Oklahoma City Ballet Preparing For 50th Anniversary Season

After a year of delays, COVID protocols, and partial shows, The Oklahoma City Ballet is celebrating a full slate of shows for their 50th anniversary season. 

The season begins outdoors at Scissortail Park on September 10 with a free show called Ballet Under The Stars. 

Dancers are currently hard at work in off-season practice. 

Soloist Autumn Klein is preparing for several shows this summer. 

“I cannot wait to be back dancing with my friends. We’ve been split into half the company in pods, so just being able to do a full production again that’s when ballet really shines,” Klein said. “You can tell a whole story, like Alice in Wonderland, which we have not been able to do for a year.” 

Klein gathered three million followers on TikTok while creating content during COVID-19 slowdowns. 

But, back in the studio preparing for a full season of shows, she is working with her company to achieve as close to perfection as possible. 

“To just learn all the pieces, perfect them, get down the timing, the characterization,” she said. 

The Oklahoma City Ballet had to make adjustments during the pandemic to continue hosting shows.

“We kept our shows going, it was difficult. It was a difficult year,” Robert Mills, the artistic director of OKCB said. 

Shows this summer kick start a celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary season. The Ballet Ball in June is the communities’ next opportunity to see a show. 

“That will begin probably a yearlong celebration of this company’s 50th anniversary,” he said. 

Civic Center performances begin this fall, with Alice in Wonderland, The Nutcracker Suite in December, a special performance in February, and Sleeping Beauty to close the season next Mother’s Day. 

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