Washington Ballet Marks 50th Season with 'Go-Go 50' and World Premieres

The Washington Ballet launches its 50th anniversary season on Oct. 30 with 'Go-Go 50,' a mixed-repertory program at the Warner Theatre featuring Chanel DaSilva's world premiere 'An Artist's Prayer,' set to music by local band Black Alley. The bill also includes works by artistic director Edwaard Liang, Trey McIntyre, and the company's first resident choreographer, Choo-San Goh. Founded in 1976 by Mary Day, the troupe began with 17 dancers and grew from the Washington School of Ballet, which Day established in 1944 with Lisa Gardiner. Goh, a Singapore-born choreographer who had danced with Dutch National Ballet, joined in 1976 and was credited by critic Alan M. Kriegsman with propelling the company to international status. Goh died of AIDS-related illness in 1987 at 39. The company later expanded its profile under Septime Webre, artistic director from 1999 to 2016, who created Washington-themed ballets such as 'The Nutcracker' (2004), 'The Great Gatsby' (2010), and 'Sleepy Hollow' (2015). In 2015, Brooklyn Mack and Misty Copeland danced the leads in 'Swan Lake,' a rare pairing of two Black dancers in those roles. Julie Kent led the company from 2016, navigating debt and the pandemic, before Edwaard Liang became artistic director in 2023, the first person of color in the post. Liang says the company is financially stable and planning new works, including his 'Dracula' at Harman Hall.