Ballet X celebrates new digs with Little Prince show

This is Ballet X's 14th season and the company's first in a brand new 5,000-square foot studio on Washington Avenue.

"I'm going to brag a little bit but I think the dancers of Ballet X are just extraordinary," says Christine Cox, Artistic and Executive Director of Ballet.

The company is kicking off its Summer Series with the world premiere of The Little Prince.

"I've known the story since I am a little girl; I've read it many times," choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa says. She transformed the book into a ballet: "It's a story with so much symbolism, beautiful symbolism."

It's the story of a pilot who crash-lands in a desert and has seven days to fix his plane engine or he'll die of starvation.

"During these hallucinating moments of dehydration, he encounters a little prince," Lopez Ochoa explains. "Which basically is a symbolism of that little voice you have inside."

The Little Prince takes the pilot on a journey of self-discovery about love and loss.

"He finds a way to survive by finding water but also to believe in humanity again," Lopez Ochoa says.

This is Lopez Ochoa's fourth project with Ballet X. She infuses her work with dance styles from around the globe.

"My main character and the narrator of the piece will be the snake," Lopez Ochoa says.

The snake represents death, "Danced by Stanley Glover, who is also great at vogueing. So I'm using a little bit of the vogueing style in his character."

The full-length ballet features all original music.

"And the composer is going to play live," Cox says, playing four different instruments.

"It's beautiful music," Cox says. "We got awesome sets designed by Matt Saunders and it's just going to be mindboggling."

Ballet X: The Little Prince|Facebook

Through July 21

Wilma Theater

265 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

215-225-5389