Ballet West Presents A Midsummer Night's Dream

SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 28, 2025) – Ballet West presents two productions in one featuring Sir Frederick Ashton's The Dream and Bronislava Nijinska's Les Noces (The Wedding), running Nov. 7-15 at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre.

This extraordinary program pairs the comedic charm of Shakespeare's enchanted forest in The Dream with one of ballet's most powerful masterworks of Les Noces.

Sir Frederick Ashton's The Dream, a Victorian-era adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, blends classical ballet with theatrical comedy, including a male dancer performing on pointe to create the appearance of hooves one of the characters.

"The Dream is actually one of my favorite works," said Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute. "It follows Shakespeare's story beautifully, is both charming and comic, and has wonderful references to other classic ballets throughout.”

"The Dream is one of my all-time favorite ballets," said Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute. "It distills Shakespeare's story down to its essence, and is charming, funny, and moving all at once.” He adds, “With The Dream, Ashton not only tells the tale concisely, he also references many other Romantic era ballets in sly and subtle ways.”

The program opens with Les Noces, Bronislava Nijinska's revolutionary 1923 masterpiece set to Stravinsky's dramatic score. This artistic rarity, that depicts a Russian peasant wedding, features groundbreaking choreography by a woman with scenic and costume designs also by another woman, expressionist artist Natalia Goncharova, a notable achievement for its era.

The production also requires enormous resources with four pianos, full chorus, four solo singers, percussion, and over 40 cast members on stage.