A poem inspired Caitlin Phibbs in creating a new story ballet that includes the younger dancers at Colton Ballet School
Drawn from British poet Lemn Sissay’s “Let the Light Pour In”, the ballet, which will be presented on the Imperial Theatre stage March 13-14, highlights a conversation between the sun and moon.
“I thought it was such a sweet idea of the sun and the moon having a conversation with each other and trying to understand each other, and it offered just a little bit of hope and inspiration for this idea,” said Phibbs, Colton Ballet Company’s artistic director.
A child, the sun and moon go through a single day meeting wildflowers, moths, lightning bugs and birds to further tell the story.
Featuring music by Andrew Bird, “Let the Light Pour In” will incorporate some classical ballet technique with more contemporary elements. Bird’s music with its folk influence provides a different feel from traditional ballet scores..
Phibbs said she hopes to attract a wider audience and appeal to people who’ve never seen ballet.
Special guest performers include Avery Jarrard, a soloist with the Georgia Ballet, who is appearing as a grasshopper. and Russell Joel Brown, who studied under the late Ron Colton before Brown’s performance career led him around the world.
Jarrard has danced with Colton Ballet before, most recently as the Mouse King and Tea in “The Nutcracker” while Brown will serve as the narrator.
This performance also brings dancers from the Colton Ballet School to the stage.
The company dancers perform “The Nutcracker” Thanksgiving weekend and have performed repertory works in the spring, but the non-company dancers only dance once a year — in the “The Nutcracker”.
Providing another opportunity for the younger dancers was important to Phibbs.
“It has been a long-time goal of ours,” said Phibbs.
Long before Zanne Colton retired in 2024, she planted the seed, asking Phibbs to start thinking of a story ballet.
Phibbs said a grant from the Porter Fleming Foundation has helped to bring the new work to life and she gives a huge shout out to Rosalind Avrett Jones who has taken Phibbs’ concepts and created all new costumes.
Phibbs said she’s excited to see the ballet come to life on stage and regards “Let the Light Pour In” as a production that Colton can build on and expand upon in coming years.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday, March 13 and at 1 p.m. March 14. Go here for tickets.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.v
