ABOUT THE MARIGNY OPERA BALLET

Founded in 2014 by Dave Hurlbert (Founder, former Artistic Director), the Marigny Opera Ballet is the resident company of the Marigny Opera House in New Orleans, Louisiana. Now in its eleventh year, the Ballet produces original contemporary ballets to live musical accompaniment.

Executive Director Dave Hurlbert and Artistic Director Diogo de Lima produce each season of dance, hiring choreographers, composers, musicians and designers to create new works during each season, spanning December through May. The company currently enjoys the support of over 100 subscribers.

The company includes eight professional dancers who rehearse each day at the Opera House. It has attracted dancers from London, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, Alabama and Mississippi as well as from the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Their artistry has been recognized repeatedly by the annual awards granted by the Gambit Tribute to the Classical Arts in New Orleans.

Company Directors
Dave Hurlbert, Founder & Executive Director
Diogo de Lima, Artistic Director
Lauren Guynes, Company Manager

Marigny Opera Ballet is funded and administered by the Marigny Opera House Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Ballet owes its ongoing success to the dedication of its artists and staff, and to the generosity of its patrons, donors and corporate sponsors.
Photo: Bobby Bonsey

Awards

2015
Gambit Tribute to the Classical Arts

Outstanding Modern Dance Presentation
Selcouth Liaison
Marigny Opera Ballet

2016

Gambit Tribute to the Classical Arts
Outstanding Choreography (New Work)
“I was told there’d be cake”
Maritza Mercado-Narcisse
Marigny Opera Ballet

2017
Gambit Tribute to the Classical Arts Outstanding Dance Presentation (Full-Length) Giselle Deslondes Marigny Opera Ballet

Outstanding Choreography (Full-Length)
Maya Taylor
Giselle Deslondes
Marigny Opera Ballet

2018
Gambit Tribute to the Classical Arts
Best Dance Ensemble

Best Dance Presentation (Full Length)
Book of Saints

Best Dance Presentation (Short) Aguas de Dezembro
2019

Gambit Tribute to the Classical Arts
Outstanding Choreography (Full Length)
Follies of 1915
Choreographer: Kellis McSparrin-Oldenburg

Outstanding Choreography (Short)
Tells
Choreographer: Kellis McSparrin-Oldenburg

2020

Gambit Tribute to the Classical Arts
Outstanding Dance Ensemble
Marigny Opera Ballet

Outstanding Dance Presentation (Full Length)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Outstanding Choreography (Full Length)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Choreographer: Derwin May, Jr

Press Quotes

“By alluding to sacred texts, visual art, and recorded histories, the ballet Book of Saints offers a luminous and contemporary space for meditation on who we are – or hope to be – as humans.”

“Such reservation and moments of stillness provide room for the viewer’s imagination and also eclipse the effect of pageantry…The real opulence is seen in allegro and arabesque crescents formed by the dancers.”
“The company’s movements and gestures reveal complex range of emotions including traces of doubt, resistance, and hope before capitulation.”

Veronica Cross, Revieux, October, 2017

“The ballet’s original run [of Orfeo] in 2015 was met with sold-out crowds…The company’s return to the Greek myth is a wholly compelling, powerful performance guaranteed to repeat the same success.”
“Perhaps most fitting for the story’s ode to the power of art, “Orfeo” successfully showcases the expressive power of dance in communion with live music and the performers’ near-theatrical expressions of drama that plays out on each of their faces.”

Alexis Manrodt, NOLA Defender, April 2017

“Marigny Opera Ballet Shines in The Art of Jazz”

“”Special” was a word uttered several times by participants in The Art of Jazz to describe their recent performances at The Marigny Opera House.”
“The Marigny Opera Ballet has featured live music in its performances, a rarity considering only major dance companies such as The New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet work with live music.”
“The originality and exuberance of the performances were testimony to the importance of the license granted the artists. The musicians and dancers created a dialogue intertwining melodies and rhythms with movement.”

Mary Rickard, Gambit, February 2017

“The production [Orfeo] manages to compress an abundance of historical elements without compromising fundamental aesthetic power.”
“In many respects, the two-act work is a clear homage to classical Greek/Roman and Baroque source material…Numbers can be deceiving. Dave Hurlbert’s ballet forces may comprise a mere eight dancers, yet the ensemble is flexible enough and the narrative scheme sufficiently swift and potent, that an observer seldom craves a broader overall scope.”
“Fuller’s music acts as a kind of reference point in which listeners, aided here by a just-plush-enough church acoustic, are themselves teased, charmed, and, once in a while, hurled into what is unfolding in front of them.”
“The score… is by necessity in service to the dancers — and its intrinsic vitality does very well in that regard.”

Andrew Adler, Nola.com, January 2015