HOUSTON BALLET Opens 2024 – 2025 Season with John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid and Stanton Welch’s Velocity

Houston Ballet’s 2024 – 2025 season makes a splash through the Company premiere of John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid (September 6 – 15) with a commissioned score composed by Lera Auerbach.  Originally staged for The Royal Danish Ballet in 2005, this dark, evocative interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s well-known fairytale incorporates the writer himself as the Poet, along with more unexpected twists sure to enchant viewers.  

The Little Mermaid
Choreographer: John Neumeier | Music: Lera Auerbach on September 6 – 15, 2024

7:00 PM on September 6, 2024
7:30 PM on September 7, 13, & 14, 2024
1:30 PM on September 14, 2024
2:00 PM on September 8 & 15, 2024

“I believe that Hans Christian Andersen wrote the story about his love for someone who could not return that love,” says Neumeier. “I made him a character in the piece evolving as he is creating it before our eyes. The little mermaid is really a mirror image of Andersen. He creates her in a sense as a manifestation of his soul.” 

Velocity (September 19 – 29) kicks off with three one-acts – Stanton Welch AM’s Velocity, created for The Australian Ballet in 2003 features rapid, intricate choreography that highlights the dancers’ precision and athleticism; Aszure Barton’s Come In, first crafted for Mikhail Baryshnikov in 2006, emphasizes the unique strength and versatility of male dancers through its powerful and eclectic movement; followed by Four Loves, a world premiere by Silas Farley inspired by his own life and literary studies.

Velocity

Velocity | Choreographer: Stanton Welch AM | Music: Michael Torke
Come In |Choreographer: Aszure Barton | Music: Vladimir Martynov
Four Loves (World Premiere)| Choreographer: Silas Farley | Music: Kyle Werner (Commissioned Score)
7:30 PM on September 19, 21, 27, & 21, 2024 and 2:00 PM on September 22 & 29, 2024

“I wanted to do something that was very much in the classical language,” says Farley. “Because that’s what I love choreographically, and that’s what the Houston Ballet is so masterful in bringing forth on stage.”  

Set to a full symphonic score commissioned by close collaborator Kyle Werner, the ballet has four movements representing different expressions and relationships revolving around love, with costume design by Cassia Farley, the choreographer’s wife.

More information and tickets available at houstonballet.org. 

Photos courtesy of Houston Ballet