A Marietta dance group is defending its New Year's Eve performance after it was critically received by revellers.
Instead of a traditional ball drop, like the one in New York City's Times Square or the Peach Drop at Underground Atlanta, the city of Marietta opted to "drop" a person instead for their first-ever ball drop.
The mystery behind the "object drop" remained a secret until the final moments before midnight, when an acrobat descended from a cube during the countdown and then was lifted back up.
The performance, which was commissioned by the Marietta Square Branding Project, received largely critical reviews. But that hasn't deterred the dance group.
"I've been involved in so many incredible performances in my career," Alexandre Proia, artistic director of the Proia Dance Project, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "If we were to just stop at any negative reaction, we would never go on with the show."
The video posted to the city of Marietta's official Facebook page garned nearly 60,000 views in less than five days.
Proia said he has received many "bigoted" comments regarding the New Year's Eve performance, but he said art is meant to "move" the spectators.
"Hate, love; it's up to them," Proia said.
Proia said his dance company had only four days to prepare a surprise performance for Marietta Square's first-ever New Year's Eve.
The ground would be too cold or wet for a dance routine, he said. It had to be something special, memorable and visible to all.
The 20-year-old dancer, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment by the AJC, has been with the Marietta-based dance group for four months, according to the dance troupe. He is an acrobat and dancer trained in capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts.
"He has the most incredible talent," Proia said. "We are very proud of him."
The New Year's Eve celebration was part of Marietta Square's Winter Wonderland, a project funded by a $43,000 tourism grant and organized by the Marietta Square Branding Project.
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