The worlds of classical ballet and contemporary storytelling unite at the McLean Community Center’s (MCC) 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration. The celebration features a performance of “RISE” by Memphis-based Collage Dance Collective at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18. The ballet is performed to the recorded audio of Dr. King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech—which was delivered in Memphis the day before his assassination in 1968. Tickets are $25, $20 for students and seniors and $15 for MCC district residents. The Alden is located inside the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave.
A celebration of Dr. King’s life and legacy, this breathtaking neo-classical ballet is a moving and thought-provoking reflection of what we have overcome and where we go from here. “Dr. King’s words are as relevant as ever, and overlayed with the stunning choreography of “RISE,” deliver the message so viscerally that one cannot help but be moved to the core,” said Performing Arts Director Sarah Schallern Treff. “His statement ‘the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around,’ speaks to what many may be feeling, and the dancers communicate what words cannot.” “RISE” will include other works from Collage’s repertoire, and young dancers from MCC’s dance program will perform alongside the professional dancers.
Rooted in the heartland of Memphis, Collage Dance Collective embodies the greatness of American dance and is at the national forefront of inspiring the growth and diversity of ballet and was recently named a Southern Cultural Treasure by South Arts and the Ford Foundation. It is one of the 50 largest ballet companies in the nation and one of the largest Black-led performing arts organizations in the South.
Tickets are on sale now! To purchase tickets or for more information, visit the website, aldentheatre.org.
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