Ballet West is bringing five contemporary dance works to the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre from Nov. 6 through Nov. 14, pairing two Utah premieres with pieces from some of modern ballet's best-known choreographers. The program, called Rolling With the Stones, folds classical technique into modern movement across all five pieces and arrives as part of artistic director Adam Sklute's farewell season with the Salt Lake City company.
Two Utah Premieres Anchor the Bill
Ballet West describes Rolling With the Stones as a program of five contemporary works rooted in classical ballet and modern dance, according to balletwest.org. The lineup includes the Utah premiere of Ulysses Dove's Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, a piece the company calls a moving elegy from the choreographer behind Red Angels, and the Utah premiere of Christopher Bruce's Rooster, which is set to a fusion of Rolling Stones classics and gives the program its title. Rounding out the evening are Christopher Wheeldon's Je ne t'aime pas de deux and This Bitter Earth, and Ben Stevenson's Three Preludes.
Sklute joined KUTV's Fresh Living to discuss the production. As KUTV reported, Sklute also said Rolling With the Stones falls within his twentieth and final season as Ballet West's artistic director. Performances are scheduled for Nov. 6 through Nov. 14 at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City, per the Salt Lake County Arts & Culture event listing.
Ticket Prices Differ by Source
Pricing for the run is listed differently depending on the source. Ballet West's own event page states that tickets start at just $30, while KUTV's preview lists tickets as on sale starting at $39. The discrepancy wasn't resolved by either outlet, so ticket buyers may want to check current pricing directly before purchasing. The show is recommended for audiences ages 8 and up, according to Ballet West.
A Season Marking Two Decades at the Helm
Rolling With the Stones lands roughly a week after Ballet West closes its run of Dracula, which has its last weekend on Oct. 31, according to the company's 2026–27 season brochure. Sklute, who started at Ballet West in 2007, has said this season also marks his 20th anniversary with the company and will be his last, a transition he announced in a statement posted to balletwest.org.
The scale of that tenure shows up in the numbers. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Ballet West's academy has grown from fewer than 150 students when Sklute started to more than 900 students across four campuses today, while the company's budget has climbed from $7.8 million to around $22 million over the same span. Ballet West has also said it produced more new creations during Sklute's 19 years than in its entire prior history. After the 2026–27 season wraps, Sklute plans to start his own consulting company focused on artistic leadership in dance and ballet, per the Tribune's reporting.
Beyond Dracula and Rolling With the Stones, Ballet West's current season also includes The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Carmina Burana and Works from Within 2, according to the Tribune. For Salt Lake City audiences, Rolling With the Stones offers a chance to catch two pieces never before staged in Utah during the twilight of a two-decade era at the company.
