Connecticut Ballet to Celebrate the Artistry of Female Choreographers with Inspiring Women
Eclectic Program to Be Performed May 3 at The Bushnell/Hartford and May 10 at The Palace/Stamford
Connecticut Ballet’s Spring 2025 season will celebrate female ballet choreographers with Inspiring Women, a program of works exclusively commissioned by the company during its 44-year history. This thrilling tribute to the artistry of female dancemakers will be performed Saturday, May 3 at 7:00pm at The Bushnell in Hartford and Saturday, May 10 at 7:30pm at The Palace Theatre in Stamford.
Inspiring Women
Inspiring Women will include a world premiere by Keerati Jinakunwiphat, the first Asian-American choreographer to create a work for New York City Ballet. The program also features revivals of Lila York’s 1990 piece Strays to Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, the 2021 work by former ballet mistress Eve Chan, The Open Road, based on the famous Walt Whitman poem of the same name, and former Connecticut Ballet dancer Carlyn Hudson’s 2022 humorous ballet, A Piece That Might Never Happen About a Peace That Might Never Happen to music by Franz Schubert.
In announcing the season’s final program, Artistic Director Brett Raphael pointed to the gender divide in the ballet world as an impetus for the company’s focus, stating, “It’s a statistical fact that women have been historically underrepresented as choreographers (and directors) in the repertoires of major ballet companies. In 2023/2024, women made up only 27.4% of the choreographers commissioned by U.S. ballet companies. Connecticut Ballet has always valued the work of talented female creators… This season, we celebrate their contribution and hold their work up for our audiences to appreciate.”
Tickets are available for Saturday, May 3 at 7:00pm at The Bushnell (166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford) at bushnell.org. Tickets are available for Saturday, May 10 at 7:30pm at The Palace Theatre (61 Atlantic Street, Stamford) palacestamford.org. For further information, visit connecticutballet.org.
In addition to the INSPIRING WOMEN program on Saturday May 3 at The Bushnell, Connecticut Ballet will be offering Family Matinee at the Ballet the same day at 11:00am. This fun-filled performance event is geared to children ages 3 to 10 and will feature an introductory mix of classical and newer pieces (different than the INSPIRING WOMEN program), as well as exciting interactive opportunities for kids and grown-ups alike. For more information, visit connecticutballet.org.
The Choreographers
Eve Chan was born in Hong Kong and danced professionally with Hong Kong Ballet. After retiring, she moved to the United States and received a degree in Dance Pedagogy from Purchase College. She was ballet mistress for Connecticut Ballet from 2015-2020, simultaneously serving on the faculty of Connecticut Ballet Center. She has choreographed three ballets and two duets (Del Buen Ayre from 2023 & Forgotten Love from 2025) for Connecticut Ballet. The Open Road was commissioned for the company’s Digital Dance Series 2021 during the height of the Covid pandemic. She currently serves on the faculty of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Carlyn Hudson hails from Nyack, New York and graduated with a BA of Fine Arts from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase. She performed as a member of Connecticut Ballet for two years prior to relocating to Portland, Oregon in 2010. She performed with Polaris Dance Theatre prior to co-founding SubRosa Dance Collective. In addition to self-produced productions, her work has been seen at college dance departments and at several West Coast dance festivals. Her solo, Hole, was presented by Connecticut Ballet for its Digital Dance Series in 2021. A Piece That Might Never Happen About a Peace That Might Never Happen was commissioned for Digital Dance Series 2022.
Keerati Jinakunwiphat is originally from Chicago. She received her BFA from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase. She has studied at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Springboard Danse Montreal and has worked with and performed works of artists such as Kyle Abraham, Nicole von Arx, Trisha Brown, Jasmine Ellis, Hannah Garner, Shannon Gillen, Paul Singh, Kevin Wynn, Doug Varone and more. Keerati began working with A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham in 2016. She has presented her own choreographic works at the Joyce Theater, New Victory Theater, MASS MoCA, Lincoln Center, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, Chelsea Factory and has been commissioned to set and create works on A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, New York Choreographic Institute, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Purchase College, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Bang On A Can, Princeton University, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, Whim W’him Seattle Contemporary Dance, Rutgers University, and Fire Island Dance Festival. Keerati graced the cover of Dance Magazine for their ‘25 to Watch’ issue in 2021. In 2023, she had the honor of becoming the first Asian-American woman commissioned to choreograph for the New York City Ballet. Connecticut Ballet presented her 2019 work, Strange Taste, for the 2025 Be My Valentine program.
Lila York hails from Syracuse, New York. She graduated as an English literature major from Skidmore College with aspirations of becoming a writer. Shortly thereafter, she decided to pursue ballet and modern dance in New York City, taking classes at Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1973 and danced there for more than a decade, creating numerous starring roles in Taylor’s repertoire. In 1991, Connecticut Ballet was the first ballet company to commission her choreography. Subsequently, she has created works for Boston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and more. In 2013, she adapted Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale into a full-length ballet for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. This season marks the fourth time Strays has been revived by the company.
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