A Suite of North Carolina Dances

Youth dancers celebrate the state

Chapel Hill Dance Theater presents “A Suite of North Carolina Dances,” 9 original dances inspired by the beauty of our state, February 17–18 at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough.

Chapel Hill Dance Theater, now in its 27th year, will present “A Suite of North Carolina Dances,” a collection of original works inspired by the wealth of beauty in our state, on February 17, 2024, at 7:00 PM and February 18th, 2024, at 3:00 PM at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough. Tickets are $12 for adults, and $8 for children, seniors, and groups of 10 or more. Purchase tickets at the Ballet School of Chapel Hill, or at the door.

Experience the full spectrum of North Carolina’s splendor as dancers transport the audience across the state—from the movement and patterns of tidepools, to the light and shadow in our piedmont forests, to the vibrancy of colors on a mountain hike. Dreams of spring ignite with depictions of the beauty of dogwood blossoms and the first light songs of birds on their branches. Our local artists, including novelist Lee Smith, and musicians Sylvan Esso and The Red Clay Ramblers, inspire pieces celebrating North Carolina’s people and the lives they lead.

Featured music ranges from classical composers to Durham’s own Sylvan Esso and Chapel Hill’s The Red Clay Ramblers, in pieces choreographed by CHDT artistic staff members Diane Eilber, Elizabeth Connor Jones, Laci McDonald, Carol Richard (restaged by M’Liss Dorrance and Gretchen Aleback Lopez), Katie Wakeford, Julie Janus Walters, and CHDT alumni Kallie Elam, Kevin Higgins, and Yitong Zhang. 

For nearly three decades, the Chapel Hill Dance Theater, the performance company of the Ballet School of Chapel Hill, has assembled talented young dancers from across the Triangle to perform work ranging from classical ballets—most recently, Snow White in 2023—to original works choreographed by the company’s staff, with local dancers ages 11–18. Chapel Hill Dance Theater (CHDT) is a nonprofit organization devoted to the training of young dancers in the Chapel Hill-Durham area. It is the mission of the CHDT to provide invaluable performing experience for young dancers in our community while providing quality entertainment to our audience.