See ‘The Great Gatsby’ Come to Life With the Cincinnati Ballet

Flapper dresses and the quick step of the Charleston point to America in the 1920s, a decade that has long been ingrained in our memory from high school readings of The Great Gatsby.  The classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel has been immortalized on Broadway and in film, but the world of dance also has its own takes on the tale.

The Cincinnati Ballet presents the Hong Kong Ballet’s adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” at the Aronoff Center for the Arts from Nov. 7 through 15. Choreographed by Septime Webre, this Broadway-meets-ballet-style show makes its North American premiere in Cincinnati before other ballet companies stage it.  

For Cincinnati Ballet artistic director Cervilio Miguel Amador, “The Great Gatsby” was not only a window into American culture but the realization of a longtime dream of bringing the Roaring Twenties to the stage in the form of ballet.  

“I’m excited to start the process with our dancers,” Amador says. “It will take us five weeks to put this program together and we’ll open on the sixth week. Introducing this new work to our dancers and seeing how they’re going to be interpreting each character and what they’re going to bring, that is always exciting for me.”

While a majority of the cast is made up Cincinnati Ballet dancers, local performers such as blues singer Mandy Gaines are also featured. Guest composer and conductor Billy Novick’s Blue Syncopators from Boston, Massachusetts, provide the live jazz music for the ballet.

In true Gatsby fashion, the show has its lavish touches. Not only will the dancers be accentuated by intricately crafted costumes that recall the era, but they will also be accompanied by LED projections that help immerse the audience in the 1920s.

“Artistically, I put a lot of emphasis on developing characters and the energy that we bring to the stage,” Amador says. “I love to work with the dancers and craft those roles and the right approach for each production and that connection with the audience.” Aronoff Center for the Arts: 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati 45202, cballet.org