An Abundance of Gifts to Share

In times of unease, one of the most empowering things we can do is to look at our blessings. Then, the next step is not to hoard this abundance, but to disperse it to others. We find, mysteriously, that by giving away, we are replenished. This may be the single most important value at Ballet Memphis.

Reflect upon our gifts, use them by giving them to others, and a cycle of good will, deep personal growth, and eventually deep community growth will unfold. Look around us and inside us, always. There is a need in human beings to take an inward journey and an outward journey in order to find peace and contentment, and to progress and move forward in more spiritual richness. With this Abundance program, I have asked our choreographers to take, as a springboard for this journey, artwork from four of our very fine art museums in Memphis.

Dana Tai Soon Burgess took his inspiration from John Singer Sargent’s painting titled Ramón Subercaseaux in a Gondola. His serene, gentle, quietly beautiful work is a wonderful expression of the inward journey. Jane Rehm focused on Matt Ducklo's art to be touched by the visually impaired, is a large leap into the life of the other. She had dancers rehearse blindfolded to understand how other senses must come into play in perceiving the world around us. Travis Bradley was drawn to the steel lock and key by Manuel Guerra, and what appeals to the heart when we see various avenues open to us behind its symbolism, behind the doors that we open. And Camille Brown, drawn by the color and theatre of a painting of Beale Street by Mario Bacchelli, chose blues music by Aretha Franklin to complete her story.

So again, four new, thoughtful works appear on the stage for you, produced by Ballet Memphis. We offer you our gifts, taking our cues from other gifted visual artists. We know that taking our journeys, singly and collectively, require a will to explore, to examine, and ultimately, to give. I suspect this is the most important reason to herald, celebrate, and support the creation of art and the institutions committed to the life of art. We are not committed solely to the product created, nor solely to the creators and artists who present the work, but to the amazing spiritual and mysterious ways of living asked of us by art as it is given, through artists, to all of us.