Everything old is new again this weekend, as CityDance Ensemble partners with actors from the Shakespeare Theatre Company to present Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Blending together dance, literature, theater, and music, the pairing of the two groups aims to explore age-old interpretations of Shakespeare’s sonnets as well as look at them with a modern eye.

There’s a whole lot of talent joining together to present Shakespeare’s Sonnets, between all of the dancers, actors and musicians involved in the project. It is admirable that CityDance made a strong effort to understand the text of the sonnets fully, bringing in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Stephen Fried as a “text consultant” to provide insight and direction.

Another strong suit of the performance will be live music during some of the evening, which is not always the case for a modern dance performance of this scale. The choreography of CityDance Ensemble’s Artistic Director Paul Gordon Emerson will feature original music written and performed live by local artists Matt Jones and Amikaeyla Gaston.

Photo by Paul Gordon Emerson