Twenty years as an artistic director of a major ballet company means Cincinnati has one determined boss at its ballet’s helm. In a position often occupied by men (Morgan is one of only five female ballet company artistic directors in the U.S.), she’s had to muster up the kind of creativity and innovation she once used as a ballerina and apply them to the dog-eat-dog world of business.
“There’s been an evolution of what’s valuable and what’s important, what we should be highlighting and how we make it happen,” Morgan says. “When I first came to Cincinnati, I had most recently been performing at the San Francisco Ballet, and I had this definition of what I thought ballet should be with these high-end choreographers.”
But after she arrived, she saw the blossoming renaissance of Cincinnati’s arts and culture scene and had the realization that the ballet needed to be a part of that excitement and energy.
“The Cincinnati Ballet was never supposed to be the San Francisco Ballet,” she says. “I get to go and explore young choreographers who have really great ideas and super ambition, and they’re not on the radar screen yet. I can bring them in and give them an opportunity to develop their craft. In the process of that, we get to redefine our art form. In my opinion, it’s easier to be small and feisty and open to ideas than it is to be a longtime staid institution.”
What she means by ‘feisty’ will be on display this weekend during Director’s Cut. The artistic collaboration involved is innovative and in tune with the global sharing culture in which our creative world now partakes.
The show features a selection of seven of Morgan’s favorite works, including pieces by world-renowned choreographers and two world premieres.
“Director’s Cut is a bit of a nod to the past, so we have really classical work and really knock-your-socks off pyrotechnic ballet technique,” she says.
One of Director’s Cut’s works is a world premiere of the Morgan-choreographed Patriotic Pas, a duet set to the music of Morton Gould’s “American Salute.” Another duet, this one an iconic pas de deux from Swan Lake, will be performed by two new Cincinnati Ballet dancers — Chisako Oga and Jose Losada — and two longtime dancers — Daniel Wagner and Sirui Liu.
The show’s second world premiere is an unnamed piece from choreographer Ma Cong, who last year completed an entire ballet for the National Ballet of China, set to the music of Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds.
“It’s like he doesn’t have a bone in his body,” says Morgan of Cong’s dance style.
Another of the featured ballets is Capricious Maneuvers, choreographed by Justin Peck, soloist and resident choreographer for the New York City Ballet, set to Lukas Foss’ “Capriccio” for cello and piano.
Cincinnati Ballet principal dancer Sarah Hairston and senior soloist Zack Grubbs will make the final performances of their careers dancing Selections from Raymonda, a classical ballet first choreographed by Marius Petipa — they will be retiring after Director’s Cut.
Morgan also brought in two principal dancers from the San Francisco Ballet, Sarah Van Patten and Luke Ingham, to perform excerpts from Yuri Possokhov’s contemporary ballet Fusion, set to music by British composer Graham Fitkin.
“For me, it’s an interesting link because so much of my background and my ideas about aesthetics came from my time (in San Francisco),” Morgan says. “So I love having this link to the San Francisco Ballet, and I also love that (Van Patten) is married to a young man from Cincinnati. I love this idea of linking and connecting. It’s something that’s of international quality, and yet it’s absolutely connected to our community.”
Morgan’s tenure seems encapsulated by the word “community.” It’s in the ballet’s mission, but it’s also apparent in all of Morgan’s efforts as she tries to make dance a vibrant joie de vivre that all Cincinnatians can find within themselves.
“The human body moving is so important in life,” she says. “Dance is connected, especially with the youth, to finding a certain confidence and taking your mind and putting it into your body. It gives you a different sense of admiration and respect for your body.”
She refers to the body as “this one vehicle.”
“Dance, for me, is really connected to those basic, primary human emotions and being able to convey them in ways that words cannot,” she says. “Maybe you watch it as an adult and you see this incredible physicality, and you realize (that) we human beings are capable of amazing things. I feel like dance really could be much more a part of the life here in Cincinnati.”
After Director’s Cut comes the rest of Morgan’s lineup. She always includes a family ballet each season, and this year it’s Coppélia, at the Aronoff Center for the Arts Oct. 21-23. Morgan calls it “charming and somewhat hysterical.”
With music by Léo Delibes and choreography by Kirk Peterson, its premise is that a talented doll maker creates a doll so lifelike that one of the boys in his town is smitten with it. His girlfriend? Not so much.
“It’s really funny and totally charming, and I’m excited about it,” Morgan says.
“We’re really committed to the youth seeing it, seeing dance and doing dance in those formative years,” she says. “It’s just so good for you.”
DIRECTOR’S CUT takes place at the Aronoff Center for the Arts 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. More info: cballet.org.
