season begins with The Nutcracker with Live Orchestra in December. Dancer featured is Jessica Zavala.
The season will begin in December with the holiday favorite that inspired the new subscription series.
“Last season we introduced Nutcracker: Short & Suite at Moody Performance Hall and it was a huge success. We got so much good feedback from families asking if we were doing this during the rest of the year. It was a direct response to demand from our audience and community,” Puder said.
Nutcracker: Short and Suite, a 45-minute, sensory-friendly version of the holiday classic, will be presented on Dec. 7. The first show of the Family Series falls on the same weekend as ACB’s production of The Nutcracker with Live Orchestra. This classic production will be presented Dec. 5 -7 and features conductor Brad Cawyer, the professional dancers of ACB, and a large children’s cast representing the best talent from local auditions.
ACB has big plans for Valentine’s Day. The Classic Series production is Rhythm & Romance, a series of ballets inspired by the amazing live music that will accompany the dancers, on Feb. 13-14. The evening will include George Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie set to music by Mikhail Glinka, Paul Mejia’s Cafe Victoria with tangoes of Astor Piazzolla, and Puder’s Sisterhood featuring music by Dallas-native composer Quinn Mason.
On Feb. 14, the Family Series features Peter and the Wolf with chamber orchestra. Throughout this imaginative retelling, each musical instrument represents a character and helps introduce the sounds of the live orchestra to children. Paul Mejia’s choreography will draw audiences of all ages into the symphonic tale, while bilingual narration is a perfect addition to the storytelling aspect for children.
On March 27-28, Avant Chamber Ballet will collaborate with Orchestra of New Spain for the first time for Pulchinella: Reimagined The program features two contrasting works: Igor Stravinsky’s witty, baroque-inspired “Pulcinella,” restaged in Mexico with colorful staging and costumes, perfectly capturing the Comedia del Arte characters and Manuel de Falla’s intensely theatrical and tragic “El Amor Brujo” set in the passionate heart of Andalusia. Both ballets will be world premieres choreographed by Puder and Fernanda Oliveira. The Classic Series will feature the full evening of two ballets, while the Family Series will be a one-act version Pulcinella Jr on March 28 with all the same dancers, costumes, and orchestra onstage.
“This is our biggest season year when it comes to music. Five of our productions include chamber orchestras. ACB has been a small part of Orchestra of New Spain shows in the past with choreographed sections of their operas, but this is our first big collaboration,” Puder said. “Pulcinella: Reimagined includes two world premiere ballets with new sets, costumes, choreography and the orchestra and vocalists on stage with us. The two ballets are completely different too: “Pulcinella” is a bright, comedic ballet and “El Amor Brujo” is a dramatic ghost story of love and death.”
Pulcinella: Reimagined is Avant Chamber Ballet’s first collaboration with the Orchestra of New Spain. Dancer featured is Mackenzie Bartlett.
ACB’s Classic Series wraps up April 25-26 with the debut of The Seasons with a live orchestra conducted by Brad Cawyer. Composer Alexander Glazounow’s music is given a rich, romantic interpretation by choreographer Paul Mejia. The ballet is presented as four tableaux depicting the character of the four seasons of the year. The shimmering score provides the backdrop as the season changes from icy winter to spring garlands, from spirited summer to vibrant autumn.
The final Family Series performance on April 25 features a live chamber orchestra with Puder’s newly rechoreographed Carnival of the Animals. Camille Saint-Saens famous score delights audiences with 14-movements danced by Elephants, Fish, Lions, and a Swan. Like all the Family Series performances, children can meet their favorite characters after the show in the lobby.
The new season highlights the company’s growth over the last five years.
“The pandemic was a hard time for all artists who work in live performance, but it made us reevaluate how and why we do everything. Coming out of that time, we really began focusing on making dance more affordable and relatable to our community, not just for the sake of art. Our free school and training program, First Steps, was born out of the pandemic and now teaches over 300 kids each year for free!” Puder said.
Learn more: Avant Chamber Ballet