skip to Main Content

Taming of the Shrew

About the Production

Shakespeare’s comedic tale of marital mismatch is given new life and modern energy in Ballet Austin’s lighthearted and lovely recreation. Commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2004, this 17th-century tale of the trials of courtship, marriage, and common courtesy reminds us that true love is seldom achieved at first sight. With dynamic choreography and breathtaking costumes, Artistic Director Stephen Mills offers a masterful work that enhances Kate’s fiery petulance, Petruchio’s patience, Lucentio’s maneuvers and Bianca’s sweet, naiveté in ways that would make the Bard himself proud.

CHOREOGRAPHY: Stephen Mills  |  MUSIC: Antonio Vivaldi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico Scarlatti & Vincenzo Tommasini

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.

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

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

Item 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 35
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 good provided by house Full set of black legs and border, two full-stage black panels
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 26-foot truck
Back To Top