About

BALLET AUSTIN PRESENTS

HEART'S DESIRE

FEBRUARY 14 - 16 | THE LONG CENTER

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with excitement, elegance, and a trio of exceptional dances! 

Polyphonia, considered Christopher Wheeldon’s breakthrough contemporary ballet, pairs four couples to the spiky and complex music of Hungarian composer György Ligeti. The work is described by dancers as “the curtain goes up and it’s like being shot out of a cannon.” Incorporating this music made famous by Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 thriller Eyes Wide Shut, Wheeldon’s Polyphonia made its premiere in 2001 with the New York City Ballet.   

Stephen Mills' Desire finds passion and raw human emotion taking the spotlight. Featuring the exquisite music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, this breathtaking pas de deux is inspired by the challenging emotions of letting go. Performed in Paris, New York City, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, Desire returns home to Austin. Dance Magazine proclaimed the “… energy was high, the gestures crisp, and the partnering bold…a strong sense of aesthetic purpose…” 

The music of legendary crooner Tony Bennett provides the perfect soundtrack to Jessica Lang’s ZigZag. Recently created for American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Austin is the first company to acquire the work since its premiere two years ago. Lang worked with Tony Bennett to incorporate both his songs and visual artwork into her fun-filled dance work featuring 14 dancers. With a festive array of brilliant colors, a burst of polka-dots, and (of course) zig-zags, this upbeat piece brings together seven decades of Tony Bennett’s time-honored vocal favorites in a recording that also features a special duet by Lady Gaga. With costumes by Wes Gordon, creative director of the Carolina Herrera fashion house, this work brings together the worlds of theater, dance, and fashion. 

CHOREOGRAPHY | Christopher Wheeldon, Stephen Mills, Jessica Lange

MUSIC | György Ligeti (Wheeldon),  Arvo Pärt (Mills), Tony Bennett (Lang) 

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Event Details

• Date: Friday, February 14, 2025 - Sunday, February 16, 2025
• Time: Friday and Saturday 7:30 P.M. | Sunday 3:00 P.M.
• Venue: Long Center
• Website: https://my.balletaustin.org/overview/hearts-desire?_ga=2.180738724.249012827.1738005877-568633017.1738005877

Ticket Information

• Cost: $20.00 = $105.00

Presenter Details

• Name: Ballet Austin

Ballet Austin welcomes audiences near and far to participate in its “classically innovative” vision for the democratization of dance. Established in 1956, the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization has a rich history, featuring original, acclaimed productions and a commitment to creating access to programs. Ballet Austin owns and operates a combined training facility located in the heart of downtown Austin and is among the 15 largest classical ballet companies in the country.

From its home at the Butler Dance Education Center in downtown Austin, Ballet Austin and Stephen Mills, Ballet Austin’s Sarah and Ernest Butler Family Fund artistic director, actively engage the community, dancers, and audiences alike. The New York Times proclaims Ballet Austin “a company with big ambitions” originating work that is “absorbing.” Hailed by The Washington Post as “one of the nation’s best-kept ballet secrets,” Stephen Mills works closely with the 22 full-time professional dancers.

Ballet Austin has participated in international festivals including les Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationals de Seine-Saint-Denis in Paris, France, one of the premier modern dance festivals in Europe, and le Festival des arts de Saint-Sauveur in Montreal, Canada. In the summer of 2005, at the invitation of the U.S. State Department, the company performed in Italy and Slovenia. In 2002, Mills led the Company to the Kennedy Center to perform to seven sold-out houses of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Center’s Youth and Family Public Performance Series. Mills was subsequently commissioned by the Center to create The Taming of the Shrew which made its world premiere in Washington, D.C. in 2004—after which The New York Times dubbed him “the bard of ballet.” The following year, the company was invited to perform at the Joyce Theater in NYC for a week’s engagement. Also in 2005, Mills’ landmark Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project was awarded the Audrey & Raymond Maislin Humanitarian Award by the Anti-Defamation League.

Venue Details