April 10th: 7:30pm
April 11th: 7:30pm
University of New Orleans Amphitheater
Alumni Drive on UNO’s campus, New Orleans, Louisiana 70122
FREE ADMISSION
NOBT is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Tax ID #: 03-0498652
*Weather permitting. Any changes to scheduled outdoor performances will be posted on social media.
Join NOBT for an evening under the stars at UNO’s outdoor amphitheater, featuring NOBT company and trainees artists. Perfect for the whole family: Bring a blanket, snacks, and some bug spray!
PROGRAM NOTES
“Generation Dance” (World Premiere)
Choreographed by Oliver Halkowich, performed by NOBT’s trainee artists.
Carly Bartel, Eliza Fogdall, Kasey Fox, Farrah Johnson, Mary Wyatt Johnson, Regan Lamb, Chloe Puffer, and Quinn Ribka
“Evanesce” (Excerpts)
Choreographed by Gregory and Marjorie Schramel, premiered in 2021
Sara Falstad, Olivia Gobbell, Katherine Hanson, Drew Lenore Pearson, Hannah Wang Powell, Telmen Munkherdene, Jackson Rankin, Josh Reynolds, Isabella Schramel, Jo-Ann Sundermeier, Aaron Wiggins, Kaylin Wilson
Intermission
“Cinderella” (Pas de Deux and Fairy Variations)
Take a sneak peek into NOBT’s full-length ballet Cinderella, to be performed May 9-10th at the Orpheum Theater.
Spring Fairy: Danielle Belohlavy
Summer Fairy: Sara Falstad with Carly Bartel, Kasey Fox, Mary Wyatt Johnson, Chloe Puffer
Autumn Fairy: Gianna Corgiat
Winter Fairy: Katherine Hanson
Cinderella and Prince: Jo-Ann Sundermeier and Josh Reynolds
“Prodigal Son” (Excerpts)
Choreographed by Oliver Halkowich, premiered September 2025
Prodigal Son: Nikolas Gaifullin
Siren: Lily Mangiaruga
People from a Distant Land: Olivia Gobbell, Telmen Munkherdene, Drew Lenore Pearson, Hannah Wang Powell, Jackson Rankin, Quinn Ribka, Isabella Schramel, Aaron Wiggins, & Kaylin Wilson
Show Run Time: Approximately 1 hour with intermission
Street parking available along the horseshoe Alumni Drive off Elysian Fields Ave.
The Orpheum Theater
129 Roosevelt Way, New Orleans 70112
Individual Tickets: ON SALE
Mother’s Day Weekend 2026: Closing out the season is NOBT’s production of Cinderella, returning to the Orpheum Theater for the first time since its premiere in 2019.
With choreography by Artistic Director Gregory Schramel, this timeless and enchanting ballet will entrance audiences of all ages.
Lori Gordillo Photography
EARLIER THIS SEASON
The Civic Theater
510 O’Keefe Ave, New Orleans 70113
Saturday, Sept. 27th: 8:00pm
Sunday, Sep. 28th: 2:00pm
Season Subscribers will be emailed a 25% discount code for this production
Join NOBT in its season opener for a world premiere Prodigal Son by resident choreographer Oliver Halkowich, and “Cluedo” by celebrated choreographer Julia Adam.
Prodigal Son riffs on the familiar biblical parable. The son, in his desire to be free, asks for his inheritance and embarks on a journey that comes with its set of trials and tribulations. In his darkest hour, the son returns home in the hopes of returning to the open arms of his mother.
Cluedo, choreographed by Julia Adam, is based on the popular board game, Clue. Adam describes herself as an actress who dances, thus infusing character development in her choreography, as we see in this delightful whodunnit set in the Roaring Twenties. Using a medley of funky, goofy, tongue-in-cheek music, the choreography is chock full of surprising, crystal-clear, fast-paced patterns, with distinctive motifs repeated throughout.
Approximate Run Time: 1 hour 20 minutes including 1 intermission
Oliver Halkowich
Julia Adam
Oliver Halkowich grew up in South Florida. He performed in Miami City Ballet's first Nutcracker at the age of seven, fell in love with both Tchaikovsky and ballet and migrated west to train at the San Francisco Ballet School. In 2001, he began his professional dance career with the Boston Ballet. A year later, he settled on middle ground in Texas. He joined Houston Ballet as a Corps de Ballet member in 2002 and rose through the ranks to First Soloist, dancing 19 seasons with the company. He has danced a variety of classical, contemporary and character roles: Alain in Sir Frederick Ashton's the misunderstood stepsister in Stanton Welch's Cinderella, the jazzy couple in red in George Balanchine's Rubies and the bulldog sailor in Jerome Robbin's Fancy Free. He has also performed in work by Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Hans Van Manen, Christopher Bruce, Mark Morris, Ben Stevenson OBE, Justin Peck, Aszure Barton and Jerome Robbins, among others. Oliver has choreographed for Houston Ballet, Dance Alive National Ballet, Houston Contemporary Dance company, Mercury Ensemble, the Texas Contemporary Art Fair, the Blaffer Museum, Houston Cinema Arts Society and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Alongside his good friends and fellow dancers, Melody Mennite and Connor Walsh, he co-produces REACH, a platform for Houston dancers and choreographers to create new work while raising money for arts education. He debuted his first solo commission for Houston Ballet’s 50th Anniversary season in 2019, and choreographed NOBT’s production of “Romeo + Juliet” in May 2023 before joining the NOBT staff full-time in the fall of 2023. Oliver’s latest full-length creation of “Dracula” premiered May 2024 to critical acclaim, and he premiered several works for the company during the 25-26 season.
Julia Adam was born in Canada and began her early dance training in her hometown of Ottawa, Ontario. At the age of thirteen, she continued her studies at the National Ballet School in Toronto, graduating in 1983. Julia then spent five years honing her skills with the National Ballet of Canada before joining San Francisco Ballet in 1988, where she completed her illustrious dancing career. As a principal dancer, she gained recognition for her lyricism, musicality, and broad theatrical range, performing a wide array of roles under the direction of Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson. Julia retired from the stage in the spring of 2002. Upon retiring, Julia turned her focus to choreography, a passion she had cultivated throughout her dancing career. Her first ballet, The Medium is the Message, created for San Francisco Ballet’s Choreographic Workshop in 1993, received acclaim for its wit and distinctive movement style. This success was followed by many other works and led to commissions from various companies and earned an Isadora Duncan Award for Choreography.
In collaboration with composer Matthew Pierce, Julia created Night for San Francisco Ballet’s 2000 Discover Program, which was met with critical and popular acclaim. The ballet toured internationally, performing at venues such as the Paris Opera’s Palais Garnier, The Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden, and City Center in New York. Julia and Pierce continued their collaboration with Crossing for The Joffrey Ballet in 2001 and Reverence for Cincinnati Ballet in 2002. The success of Night led to further commissions by San Francisco Ballet, including Angelo (2002) and Imaginal Disc (2003), another collaboration with Pierce. In 2008, she created a rose by any other name for San Francisco Ballet’s New Works Festival, celebrating their 75th anniversary. In 2009, Julia choreographed her first full-length ballet, The Nutcracker, for Marin Ballet, and subsequently created full-length works for Diablo Ballet and Ballet Memphis.
With over 100 works to her name, Julia has choreographed for numerous prestigious companies, including San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada,The Joffrey Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theater and many more. She has also created and staged ten works for Ballet Memphis, where she served as Artistic Associate from 2010 to 2013.
In 2014, Julia co-founded Julia Adam Dance with her partner and husband, Aaron Lucich, a project that reflects their shared passions for art, community, food, and the natural world. She was named Performance Director and Resident Choreographer at Marin Ballet in 2022 where she teaches and choreographs for the students. Julia continues to choreograph across the country, earning critical acclaim while also teaching and mentoring the next generation of dancers.
Trailer: Cluedo first premiered with Colorado Ballet March 2020.
Julia Adam’s previous work with NOBT. “If a Rose Falls” (2008). NOBT also performed Adam’s “The Medium is the Message”(2011). David L’Hoste Photography
The Orpheum Theater
129 Roosevelt Way, New Orleans 70112
PURCHASE TICKETS
*Costumes Encouraged!
October 24th: 8:00pm
October 25th: 2:00pm
October 25th: 8:00pm
October 30th: 8:00pm
Back this Halloween season: Oliver Halkowich’s Dracula
“I sometimes think we must all be mad and that we shall wake to sanity in straight-waistcoats,” Dr. Seward bemoans, as he is pulled into a world of darkness.
Inspired by Bram Stoker’s novel, this ballet will go into the mind of our protagonist, Jonathan Harker, on his journey to Count Dracula’s castle and his inner reckoning with his own darkness and his love, Mina, who fights to bring him back to the light.
Using a mix of musical genres, this production will transport you into a world of seduction, lust, and forbidden desire and our eternal obsession over good versus bad.
Suitable for most ages. Please note: Use of strobe lighting at the end of Act 1 may affect patrons with sensitivities.
Approximate Run Time: 2 hours with one intermission
*COSTUMES ENCOURAGED: Have fun with it! Enter to win tickets to NOBT’s “The Nutcracker”. Winners announced on Halloween via social media.
James Shaw Photography
The Orpheum Theater
129 Roosevelt Way, New Orleans 70112
TICKETS ON SALE:
The beloved two-act ballet returns this December! Performed by the professional company and the charming addition of over 120 local children, NOBT will present 9 performances at the Orpheum Theater for the upcoming holiday season.
Come see this classic Christmas tale and experience the incredible talent that is New Orleans Ballet Theatre’s company of dancers, stunning sets and costumes, and the iconic score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The holiday season isn’t complete without The Nutcracker, and NOBT’s production is not one to be missed!
Approximate Run Time: 2 Hours with one intermission
Joe Lopez and Lori Gordillo Photography
The Civic Theater
510 O’Keefe Ave, New Orleans 70113
Tickets On Sale Now
A triple bill featuring 3 ballets:
A Suite Named Desire* (World Premiere choreographed by Donald Jones, Jr.) is a sultry, high-voltage dance work that examines what it means to desire—and to be desirable. Confidence oozes from every dancer, not just in the movement, but in the mindset behind it. Rooted in musicality, sensuality, and unapologetic self-expression, the piece thrives on interaction, nuance, and passion. Classical technique collides with jazz-inspired rhythm and finesse, creating a world where precision meets heat, and desire becomes both the fuel and the form.
*Featuring live music composed by Kevin Lampton for New Orleans Ballet Theatre
Sporting House & Naked Dance (World Premiere choreographed by Oliver Halkowich) is a new dream ballet that showcases the women of New Orleans Ballet Theatre. Set in the mythical world of Storyville at the turn of the 20th century, nine Muses inhabit a dreamscape between waiting and dancing, reality and reverie. As the pianist Jelly Roll Morton plays, the women move through a series of divertissements that range from the comic and amorous to the quietly tragic—a kaleidoscope of femininity, desire, and survival in a vanished world.
Pill (NOBT original work choreographed by Gregory and Marjorie Schramel) 1960 marked one of the most socially turbulent decades in American history. The choreographers were young children at the time and saw the decade through innocent eyes. Reflecting upon those times through years of experience and nostalgic reverie, "Where Were You When they Dropped the Pill" first premiered for NOBT June 2nd, 2005.
“Pill” David L’Hoste Photography. Advertising image courtesy of Oliver Halkowich featuring NOBT dancer Hannah Wang Powell.