DEOS CONTEMPORARY BALLET BRINGS THE CLASSIC STORY OF GISELLE TO GRAND RAPIDS WITH A NEW WORKING-CLASS LENS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DEOS CONTEMPORARY BALLET BRINGS THE CLASSIC STORY OF GISELLE TO GRAND RAPIDS WITH A NEW WORKING-CLASS LENS
Beloved ballet of love, betrayal and redemption reimagined in New York City’s 1906 garment district
GRAND RAPIDS, MI | September 22, 2026 | Deos Contemporary Ballet will bring one of ballet’s most enduring stories to the Grand Rapids stage this November with Giselle, a new full-length production that places the beloved Romantic ballet in the world of New York City’s Lower East Side in the pre-labor reform era, 1906.
Performances will take place Friday, November 13 at 7 p.m., Saturday, November 14 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, November 15 at 2 p.m. at the Union High School Performing Arts Center, 1800 Tremont Blvd NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tickets are $45 general admission.
For nearly two centuries, Giselle has remained one of the defining works of the classical ballet repertoire. First performed at the Paris Opéra in 1841, the ballet has continued to be performed by major companies around the world, inspiring generations of dancers and countless reinterpretations.
"It's impressive that a story created in 1841 still resonates with audiences worldwide," said Deos Contemporary Ballet Artistic Director Tess Sinke. "Giselle is an inherently simple narrative, with two well-defined acts that each feels like their own world. I wanted to find a way to bring the complexity of the characters to new heights in my reimagining for Deos Ballet."
At its heart, Giselle is a story about something audiences continue to understand instinctively: what happens when love, power, trust and betrayal collide. It is a story about a woman whose life is shaped by forces beyond her control, and ultimately, whether forgiveness can break a cycle of hurt.
Deos Contemporary Ballet’s production takes that timeless story and breaths it into a new era, with additional layers of socio-economic complexity. Set in the garment district of New York’s Lower East Side in 1906, Giselle follows a young factory worker who falls in love with a man hiding a devastating secret. When his deception is revealed, Giselle’s world collapses.
In death, she joins the Wilis, a haunting sisterhood of women who were betrayed by their lovers and now demand vengeance from the living. Appearing in gothic wisps of old vintage wedding dresses, the Wilis in Deos Ballet's retelling are a fleet of fallen brides who were left at the altar.
But Deos’s Giselle asks audiences to look beyond the romance and the supernatural: what happens when a classic love story is viewed through the eyes of working people?
The production brings the realities of industrial labor, class and economic power into a story traditionally associated with pastoral villages and aristocratic romance. By placing Giselle among garment workers in one of New York City’s industrializing neighborhoods, Deos layers recent U.S. history with the story of a young woman whose future is shaped by circumstances far larger than herself. The ballet sits in Deos Ballet canon as a predecessor to Sinke's critically acclaimed Locked Doors, chronicling the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. Locked Doors premiered in March of 2023.
This artistic approach reflects Deos Contemporary Ballet’s larger mission of bringing familiar stories into conversation with contemporary audiences.
“We are honoring classical ballet traditions while continuing to challenge ourselves artistically through contemporary storytelling, new works, and unexpected theatrical experiences,” said Sinke. “Each production begs audiences to feel something deeply — whether that’s wonder, heartbreak, laughter, or hope.”
Sinke founded Deos Contemporary Ballet in 2018 with the goal of creating a professional company that could both honor the traditions of ballet and push the art form forward. Over the years, Deos has grown from a summer-only company into a year-round professional organization, presenting original choreography and reimagined classics throughout West Michigan.
Major companies around the world have reimagined Giselle for new generations, including English National Ballet’s acclaimed contemporary production by Akram Khan. Deos’s production similarly asks what happens when a familiar story is allowed to speak to a different time, place and community.
For Grand Rapids, that makes Giselle more than an opportunity to see a famous ballet -- it is an opportunity to see a classic through a distinctly contemporary lens, performed by a professional ballet company rooted in West Michigan.
Giselle will be performed at the Union High School Performing Arts Center on November 13–15, 2026.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Giselle
A World Premiere Contemporary Ballet by Deos Contemporary Ballet
Friday, November 13 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 14 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, November 15 at 2 p.m.
Union High School Performing Arts Center
1800 Tremont Blvd NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Tickets: $45 General Admission
Tickets: deosballet.com/store/giselle-ticket
For ticketing assistance, contact Isabelle Ramey at isabelle.ramey@deosballet.com.
ABOUT DEOS CONTEMPORARY BALLET
Deos Contemporary Ballet is a professional ballet company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, committed to redefining what ballet can be through contemporary storytelling, new choreography and unexpected theatrical experiences. Founded in 2018 by Artistic Director Tess Sinke, Deos has grown from a summer performance company into a year-round professional organization dedicated to creating meaningful opportunities for dancers and bringing innovative ballet to West Michigan audiences. The company is celebrating its fifth season with its 2026–2027 season, themed “Redefine What’s Possible.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Isabelle Ramey, isabelle.ramey@deosballet.com