BalletCollective returns to St. John the Divine for fifteenth anniversary season (photo courtesy BalletCollective)
OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 112th St.
November 3-5, $68.45-$137.75
balletcollective.com
stjohndivine.org
New York City–based BalletCollective is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary with “Opposites Attract,” a trio of new works, developed through the company’s 2026 Commission for Developing Choreographers, that will be performed three nights only, November 3–5, in the Crossing at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. The troupe was founded by Troy Schumacher in 2011 “to create and perform forward-thinking works of art that reflect the world we live in; BalletCollective commissions emerging and established art makers and thought leaders to collaborate closely using an original process that inspires ballet-based works.”
“Opposites Attract” consists of the world premieres of Noelle Kayser’s Brigid, Shane Urton’s The Wet Heat of Living, and Schumacher’s What If, for a Day, We Could Be Friends. Kayser’s site-specific piece features live music by composer Julia Kent and costumes by Amanda Gladu, using as their source art a scent created by perfumer Heather Sielaff; together they explore the elements of water and mist, fire and ash in a spiritual context, channeling Saint Brigid of Kildare and Brigid the pagan goddess, “one woman, one archetype, told through two different lenses,” according to Kayser.
The Wet Heat of Living has music by Paul Novak and costumes by Gladu, using as their source art original poetry by M. Soledad Caballero, while What If, for a Day, We Could Be Friends has music by Phong Tran, performed live by NOIS, with an original illustration by Matt Rota as its source art.
The works will be performed by Georgia Greene, Thomas Hogan, Mizuho Kappa, Keenan Kiefer, Brooke Lutz, Arayah Lyte, Maya Milić, Alexander Perone, Davide Riccardo, Alexsander Swader, and Ella Titus, a roster that includes several dancers from New York City Ballet and Juilliard. The gala on November 5 honors Claire and Chris Mann and begins with a piece created with immersive theater director Hope Youngblood Heck.
Be sure to get there early to check out such art installations as Nisha Bansil’s Unseen and Sebastián Gámez’s Ofrenda and take in the grand splendor of the cathedral.
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer; you can follow him on Substack here.]