Ballet v6.0: Whim W’Him

The Joyce has designed this ballet festival to recognize the many dancers and choreographers who are creating work outside the traditional large company milieu and are forming their own small companies. Featured are companies from across the US, whose work represents a range of ballet styles, from neo classical to contemporary.

Founded in 2009 by former Pacific Northwest Ballet Principal Oliver Wevers, Whim W’Him is a Seattle-based company that describes itself as both “entirely classic and entirely now.” For its Joyce debut, the company performs Flower Festival, a re-working of the pas de deux from August Bournonville’s 1842 ballet Flower Festival in Genzano, in which Wevers replaces the original male/female dancers and peasant costumes with two men in business suits. The result is neither mockery or parody, but a slightly funny and oddly touching transition of the old into the new. The program also includes Monster, a piece consisting of three duets that explore the inherent monstrosity of society, addiction, and relationships.