First State Ballet Theatre’s 2025-26 season ranges from the gothic and surreal to classic and contemporary dance.
The season opens in late October with an appropriately-timed ballet for the Halloween season - Dracula.
“It's actually quite theatrical and it's an exciting opportunity for the dancers to really delve into the gruesome and terrifying side of their personalities, which makes for a great performance," said Claire McGregor, the ballet’s marketing director .
The company is also bringing back two of its most popular yearly shows. November features Up Front on Market, which lets audiences see classical and contemporary ballet in an up-close intimate setting.
“You're not in the large theater. It's super intimate. You're in-studio with the dancers. You can see the sweat, you can see a little bit more of the work that goes into it," McGregor said.
December brings the company’s traditional presentation of The Nutcracker, now in its 25th year.
In the new year, the ballet brings back two modern works from its extensive repertoire in a February show called Dreams in Motion. The season closes in April with a Romantic-era classic - Giselle.
“[It’s a] romantic ballet with the long white tutus," McGregor said. "It's got some of the most iconic choreography and it's a dream role for any ballerina to be Giselle, because you've got to be so technically strong.”
Tickets go on sale on Monday, June 23 at 10:00 am.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
