Nashville Ballet’s Attitude Series Premiers Three New Pieces

Dance is a universal human experience. Throughout history, movement of the body has been used as a form of expression — evolving as we have evolved. Dance has served as a way to tell stories, express grief and celebrate. It has been a way to break down language barriers and to prepare cultures for war. In Western culture, the elevated art form of ballet has transcended the centuries. Many look at ballet through a traditional lens of tutus and princess stories. Some equate it with a beloved annual tradition of attending The Nutcracker — performed by ballet companies all over the United States. While ballet will always be linked with enduring classics, a new era of contemporary dance has begun to emerge. The growth of this movement has occurred largely in other countries, rather than the United States — where funding for cutting-edge work often falls short.

This month, Nashville Ballet will premier three contemporary pieces in its Attitude series. Each work has been crafted by a different choreographer: Jermaine Spivey, Yusha-Marie Sorzano and Nashville Ballet resident choreographer Mollie Sansone. Each piece will represent a single choreographer’s distinct experiences and influences. The artists will not only dance, but also use their own voices throughout the performances — a common thread that binds the pieces together.

With his work with Nashville Ballet, Jermaine will bring novel movement to Nashville. “Aesthetically, I’m not interested in my work resembling a classical ballet,” he says. “I am working on coordination, shaping time and space, and pushing the dancers to dig into their artistic depth, so that we can make something that extraordinarily expresses an idea. To me, that isn't either contemporary or traditional — it’s dance.”

Jermaine was born in Baltimore, attended the Baltimore School for the Arts and graduated from The Juilliard School. For 15 years, he lived and worked in Europe as a company member of Ballet Gulbenkian (Portugal) and the Cullberg Ballet (Sweden). He continued his career as a guest artist for Hofesh Shechter Company, ARIAS Company and The Forsythe Company, among others. Jermaine is considered one of today’s top up-and-coming choreographers — someone Nashville Ballet company dancer Aeron Buchanan sees as a mentor and is particularly excited to work with.

The other Attitude choreographers bring equally rich perspectives to the program. Since beginning her tenure at Nashville Ballet in 2004, Mollie has performed works by a range of choreographers, danced lead roles in several ballets, and spent off-seasons acting in musicals or serving as a guest artist at various institutions. Yusha-Marie Sorzano, who hails from Trinidad and Tobago, has worked with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and L.A. Dance Project, among others. She currently splits her time as a dancer, choreographer, artistic director and educator.

 “I think contemporary dance means a lot of different things,” Jermaine says. “And one of those things has to do with the approach to making and the creative process with or without collaborators.” Jermaine says he’s grateful to work with Nashville Ballet and thrilled to see artistic director Nick Mullikin bringing a more diverse range of dance performances to Nashville Ballet audiences. 

“Dancers are storytellers, because they are people first,” Jermaine says. “Dancing teaches us to harness the power of opposition. Art imitates life. I believe Nashville Ballet takes pride in being as excellent a vehicle for that message as they can be.”