Season subscriptions available starting March 9
Single tickets on sale to the public July 22

Our 2020-21 season (our 49th) takes us to a new level of artistry and production. In addition to The Nutcracker, I am proud to return the company to DeVos Performance Hall for Ben Stevensen’s Cinderella, featuring grand sets and costumes and live music from Grand Rapids Symphony. This production, seen on stages from New York to Australia, is a Grand Rapids premiere and sure to delight the entire family.

Our other programs also entice with works from some of the biggest names in ballet and Broadway including Andy Blankenbuehler—three time Tony Award winning choreographer of Hamilton—and Christopher Wheeldon, also a Tony Award winner and former resident choreographer of New York City Ballet.

I invite you to join us for an exciting year that promises to deliver the magic of classical ballet as well as push the art form forward with new contemporary works. I guarantee you will discover plenty that moves you and I look forward to seeing you at the ballet!— James Sofranko, Artistic Director

Off the Canvas

October 16-18, 2020
The season starts with a powerful collection influenced by the world of visual art. Katarzyna Skarpetowska’s Off the Canvas—inspired by the ecstatic and mystery-evoking vermilion loops of modern-art master Cy Twombly's Bacchus series paintings—that The Philadelphia Inquirer called “Literally art in motion;” the return of Resident Choreographer Penny Saunders’ In Frame, danced to Max Richter’s arrangement of Vivaldi’s esteemed The Four Seasons; and audience-favorite Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues with music by modern master Philip Glass.

The Nutcracker at DeVos Performance Hall

December 11-13 & 18-20, 2020
Your favorite holiday tradition returns to the grandeur of DeVos Performance Hall with sets by famed children’s book author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg (The Polar Express, Jumanji), Broadway-quality set design by Tony Award winner Eugene Lee (Wicked, Sweeney Todd, Saturday Night Live), choreography by Val Caniparoli, and the live music of your Grand Rapids Symphony.

Cinderella at DeVos Performance Hall

February 19-21, 2021
In addition to The Nutcracker, we present a second production at DeVos Performance Hall for the first time since 2010: Ben Stevensen’s magical Cinderella featuring the lush music of Sergei Prokofiev performed live by Grand Rapids Symphony. This full-length production has been performed to high acclaim around the world and stays true to the classic fairy tale in both story and spirit including Cinderella and her prince, humorously bumbling stepsisters, beautifully grand sets and costumes, iconic carriage and lost slipper, and, of course, all the romance! 

Jumpstart 2021

March 12-14, 2021
The mission of our returning experimental showcase is to discover the next generation of great choreographers. It all starts right here in West Michigan by providing the dancers of Grand Rapids Ballet a platform to explore their artistic vision and the inspiration to bring it to life. 

Ballet+Broadway -

April 23-25 & April 30-May 2, 2021
The Great White Way comes to West Michigan! This collection features two Tony Award winning choreographers: co-creator of Hamilton and Kennedy Center Honoree, Andy Blankenbuehler, brings his WWII-era love story Remember Our Song, and winner of best choreography for An American in Paris, Christopher Wheeldon, will present his pas de deux from Carousel (A Dance) set to If I Loved You by composer Richard Rodgers. This show-stopping program also includes George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, with the beloved music of George Gershwin, and a world premiere from Artistic Director James Sofranko.