Hamlet

About the Production

Hamlet is the first full-length ballet produced by Stephen Mills following his appointment to artistic director at Ballet Austin in 2000. The production is Ballet Austin’s most-licensed and traveled work, having been performed in six U.S. cities, while making its international debut in Augsburg, Germany in October 2015. A contemporary ballet, Mills’ Hamlet is based on the classic Shakespearean story of a young man and his incredible family drama. It features lush sets, costumes inspired by designer Giorgio Armani, and an emotionally driving score by American composer Philip Glass.

CHOREOGRAPHY: Stephen Mills | MUSIC: Philip Glass

What Critics are Saying...

How did it feel? A bolt of pleasure belted the heart like a big swig of tequila.
Philip Glass’ music melted the senses. Lisa Washburn walked on water, dancing with superhuman fluidity. Around her an effluvium of rose light created an atmosphere of dying beauty.

Rob Curran

Austin Chronicle

Watching the production — beautifully and starkly danced in a modernistic set — is to get to the heart of the story, without necessarily getting the full effect of the layered, dense meaning within the play. Stripped of words, danced by a high-energy cast and jet-fueled by the music of Glass, the play becomes something of a staged action movie.

Gary Tischler

The Georgetowner

Leave it to Austin, proud purveyor of indie rock and artsy ideas, to become the country’s leading exporter of literary story ballets.

Rebecca Ritzel

Washington Post

Companies that have staged Hamlet

Ballet Austin

The Washington Ballet

Milwaukee Ballet

Atlanta Ballet

BalletMet

Ballet Augsburg

Dayton & Ohio Ballet

Eugene Ballet

Sacremento Ballet

Licensing Information

For information about licensing this production, contact us or view the Technical Specifications.

Paul Michael Bloodgood
Creative Brand Producer & Licensing Manager
512-423-4509
paul.bloodgood@balletaustin.org

Bill Sheffield
Production Director
512.476.9151, ext. 113
bill.sheffield@balletaustin.org

Technical Specifications

Hamlet	Minimum Requirements
Stage size	40 X 40 (last lineset)
Grid height	80 feet
Wing space	20 feet per side
Upstage area	10 feet
Working linesets	46
Stage floor	The stage floor must be resilient wood; the floor cannot be concrete or wood directly over concrete; if the surface is concrete, the Presenter must provide a professional dance sub-floor that must cover stage area from wall to wall. The surface must have any traps leveled, holes plugged, and no protruding nails or screws. The stage floor or sub-floor must be covered with a black, Marley-style dance floor.
Soft goods provided by house	Full set of black legs and border, two full-stage black panels, two black scrims
Recorded or live music	Recorded music or live orchestra
Lighting	The Presenter shall furnish the company a complete inventory of house lighting equipment. The Company shall endeavor to work within the house instrumentation but any necessary rentals shall be at presenter’s cost. There should also be enough cable, side arms, C-clamps and color frames to sufficiently hang the lighting plot.
Audio	One house speaker system–center cluster and/or house left and right speakers; two to four backstage monitor speaker; one announce-quality microphone, separately controlled; one headset communication system, with seven stations and operable headsets; and one paging system to dressing rooms.
Power	Standard
Typical set-up schedule	Day 1: Hang electrics and goods; Day 2: Focus/finish set up; Day 3: Cueing/dancers rehearse
Personnel	One TD, LD required, 20+ dancers
Shipping	Two semi trucks