Wabi Sabi season kicks off with Beltline romp

Bringing world-class dance to the places where Atlantans congregate has been the vision of Wabi Sabi founder John Welker since the company’s creation in 2011.

"There's something about the formality of the theater that sets certain standards and expectations of decorum," says Welker, an Atlanta Ballet dancer since 1995. Welker created Wabi Sabi, "a company within a company," as a way for Atlanta Ballet dancers to bring contemporary dance performances to new audiences.

“What I love about Wabi Sabi is that you just strip everything down. You take it out of the theater, you get to interact in a very direct way. It’s a lot more intimate. There’s a social conviviality that speaks to people, especially people who don’t go to see the ‘Swan Lakes’ and the classical rep.”

“Swan Lake” it isn’t. This season opens Aug. 6 with a busy evening of free performances at various points along the Atlanta Beltline. The procession begins with a flashmob-style performance among the shoppers and eaters at Krog Street Market at 5 p.m. Viewers will then be led by an accordion player down the Beltline to the underpass at the Old Fourth Ward Skate Park for another dance performance, this one accompanied by a live cellist. With various art happenings along the way, the migration continues down to the shed on the Beltline side of Ponce City Market, where the dancers will perform a collection of works choreographed by company members.

The free performances culminate in a ticketed show on the rooftop of Ponce City Market that same evening at 8 p.m. followed by an after-party and meet-and-greet inside the market at The Mercury.

The performances aren’t just potentially eye-popping for viewers, they’re exciting for the dancers of the Atlanta Ballet as well, says Welker.

“There’s something very ‘in the moment’ about it. There’s a lot more spontaneity between you, the audience and the space. You feel that direct relationship with the audience. You get this real synchronicity. That’s what’s so gratifying for the performers. You get to see and interact with the audience in way that’s so comfortable and so real.”

Wabi Sabi allows dancers to choreograph their own work and engage with young, emerging choreographers, something they might not get to do in a traditional mainstage ballet season.

The line-up and placement of works for the new season is still tentative and subject to change, but performances will include reprisals of works by company dancers Tara Lee and Heath Gill and previously performed works by contemporary choreographers Jennifer Archibald and Robin Mineko Williams, plus an aerial performance by Meaghan Muller of Backside of the Tent.

One thing is certain, though. For the ticketed performance on the rooftop of Ponce City Market Aug. 6, Atlanta-based choreographer Sean Hilton will have the world premiere of his piece “Dormant Gods,” commissioned expressly for the troupe. The work features eight dancers performing to a live score by Atlanta musician and former Atlanta Ballet dancer Jesse Tyler, currently a member of Atlanta band Dreambrother.

“They’re such skilled dancers,” says Hilton of Wabi Sabi. “I like using the knowledge they have and putting a different perspective on it. It gives them an opportunity to explore and change. I don’t just want to give them steps. I want to help them find ways in and out of the movement.”

Hilton, a founding member of the Atlanta-based contemporary dance company Fly on the Wall, attended the Atlanta Ballet school as a teen and went on to a career in professional dance, performing with Columbia Ballet in South Carolina, River North Dance in Chicago and Glo in Atlanta. He teaches an advanced contemporary class at the Atlanta Ballet, so he says he feels right at home working with the dancers in the studio, especially since his new husband, Brandon Nguyen, is a current company member.

The pair met in Orlando six years ago at different stages in their careers. Hilton was auditioning for Orlando Ballet, and Nguyen was a member of the company. Hilton didn’t end up joining Orlando Ballet, but fate brought them both to Atlanta for different reasons: Nguyen to join the Atlanta Ballet and Hilton to dance with Glo.

The 2016 Wabi Sabi season continues with an outdoor performance at Serenbe on Aug. 21 and a show on the Sifly Piazza at the High Museum Nov. 4.

Welker says it’s been reassuring lately for the troupe to re-enter the studio as Wabi Sabi after what proved to be a challenging transitional season for the Atlanta Ballet.

At the opening of the 2015-16 season, it was announced that the company's beloved artistic director John McFall would retire after 21 seasons at the helm. A new artistic director, Gennadi Nedvigin, will take his place starting with the 2016-17 season. For a close-knit group like a ballet company, facing such a big change can be tough.

“What was nice about Wabi is that it was something familiar to slip back into,” says Welker. “We miss having [McFall’s] presence. He was always so supportive of Wabi and the dancers. There’s a hole there.”

What the future holds for Wabi Sabi after McFall's departure and Nedvigin's arrival is uncertain.

“Wabi has earned such a reputation in Atlanta,” says Welker. “I’m certain [Nedvigin] will find that valuable, but as far as the future, that’s still all up in the air. It’s ongoing. What we’re trying to do is let him see it, let him think about it, and then we can talk about what the future of Wabi Sabi might hold.”

For now, the upcoming 2016 Wabi Sabi season remains the focus, a time for dancers and viewers alike to have fun getting up-close and personal with each other outside the formal constraints of traditional theater.