Cincinnati Ballet is bringing three brand-new ballets to Music Hall this November, and this time the music isn’t coming from a pit orchestra alone. The company is teaming up with the local folk band Over the Rhine and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for a production called LIVE!, pairing original choreography with live performances of the band’s songs.
As reported by Cincinnati CityBeat, the show will feature three world-premiere ballet works set to live music, with Over the Rhine and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performing songs drawn from the band’s discography. Cincinnati Ballet’s own season listing confirms the pairing, describing LIVE! as being staged in concert with Over the Rhine and The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. CityBeat notes that Over the Rhine was founded by Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist in 1989, and the ballet company describes the pair as leading a critically acclaimed, Cincinnati-based band.
Three Choreographers, Three New Works
The new choreography comes from Young Soon Hue, Kenneth Tindall and David Morse, according to CityBeat’s reporting. Morse’s involvement carries extra local weight: he directs Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M. Budig Academy and has served on the company’s faculty since 2022, per the ballet’s own artistic-team page, which describes him as an educator, choreographer, musician, and Academy Director. Pointe Magazine’s reporting corroborates the lineup, noting that the November program pairs the local band with the symphony and features new works by all three choreographers, including Morse in his academy-director role.
Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director Cervilio Miguel Amador said LIVE! celebrates Cincinnati’s creative spirit by bringing ballet, Over the Rhine and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra onto one stage, per CityBeat. Amador was named interim artistic director of the 63-year-old company in 2023 after previous leader Jodie Gates departed, and he was appointed permanently to the role in 2024, according to Pointe Magazine.
A Conductor’s Take on Sharing the Stage
Cincinnati Ballet Music Director Alyssa Wang will conduct the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at every LIVE! performance, CityBeat reports. Wang said the performance feels especially collaborative because the orchestra, Over the Rhine and the ballet company all share the stage together, a dynamic CityBeat’s report frames as central to the production’s appeal.
Dates, Times and a Decades-Long Partnership
LIVE! performances are set to begin at 7:30 p.m. each night, with an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, and the run takes place at Music Hall in Cincinnati, according to the same CityBeat report. This marks the third collaboration between Cincinnati Ballet and Over the Rhine, following earlier pairings in 2011 and in 2014, when the two closed out the company’s 50th anniversary season. The company has also created bold works accompanied by live music with Over the Rhine and guitarist Peter Frampton. The company has served as the region’s cornerstone professional ballet troupe since 1963, per that same history.
For ticket information, readers can visit Cincinnati Ballet’s website, CityBeat notes.
