COLLIDE Series 26

Friday, July 31 - Saturday, August 1

Gezon Auditorium in Grand Rapids, MI

Our 2026-2027 season starts with a BANG — welcome to Deos Ballet’s largest production of the year, COLLIDE! Featuring a double bill of exciting female choreographers, our signature summer series returns to Grand Rapids. Elite professional dancers from across the country, a swarm of aspiring professional dancers, and our year-round company dancers join forces for one dynamic performance weekend.

What You’ll See

People We Meet on the Train

World Premiere Ballet by Tess Sinke and Grace Sinke

At its heart, People We Meet on the Train is a work about humanity. Through movement, character, and the powerful use of color—and its absence—we invite audiences to encounter a diverse group of individuals as they make their way toward a train station. They are people of different ages, backgrounds, beliefs, and circumstances. Some are young, some old; some wealthy, some struggling. Each carry with them the unique details that define a life: treasured possessions, cherished relationships, personal dreams, fears, memories, and hopes for the future.

As the ballet unfolds, these distinct identities begin to erode. The characters are gradually stripped of the objects, colors, and markers that distinguish them as individuals. The vibrant world established at the beginning of the work slowly drains away until the stage itself becomes nearly devoid of color. Through this transformation, the ballet explores the systematic attempt to erase individuality and humanity.

Inspired by the experiences of those sent to concentration camps during the Holocaust, the work seeks to remind audiences that these were not anonymous figures in history. They were people with families, friends, lovers, passions, occupations, and aspirations. They lived rich and complex lives before persecution sought to reduce them to numbers and erase their identities.

In the final moments of the ballet, color returns. The belongings that once defined the characters—objects that carry memories, stories, and traces of their lives—begin to glow once more. Through this visual and emotional restoration, the ballet offers a powerful reminder that while evil may attempt to strip away humanity, it cannot fully extinguish it. By telling these stories through art, we honor those lives, preserve their individuality, and ensure that their humanity continues to be seen, remembered, and celebrated.

People We Meet on the Train is both an act of remembrance and a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit—a tribute to lives lived, lives lost, and the enduring power of memory.

The Greek Myths

New Ballet by Christine Settembrino

The Greek Myths is a contemporary ballet retelling of the stories of Echo and Narcissus, Orpheus and Eurydice, Athena and Arachne, Sisyphus, and Pandora’s Box. The ballet originally premiered on the St. Louis Ballet in June 2026. As we explore these tales of old, we find themes of love, loss, hubris, and hope that connect humanity to the gods and the world around them.

Each of these five iconic Greek myths unfold in a movement of the ballet, journeying through the triumphs and tragedies of gods and mortals alike. Echo is cursed to only repeat the words of others after aiding Zeus's deception, then falls hopelessly in love with the vain Narcissus, whose rejection leads to his own destruction. Sisyphus repeatedly outwits death itself, only to be condemned by the gods to eternally push a boulder up a hill. The gifted weaver Arachne dares to challenge Athena, and when her skill rivals that of the goddess, she is transformed into a spider for her pride.

In the Underworld, Orpheus risks everything to reclaim his beloved Eurydice, but one fateful glance back costs him her forever. Meanwhile, Pandora, unable to resist her curiosity, opens a forbidden jar and unleashes suffering upon the world before discovering that hope still remains within.

Meet the Dancers

Frequently Asked Questions