The Orlando Ballet has very talented performers, and that magic shines when they host an Uncorked event. Through an intimate, unique performance by the Orlando Ballet, attendees had the opportunity to watch the dancers learn a new routine in just an hour and a half.
On Friday, Sept. 25, Uncorked was hosted at Harriett’s Orlando Ballet Centre with a packed house. After this behind-the-scenes experience, the Orlando Ballet will perform a series of different ballets, including The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, and Moulin Rouge. The routine for this performance was to All of Me by Jon Schmidt of The Piano Guys and was led by the artistic director of the Orlando Ballet and choreographer, Jorden Morris.
“It’s just a gorgeous little piece of music,” said Morris. “I didn’t want anything too symphonic, because it’s just a little bit more raw and creative, but the single piano really just spoke to me.”
Throughout the event, dancers from the Orlando Ballet company were put on the spot and had to learn a routine in pairs. It began with two female dancers mirroring one another with graceful turns and beautiful technique. Then, two male dancers came on to the stage, performing all across the area with jumps and intentional movement. Finally, a couple came out and performed partner work together until everyone came together in a grand final act.
“The fact that they can absorb that much material in this amount of time, and with the added stress of an audience in front of them,” Morris said. “Because they’re all natural performers, they want to do their best for you as well.”
Harriett’s Orlando Ballet Centre puts on rehearsals, but is also a school for young dancers to learn how to perform like the cast.
“We are able to rehearse in the proper space, so that when we transfer to the theatre, it’s pretty easy for the dancers to know their marks,” said Morris.
As choreographer for Uncorked and creative director for many other productions with the Orlando Ballet, Morris often needs to build connections between these already astonishing dancers and pair them accordingly. Whether he is casting them as villains, partners, children, and more, Morris compares himself to a casting director.
“They’re so great at working with each other and helping each other out,” Morris said. “It’s a really beautiful team, family atmosphere that we have, so everyone’s always willing to help out their friends or teammates.”
For these Uncorked performances, Morris picks a handful of dancers and works with them for the entire hour and a half. Sometimes, though, he will use the full company, or pick only a couple to create a more romantic, intimate experience for the dancers and attendees.
At the end of the evening, some of the dancers talked about the productions they are most excited for, such as John Abernanty, who is in his sixth season with the Orlando Ballet, answering with Alice in Wonderland by Kenneth Tindall.
“We’ve done his Casanova before, and his Carmen, and he always brings such creativity,” Abernanty said. “We’re always excited to see the energy that people bring into the studio.”
Their next performance is in The Sleeping Beauty, which is running from Thursday, Oct. 15 to Sunday, Oct. 18. Tickets for all Orlando Ballet performances can be purchased HERE.
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