Louisville Ballet is bringing together the innovative choreography of Ching Ching Wong and the hip-hop music of Jack Harlow. The Louisville rapper who went from mixtapes to TikTok to the Grammy Awards will now provide the soundtrack for a performance by the Official State Ballet of Kentucky. The title of the piece is "502" and its choreography is still in development by Ching Ching Wong, who takes a moment to share her process and her hopes for this collaboration.
Some Of The Numbers That Add Up To "502"
Leslie Smart, a Certified Fundraising Executive, became Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit Louisville Ballet in 2023. She says Louisville is one of only 13 cities in the U.S. that has a professional theater, orchestra, opera, and ballet, and that Louisville Ballet is recognized among "the finest repertoire companies in the country." Founded in 1952, Louisville Ballet is the fifth oldest ballet company in the U.S., and still the only company with which Mikhail Baryshnikov has performed twice. The 24 dancers originate in 22 global cities. "They come here to Louisville and they make Louisville home."In 2023, The Jack Harlow Foundation donated $50,000 to Louisville Ballet — the largest gift to date in the history of the artist's charitable organization. "For us to have the opportunity to pair our athletes with Jack Harlow, and this beautiful gift he provided to the ballet," Smart says, "It was such a nod to the dancers. I think the dancers feel an incredible sense of pride. They always do their best on the stage, but there's a high level of excitement around being able to collaborate with this music."
The partnership of Louisville Ballet with Jack Harlow is further enhanced by the choreography of Ching Ching Wong. Born in Manila of mixed Chinese Filipino ancestry, and raised in Los Angeles, Wong started her career with Northwest Dance Project in Portland, and has since worked as rehearsal director for Ballets Jazz Montréal and as stager for choreographer Ihsan Rustem. This is Wong's second collaboration with Louisville Ballet, after "Grass is Green" in the 2022–2023 season. "Grass is Green" was a ballet set to a broad spectrum of musical styles, some of which were unique to Louisville, like the work of pianist Freddie George.
Louisville Ballet Artistic Director Harald Uwe Kern tells a personal story of owning a copy of a Freddie George vinyl album, a 45 R.P.M. recorded and pressed in 1969. "I played that for [Wong], and she said, 'this has to go in it.'" Wong met George and it ended up being "a fantastic experience." Kern says Wong is "so uplifting and so wonderfully poised that she lifted the spirit of the dancers within a day of being here." Bringing her back to Louisville Ballet for the 2024–2025 season was "a no-brainer."
The Opportunity To Fail Gracefully
Ching Ching Wong is known for her progressive approach to dance, which is nurtured by her unique lived experience. Her training in classical ballet as well as contemporary movement challenges traditional standards and pushes boundaries. "With the artists of Louisville Ballet and the hip-hop music of Jack Harlow, we challenge what is and what can be," she says. "I'm thrilled to return … and looking forward to sharing work made in and for the 502 community."Wong says Louisville Ballet has given her an opportunity not only to succeed, but also to fail. On the sixth day of rehearsal, she acknowledged: "I hit a wall. I couldn't make any decisions. I couldn't see the path ahead." She thinks it was crucial for her to hit that wall because when she woke up the morning of our conversation (the seventh day of rehearsals), she had new ideas to try.
"I have some visions of corners we can dive into, solutions to the problems that are not problems." Her approach to organizing physical movement into aesthetic patterns is both fluid and reciprocal. "It's interesting. You're catching me right in the middle of a true process. I don't know what the ending is going to look like. I'm right in the middle. Right in the middle of the storm. It's an exciting time."
The soundtrack of this exciting time will include "Stop Giving Me Advice" by Jack Harlow and British rapper Dave and "Parent Trap" by Harlow and Justin Timberlake, among others.
Wong embodies the idea that creation is a process of not only successfully completing work but also failing gracefully along the way. She says those moments are both inspiring and necessary, and wonders if perhaps the most inspiring part of the creative process is how we act in those moments of insecurity, sitting with our own unsureness and unknowingness.
The Effects of Artistic Direction
Originally from Lexington, Co-Artistic Director Mikelle Bruzina is a graduate of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet who joined Louisville Ballet in 1995. Although she retired as a Principal Dancer in 2010, she has since become Ballet Mistress. Bruzina says she is grateful for the leadership that has come before her: "This is our [hers and Harald Uwe Kern's] first year as Artistic Directors, but we have been involved with Louisville Ballet for collectively 36 years. We have been a part of the process of the growth of the company and the dancers, myself included, since back in the day."Although "502" is a new piece, it is not the company's first exposure to working in this fashion. Bruzina says the company's dancers are very versatile and accomplished. "They all have a very strong ballet technique under their belts, and from that, they are able to take on any kind of dance movement. So this is a fun exploration for everyone."
Co-Artistic Director Kern adds detail to Bruzina's account, describing the company's evening of live music with Louisville-based soul, jazz, and pop musician Carly Johnson. While it is not the first time the dancers of Louisville Ballet have worked with contemporary music, it is the first time the music was produced by an artist of Jack Harlow’s status. "And that brings another excitement into the room."
Bruzina and Kern's shared enthusiasm is like a pas de deux, two dancers performing their steps together. "Being able to use people from your state, and even from your city," Kern says, "People of that caliber, of that talent and notoriety. I mean, [Harlow] is famous not just in Louisville, but he's from here. To be able to collaborate with that?" He laughs. "What what else do you want?"
Three World Premieres in One Evening
Smart is ebullient when she shares that Wong's choreography will be part of a mixed-repertory with two other pieces, called "Triple Take." Adam Hougland — one of Louisville Ballet's two resident choreographers (with Andrea Schermoly) who has been with the company since 2004 — will choreograph Stravinsky's choral "Symphony of Psalms." Kern says Hougland was "a very young choreographer then, and he's very established now. We're very happy and fortunate to have him on our team."Kern himself created a movement of a symphony for three dancers that will now be expanded to the whole symphony with the whole company. Titled "Influences," Kern's choreography will be set to the music of Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 . Altogether, "Triple Take" will present audiences with three world premieres in one — set to 19th century music, 20th century music, and 21st century music in the same evening — a rare offering, even for an entire season.
"Triple Take" will premiere in Fall 2024. The official season announcement will be published by LEO Weekly as soon as it is released by Louisville Ballet.
