Creating a new chapter in everyone’s favorite annual event, local celebrity chefs John Currence of City Grocery, Kent Cullen of Café Society, James Beard award winner Martha Foose, Ben Smith of Tsunami and Michael Hudman and Andrew Ticer of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen infuse their talents into the freshest local ingredients. Together they fashion a five-star dining experience amid the rich inspirations of all-star choreographers including favorites Garrett Ammon, Travis Bradley, Steven McMahon and Julie Niekrasz. 

This is Ballet Memphis' only annual fundraiser and Memphis' favorite foodie event. The evening starts with cocktails and live music on the patio, and then resumes with a seated four-course dinner and performance. Each course is paired with a wine. To see photos of last year's event, check out our Facebook album here.

The Choreographers

Artistic Director Dorothy Gunther Pugh usually likes the chefs to plan their menu which she then shares with the choreographers. However, this year, she's shaking things up and allowing the choreographers to pick music and design a new dance work that has certain types of sculptural qualities. The chefs will then choose the food based on the work and address the sculptural quality by incorporating it into their food choice and layout. It will definitely be a sight to see.

We are so please to welcome back to Ballet Memphis, Garrett Ammon. Garrett is currently the artistic director at Ballet Nouveau Colorado, but spent some quality time with us this summer working with the dancers to choreograph his piece for Connection: Food. Garrett's work is always a crowd favorite and we look forward to sharing it with you over a fabulous meal in October. 

Garrett Ammon was named Artistic Director of Ballet Nouveau Colorado in 2007. Over the past two seasons, he has created seven world premieres, which have all received the highest critical acclaim, and in 2009, BNC was named 25 to Watch by Dance Magazine. Garrett is an international award winning dancemaker and recipient of Tennessee Arts Commission’s 2007 Individual Artist Fellowship for Choreography. Garrett has created a large repertoire of work for Ballet Memphis over the past ten years including Walk the Line, Short Trip Home, Address Unknown, Smile and Mediate. 

Travis Bradley, an innovative choreographer, has danced with Ballet Memphis since 2004. He began exploring choreography with Interiorworks pieces in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He also created the dessert piece for Connections: Food in 2007, and Belong for AbunDANCE: Art in Motion and The Ugly Duckling for Connections: Puppets, both in 2009. Last season he created his first full-length work for Ballet Memphis, Sleeping Beauty. Noted for its use of color, light and modern-day storytelling, Sleeping Beauty was the finale of the 2009-2010 season and the first-ever storybook ballet created for Playhouse on the Square. Travis began his training at Richmond Ballet, The Harid Conservatory and Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy.

Now in her sixth season with Ballet Memphis, Julie Niekrasz is most remembered for her roles as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Clara in Nutcracker, Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Princess in Little Mermaid, as well as being featured in several original works from Trey McIntyre. Her exquisite technique led to her being selected to compete in last year's Helsinki International Ballet Competition, and her gentle yet keen approach to her fellow dancers allows her choreography a unique touch. Julie was one of five Ballet Memphis dancers to perform at the Kennedy Center this summer. 

Choreographic Associate and company member, Steven McMahon  has created more than a dozen ballets for Ballet Memphis, including full-length storybook ballets of Wizard of Oz, Carnival of the Animals and Cinderella. He also created numerous short modern works for Connections: Food, Interiorworks, Connections: Fashion, the Junior Company at Ballet Memphis and a special piece he choreographed for fellow dancers to perform at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition. Last season premiered with a full night of his work on The Orpheum stage and concluded with his astonishing performance of In Dreams with Ballet Memphis at the Kennedy Center.

Tickets

Tickets for Connections: Food are extremely limited. Single tickets are $325, couples are $600 and a table of eight is available for $2500. Ample free parking is available in the adjacent lot. Tickets may be purchased by contacting Roger Johnson in the Development Office at 901-737-7322.