Boston Ballet Kicks off New Program at South End Headquarters

It's true, ballet isn't appealing to everyone. But a new self-aware production by Boston Ballet at its South End headquarters hopes to change that by making ballet more accessible to all through a lecture-performance-event series.

The series, called BB@home, is designed to appeal to new audiences beyond the traditional ballet crowd.

 “We encourage the public to ‘re-think ballet’, and experience this evolving art form with an open mind," said Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. "“The BB@home series opens the door to audiences who may not have considered ballet accessible or relevant to their lives."

The series kicks off on Wed. Aug 29th at the 19 Clarendon St. headquarters with a preview of the Boston Ballet Company's tour to Helsinki, Finland this fall.The inaugural program will feature neo-classical and contemporary repertoire from the Company’s September tour to Helsinki with Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia, Jorma Elo’s Plan to B, Helen Pickett’s Tsukiyo, and William Forsythe’s The Second Detail.  

The second program, to be held in January 2013, will feature an interactive lecture on Boston Ballet’s 50 year history and 50th Anniversary. The third and final program of the season in June 2013 will feature a 50th Anniversary Tour Preview performance.    

The series will take place in Boston Ballet's newly renovated Studio 7, the grand studio where company dancers train and rehearse, which has been transformed into a 144-seat black box theater. 

The show runs Wednesday, Aug. 29 and Thursday, Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m.