Ballet Austin opens its 2026/27 season next weekend with Stephen Mills' full-length staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream, running three performances at the Long Center for the Performing Arts: Friday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, September 26 at 7:30 p.m., and a Sunday matinee on September 27 at 3 p.m. The Shakespeare-based ballet is set to Felix Mendelssohn's score, performed live, and follows a familiar tale of lovers who lose their way in an enchanted forest before finding each other again.
The production, based on Shakespeare's timeless comedy, features romance, theatrical spectacle, and physical comedy as its central ingredients, according to CultureMap Austin. Tickets for the run are priced between $25 and $115. Ballet Austin serves as the exclusive authorized distributor for its own tickets, and the company has cautioned patrons against buying through third-party resale vendors, offering season subscribers free ticket exchanges as long as requests come in at least 48 hours before showtime, per Ballet Austin.
Live music is a defining feature of the run. The Austin Symphony Orchestra will perform the Mendelssohn score from the pit, continuing a partnership built into the very structure of the Long Center, which serves as the permanent home for three resident performing arts organizations — Ballet Austin, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, and Austin Opera. The orchestra also accompanied Ballet Austin's last local presentation of this same production, a Valentine's Day weekend run at the Long Center back in February 2022.
A Ballet With a Kennedy Center Pedigree
This isn't just any revival. Mills' staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream earned Ballet Austin its first-ever invitation to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., back in January 2002, a milestone that came early in his tenure as artistic director. Mills has since gone on to create more than 60 original premieres for the company, and the 2025/26 season marked his 25th year at the helm, having first taken over in 2000 with an acclaimed production of Hamlet.
The production's visual world comes from a returning creative team: costume designs by David Heuvel and David Walker, set design by David Walker, and lighting design originally by Tony Tucci, recreated for this run by Erin Earle Fleming. Together, that team built the moonlit forest setting that anchors the ballet's fairy-tale atmosphere.
Where the Season Opener Fits
A Midsummer Night's Dream kicks off a five-production 2026/27 season for Ballet Austin that continues with the 64th annual staging of The Nutcracker in December, followed by Rhythm of the Heart in February 2027, Roses for the Last Dance in March 2027, and Giselle in May 2027. Season ticket holders can save up to 20 percent across package options compared to buying individual tickets.
All three public performances take place inside the Michael & Susan Dell Hall, the 2,442-seat venue built inside the concrete skeleton of Austin's former 1959 Palmer Auditorium before reopening in 2008 across three wrap-around tiers. Opening night on September 25 includes a pre-show celebration on the Long Center terrace, and the venue sits at 701 W. Riverside Dr. in Austin.
Free Rehearsal Night Precedes the Public Run
Before the ticketed performances begin, Ballet Austin will host its free Night of Community dress rehearsal on September 24, opening the final run-through to clients of Central Texas non-profit social service organizations, including low-income residents and individuals with disabilities. The program dates back to 1997 and has distributed more than 170,000 free tickets over its history, according to Ballet Austin. The initiative runs alongside the company's ticketed performances rather than replacing them, giving underserved community members access to the same production before paying audiences see it.
The season opener follows closely on the heels of other Ballet Austin community programming this year, including the company's 20th free Come Dance! Day at its downtown studio last month. Photos from the production credit Anne Marie Bloodgood. As with all outdoor and indoor performing arts events, organizers note that scheduling remains subject to change due to weather or other concerns.
