Inside American Ballet Theater’s History-Making Fall Gala
Christopher Rudd believes in the power of “Yes, and...” thinking. The New York-based choreographer made history two years ago with the premiere of his first commission for American Ballet Theatre, Touché, a work exploring themes of gay love that was the first male pas de deux to be performed by a major ballet company. His follow-up, Lifted, which will premiere Thursday evening during ABT’s Fall Gala, with additional performance on Friday and Saturday, is another first for ABT: a celebration of Black excellence that showcases an all-Black cast and creative team.
The creative spark for Lifted came from a conversation between Rudd and ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie in May 2020. “Kevin called me a few days after George Floyd was murdered,” Rudd recalls. “He was calling to reassure me that ABT would be moving forward with Touché. At at that point New York was in lockdown and the theaters had been closed since March. The idea that we were talking about anything else except for the world burning around us was a little absurd in my mind. I’d been grappling with my own mortality after a six-week battle with Covid and the anger that I was going through gave me the courage to say we need to use the microphone that is American Ballet Theater to really make a statement about the duplicity of the American dream in the context of Black lives.”
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Lifted features five ABT company members: principal dancer Calvin Royal III and corps de ballet members Erica Lall, Courtney Lavine, Melvin Lawovi, and Jose Sebastian. “Obviously, this is Christopher’s piece and it’s his brainchild, but he’s been so collaborative on it,” says designer Carly Cushnie, who created the costumes. “It’s been such an incredible ride.” Set to an arrangement of music by composer Carlos Simon, performed by the ABT orchestra led by guest conductor Roderick Cox, the work features lighting design and scenic consultation by Alan C. Edwards and dramaturgy by Phaedra Scott.
Cushnie cites the “journey of Blackness—the twists and turns, the joyful and the not-so-joyful moments, but most of all the raw strength and beauty,” as her inspiration for the costumes, which mix streetwear and dancewear and feature her signature elegant draping and sexy cutouts in a rainbow of browns. “Christopher and I were both really feeling the showcasing of an array of skin tones, so it’s not necessarily that each dancer is wearing their specific skin tone, but they’re wearing shades of skin tones,” she explains. She chose tissue jersey as her main fabric to lend sheerness and a fluidity to the designs.
The intentionality behind the costumes helps the dancers get in character. “Knowing that my costume was created by someone whose ancestors were connected to mine, in Jamaica, anchors me to a part of my identity that I celebrate in this ballet,” says Lall. For Royal, the silhouette made him feel “elegant and heroic—there’s thoughtfulness behind our character’s look that makes each of us unique.” Lawovi was already a fan of Cushnie’s designs and owns several of her womenswear pieces. “What I love about those costumes is the simplicity and attention to detail she brought to ‘danceable attire,’” Lawovie says. “It feels like a second skin because of the light flowy fabrics mixed with the tighter-fitting parts. Because of the brown color scheme that is so close to my skin tone it really does feel like I’m putting on my character and I feel empowered and honored to wear it on stage. ”
As in Touché, Lifted reworks the classical pas de deux dynamic of male dancers lifting ballerinas. The ballet’s first lift sequence features the two women carrying Royal, and throughout the piece, different groups of dancers come together to hold one another aloft. “It is our community that carries us,” says Rudd. “It just feels appropriate that this is the way we are navigating lifts and trusting and weight sharing. It’s such a beautiful metaphor for the reality of our lives.”
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