Mass Ballet

As we jump into show week, Cipollina t-shirts are available in our online shop! Designed by artist and ballet dad Jesse Smith.
We've also got updated Mass Ballet sweatshirts, sweatpants and PJ pants!

https://www.bonfire.com/store/mass-ballet/

What are you doing this summer to enhance your growth as an artist and athlete? Registration is open for our wide variety of summer programs!

Picture Day and Dress Rehearsal is Saturday, June 6. This year, you can fill out an online picture registration form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPvg-_ckkl6Q82HpvyAZoKPADw8bg3dCRn3npveatLr_qpiw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=100572832376140030567) or you can print a form at https://bit.ly/4x1T7So or get one in the studio.

photography by nancy d'amato

Tickets are now on sale for Cippolina! We hope you’ll join us for this charming fairy tale about friendship and standing up for what’s right. Shows are Saturday, June 13, 11:30 AM and 4:00 PM at Framingham State University. link in comments.

Dear Dancers and Families! It's finally time to share our spring ballet! Your precious dancers will be cast as fruits and vegetables in our production of Cipollina. I’m so excited to sharea little bit about this ballet and how we chose it.

A little over a year ago, I saw a video of a charming dancer in a red tutu performing a solo from a ballet I’d never heard of. She was dancing the role of Radish from a ballet called Cipollino. This Soviet Russian ballet is based on an Italian children’s book and premiered in 1974. The music is by Karen Khachaturian. The book, by Italian author Gianni Rodari, was published in Italy in 1951 and widely translated. While it’s popular in Italy and around the world, it really caught on in the USSR, where there was even an animated TV show version!

The original story is a short chapter book, silly and meandering in a way that adults and kids can enjoy. A new English edition was printed in 2025 (shown in the picture here - we’ll have our own logo for the ballet soon). I was inspired by the book and the 1974 ballet libretto to create our version of the story, which you can read here: https://www.massballet.com/spring-ballet

I’m excited to create a new ballet for our students that tells a story of common people overthrowing an unjust government in order to provide necessities for all. The power of friendship and community are central to the story.

And in case that wasn’t reason enough, the dancing 🍒🍎🍇🍑🍋🍊🍅are going to be adorable!