QUEER THE BALLET

Baruch Performing Arts Center

June 21-23

Queer the Ballet presents the world premiere of Dream of a Common Language from Friday, June 21 to Sunday, June 23, 2024, with performances at 7:30pm on June 21 and 22, and 2pm matinees on June 22 and 23.

Dream of a Common Language is a new evening-length ballet inspired by lesbian writer and activist Adrienne Rich’s 1978 poetry collection by the same name. Directed by Adriana Pierce, founder of Queer the Ballet, the program includes choreography by Adriana Pierce, Minnie Lane, Rosie Elliott, and Lenai Alexis Wilkerson with dramaturgy by Emily DeMaioNewton. The story follows six dancers’ journeys through community, friendship, romance, and heartbreak, bringing to light the similarities between Adrienne Rich’s yearning for queer community in the 70s and queer ballet dancers’ current struggles to find each other. From mountaintops to dimly lit bars, this new ballet illuminates the struggles and joys of LGBTQ+ people through history and queer dancers today: all dreaming of a common language to connect them.