Our current work in progress, Juliet and Her, Romeo, previewed below at The Triple Door in Seattle August 2017:

Juliet and Her, Romeo will be the second evening-length ballet produced by House of Verlaine and the fifth evening-length work produced in Seattle under the leadership of Artistic Director Lily Verlaine. The crux of House of Verlaine’s ethos is the successful marriage of progressive values with a classical aesthetic. In our latest exploration of a time-honored tale, we cast both Juliet and Romeo as women in a work which honors eroticism, feminine power, and queerness without sacrificing the legibility of classical ballet. Juliet and Her, Romeo will be an elaborate performance that rejects heteronormativity and brings classical discipline to a progressive environment that encourages transgression and risk-taking.

Juliet and Her, Romeo will be an entirely new ballet with original music, sets, costuming and choreography that examines Shakespeare’s themes and characters through a contemporary lens. This work will appeal to an audience who might otherwise feel excluded by ballet’s patriarchal traditions as it presents queer sexuality without irony or reliance upon on stereotyping, tokenizing, veiling or parody.

House of Verlaine is honored to have been selected for the prestigious 2018 James Ray Residency and will be devoting 50 hours of studio time and a five-day residency to the exploration of this work over the next nine months. The creative team will be composed of Lily Verlaine as artistic director and choreographer, Julia Welch as set designer, Stephanie Seymour as costume designer, and eighteen of Seattle’s most accomplished dancers. The company currently seeks to collaborate with a composer who aligns with our aesthetic and values.

-September 2018