Bats, Swans & Bon Bons: Avant Chamber Ballet’s 15th season positions classical dance for modern audiences

Lindsey Wilson·
Dallas/Ft WorthDance
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Since its founding in 2012, Dallas’s Avant Chamber Ballet has commissioned more than 50 world-premiere ballets, including four full-length works, all from female or minority choreographers. Its 2026-27 season continues that tradition with world premieres from founding artistic director Katie Puder and former New York City ballet principal Jock Soto, but audiences can also expect plenty of classical ballet’s greatest hits, including The Nutcracker and the second act of Swan Lake. The season also features the most performance dates in the company’s 15-year history, all occurring at Moody Performance Hall.

“Ballet is a classical art form, and we will always have respect for that as we create performances that are for modern audiences,” says Puder, who adds that the company likes to “push the edge of what our audience might think of when it comes to ballet. That is exciting for both our artists and those who come to our shows.”

Few push more than composer Philip Glass, whose distinctive, minimalist style sets the spooky mood for Dracula during Halloween, Oct. 30-31, 2026. “As a listener, you immediately hear repetitive patterns with a strong, steady pulse,” says Puder. “The score was written by Glass to accompany a re-release of the 1931 classic film. It is truly electrifying music and perfect for the build-up of tension and suspense in this ballet.”

ACB then travels to the Land of Sweets for not one weekend but two (Nov. 28-Dec. 6, 2026), teaming up with Dallas Chamber Symphony for luscious live accompaniment.

“For the past couple of years, our production of The Nutcracker with Live Orchestra has run the first weekend of December and sold out, so we are so happy to not only double our performances this year but to also work with Dallas Chamber Symphony,” says Puder. “We are thrilled to be performing together for the first time!”

More live music is in store Feb. 20-21, 2027, with Love & Loss: Swan Lake Act 2 & Duets. The triple bill features perhaps the best-known classical ballet of all time plus works by Puder, Paul Mejia, and Christopher Wheeldon.

“I look at our February performances as a celebration of all kinds of love,” says Puder. “Paul Mejia’s Sylvia pas de deux is young and energetic with plenty of technical tricks. Christopher Wheeldon’s pas de deux Je ne t’aime pas literally means ‘I don’t love you’ and is all drama and emotion. And then Swan Lake is a classic romantic tragedy, and nothing compares to hearing the orchestra play the famous Act 2 themes.”

Puder notes that Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is celebrating its 150th anniversary, leading to “so many productions this year, but very few use an orchestra, and to me the music plus the dancers make it so moving. Recorded tracks are never the same experience as live art.”

The season closes with Ballet to Broadway (Apr. 24-25, 2027), featuring Puder’s Rhapsody in Blue, Wheeldon’s Carousel pas de deux, and the aforementioned world premieres by Puder and Soto.

“I think this program is going to be pure fun!” says Puder. “The dancers are literally letting their hair down and having a good time. So much of what we love about musicals is the music, storytelling, and the dancing, which is exactly what ballet is. This program’s four ballets are like short stories, and I guarantee the musical lover will come out of the theater as a ballet lover, too.”

ACB makes it a point to encourage a love of ballet in even the littlest of patrons with its Family Series, a trio of shorter shows for young audience members. This season’s lineup includes a sensory-friendly The Nutcracker: Short & Suite (Dec. 3 and 6), My First Swan Lake (Feb. 20), and Broadway Babes (Apr. 24), all three of which also feature live music.

“I love seeing all the kids twirling in the lobby after the shows!” says Puder. “I think the magic of the performing arts is more important than ever—we need the human experience of live performances and the break from our screens to be inspired and remember to be in the moment.”

—LINDSEY WILSON

Lindsey Wilson

Lindsey Wilson is a Dallas-based arts writer and critic with a journalism master's from Syracuse University and an undying love for chips and salsa. When not at the theater (which is rare), she enjoys reading, playing with her dogs, and traveling. Photo by Jeffrey Hummel.