Kingsport Ballet prepares to stage a completely new work this year — “Vincent.” It is staged June 28-29 at the Ballad Health Performing Arts Center at Northeast State, Blountville, Tennessee. This new contemporary ballet is an exploration of the relationship between Vincent Van Gogh’s life and his art. Van Gogh, the genius and prolific painter, battles his darker, troubled self on the stage. By bringing his favorite painting themes to life through the art of dance, this production tells the story of Vincent’s struggle with mental illness, rejection and perceived failure.
Vincent features never-before-seen choreography, backdrops and costumes inspired by Van Gogh’s works such as “Sunflowers”, “Starry Night” and others. The ballet is choreographed by Leonid Flegmatov, Erika Ballard and Irma Cardano from Naples, Italy.
Dancers include the Kingsport Ballet Professional Company, the school’s Senior Company, as well as guest artist from Nashville Ballet, Graham Barnes. Gra-ham is a former Kingsport Ballet student who trained under the direction of Valeria Sinyavskaya, Leonid Flegmatov and Erika Ballard, among others. Graham graduated from the Harid Conservatory before joining Nashville Ballet 2.
The ballet is brought to the stage in a collaborative effort with other exceptionally talented contributors. Elements from Van Gogh’s paintings come to life in a merging of contemporary, modern dance and ballet. Tickets are available at www.Kingsport Ballet.org.
Choreographers are Leonid Flegmatov, Irma Cardano and Erika Ballard. Artistic Director Leonid Flegmatov graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow and subsequently was invited to join the Bolshoi Ballet Theater. Flegmatov is an award winner in the First International Chabukiani-Balanchine Ballet Competition in 2001. He completed his classical ballet education and graduated from the Russian Academy of Theatrical Arts in 2004, where he studied teaching and ballet choreography. He led a full professional performing career, during which he performed as soloist and principal dancer with various companies in the U.S. and abroad, most recently the New Jersey Ballet. He joined Kingsport Ballet faculty in 2018 as assistant artistic director and transitioned to artistic director in July of 2022.
Cardano graduated from the National Dance Academy in Rome in dance disciplines with a focus on contemporary dance. She has collaborated with various cultural institutions, universities and dance companies all over the world, among them the Bucharest National Opera in Romania, Detroit Opera House, Pennsylvania Ballet, Audience View Professional Academy, St. Petersburg Herzen Pedagogical University in Russia, and special projects in Brazil and India, to name a few. She has worked in Italian television and has received over 200 awards. She has been a jury member for numerous prestigious international competitions, and her students have received various awards in contemporary dance. This is Cardano’s second collaboration with Kingsport Ballet.
Ballard received her BFA in ballet performance from University of Oklahoma and has taught at various schools in the Southwest. Before teaching ballet, modern dance and Pilates at Kingsport Ballet for over a decade, she served as a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma School of Dance. Ballard was the head choreographer for “Seeds of Change,” a contemporary centennial ballet, and served as Spring Concert Coordinator for the organization for several years. Her modern choreography has received numerous accolades and awards, including second place in the ensemble category of the Jewels International Ballet Festival 2022 for her “War” piece.
Kingsport Ballet is funded in part for Partnership Support by the Tennessee Arts Commission under an agreement with the General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.
