NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA) brings America’s original jazz dance company to New Orleans for the first time for one night only, Saturday, Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts. Celebrating over 60 years, this organization’s imprint on the art form is profound with worldwide performances in over 1,300 cities. Powerful, passionate and elegant, the electrifying performers “invariably run on high-octane fuel and generate a similarly high-powered response from their audience.
“From the first moment that Giordano Dance Chicago steps on stage, the audience knows that this evening will be electric” (Chicago Tonight). The evening features the premiere of the theatrical extravaganza Gershwin in B by Emmy-Award winning and “So You Think You Can Dance” choreographer Al Blackstone in a glorious celebration of the music of George Gershwin. This quintessentially American program also features the innovative, joyful work of choreographers Mia Michaels, Ray Leeper and more to music by Gladys Knight and the Pips, Al Green, Tina Turner and others. It is a high energy, entertaining evening full of athletic, sharp, witty and surprising moments.
According to a release about the event, as a child, founder Gus Giordano first visited New Orleans in 1928 and learned the Charleston listening to Jelly Roll Morton’s “Shoe Shiner’s Drag.” Nearly a century later, the name Giordano is synonymous with jazz. The company he founded in 1963 is considered the first troupe dedicated to American jazz dance, and one of very few remaining. Giordano’s 60-year path may not have been charted had he not heard Jelly Roll Morton in New Orleans. Today, his daughter Nan Giordano carries on the legacy of American jazz dance and is the world’s preeminent authority on the essence, discipline, progression and continuance of the Giordano Technique.
The 2024-25 season continues NOBA’s mission of showcasing world class dance performance in the region with Ballet Hispánico’s Picasso-inspired, evocative CARMEN.maquia on Feb. 1, and concluding with the highly anticipated return of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with two different programs of works, March 21 and 22.
Ticket information
Tickets for Giordano Dance Chicago start at $35 and are available through the New Orleans Ballet Association at www.nobadance.com or 504-522-0996. Discounts for seniors (65 and over) and students are also available. Groups of 10-19 patrons receive 10% off the regular ticket price, and groups of 20 or more receive 15% off the regular ticket price.
Subscriptions with savings up to 15% and a range of benefits are still available through the Build Your Own package of three performances. www.nobadance.com. Discounts are available for students with a valid student ID.
