Last year, City Paper wondered how the Washington Ballet would fare after artistic director Julie Kent, associate director (and Kent’s husband) Victor Barbee, and five top dancers left for the Houston Ballet. Another left for the Boston Ballet and three other dancers retired. In the span of a few weeks, the company lost a quarter of its roster.
Thus, Washington Ballet billed its 2023–24 program as a “season of discovery.” On paper, the four shows looked spare. The season opener, Such Sweet Thunder, part of the citywide Shakespeare Everywhere Festival, premiered one new work—by Brett Ishida—to D.C. audiences but recycled three others from Kent’s tenure.
Notably missing was the company’s annual lavish production—such as Sleeping Beauty or ballet-ified Great Gatsby—that has been a hallmark of TWB seasons since before Kent’s time. Besides The Nutcracker, the 2023–24 run had no big story ballet despite the reality that these productions reliably draw crowds and drive ticket revenue.
It turned out the company didn’t need one. The Nutcracker pulled a per-show record of $3.4 million in ticket revenue, and Jazz Icons at the Kennedy Center received a rave review from the Washington Post‘s Celia Wren: “It’s ballet. It’s jazz. But really it’s another dimension.” In October, TWB named Edwaard Liang its next artistic director. Later that month, when he introduced himself onstage before Such Sweet Thunder, the crowd cheered beyond the point of politeness—they were excited.
Meanwhile, longtime company members such as Brittany Stone and Jessy Dick received more space to shine—Stone often in the principal roles she deserves and Dick in the soloist roles that eluded her before this past season. Andile Ndlovu, one of the company’s most experienced men, returned to the stage after getting injured while dancing in the spring of 2022. Newcomers, including 19-year-old Abigail Brent, brought a bright bounciness to the ballet.
As the 2023–24 season concludes, D.C. ballet fans are wondering what direction Liang will take the company. Will he continue steering the Washington Ballet to becoming a classical repertory company—the vision from Kent’s era? Will he return to Septime Webre’s grand, theatrical, crowd-pleasing productions? Will he find a new direction entirely?
The company’s 2024–2025 announcement doesn’t answer those questions but it does offer hints. The season, again, has just four shows: when WE take flight starts off the fall run at the Warner Theatre in October. The program compiles the “Stravinsky Violin Concerto” by George Balanchine (1972), “18+1” by Spanish choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansano (2012), and “Murmation” by Liang (2013).
Following when WE take flight, TWB will then perform The Nutcracker 35 times—four more shows than last year—between November and New Year’s, followed by transcenDANCE at the Kennedy Center, featuring one newly commissioned work by Jennifer Archibald. This part of the lineup echoes Kent, whose choices balanced ambitious, classic ballets with biannual programs of new or recent works.
But the closer brings Webre to mind. The season will wrap up with Liang’s choreographed creation ALICE (in wonderland)—simply called Alice when it premiered at Liang’s former company BalletMet in 2020. This show isn’t to be confused with Webre’s ballet of the same name, but Washington audiences might recognize the costumes and sets from Webre’s production. BalletMet acquired them from TWB when Liang’s work premiered in Columbus, Ohio, and now they’re coming home.
As Liang steps into his role, the Washington Ballet is at a juncture—audiences will be attentive, watching to see how he will navigate the company’s artistic history while introducing his own choreography and influences.