PERFORMANCES
PERFORMANCES AT AKRON CIVIC THEATRE
Ballet Excel Ohio graces the Akron Civic Theatre stage each spring with original storybook ballets for audiences of all ages. These performances fulfill BXO's mission of hosting pre-professional ballet productions danced for children, by children.
ALADDIN
BXO will present Aladdin, choreographed by Erich Yetter, March 14 & 15 at the Akron Civic Theatre. Stay tuned for more details on how to purchase your tickets to this magical ballet.
Scouting for the Arts
Want to earn a dance badge?? Our collaboration with the Akron Children's Museum and the Akron Civic Theatre is the time to do it! Earn a dance badge, explore the children’s museum, and see our incredible performance of Peter Pan on March 14th or 15th! Email scouts@balletexcelohio.org for details!
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COMMUNITY
PERFORMANCES
Upcoming Performances
For more performance announcements and up-to-date information about community performances, join our newsletter and follow us on social media @balletexcelohio.
JOIN US FOR OUR UPCOMING COMMUNITY PERFORMANCES
"One Stage: Two Legacies" is the ultimate kickoff to the season, bringing together the incredible talent of Canton Ballet who is celebrating its 60th anniversary season and Ballet Excel Ohio who is celebrating their 50th anniversary for an unforgettable performance!
Sunday, September 28, 2025 4:30pm - “One Stage: Two Legacies” Ballet Performance- Gervasi Vineyard Pavilion | 1700 55th Street NE, Canton, Ohio 44721- https://my.cheddarup.com/c/cantonballet-balletexcel-gervasi-performance-tickets/barriers/visitor-report
Saturday, November 22, 2025 at 10am- Tree Festival at John S. Knight | 77 E Mill Street, Akron, Ohio
BXO ON TOUR
Each season, since 1976, Ballet Excel Ohio travels throughout the region, performing annually for more than 9,000 audience members. It is the company's opportunity to make art accessible by bringing it directly to schools, libraries, and local venues. When performing in schools for young audiences Ballet Excel provides a curriculum guide which addresses the themes, story and arts objectives suitable for Common Core Curriculum standards. Interested in having BXO perform at your school, community center, or venue? Contact Us!










VIRTUAL
PERFORMANCES
HAPPY
Choreographed by Tom Gold
Music by Vitamin String Quartet
I LOVE SHAPES
Choreographed by Tom Evert
Music by Sebastian Anthony Birch
This virtual performance was made possible by a collaboration between Ballet Excel Ohio and the wonderful people at the City of Cuyahoga Falls Parks & Recreation Department. Both the City of Cuyahoga Falls and Ballet Excel Ohio are striving to find ways to safely bring art and entertainment to the community in these uncertain times. Please enjoy the show!
Choreographed by Ohio native and world renowned choreographer Tom Evert, “I LOVE SHAPES” celebrates the elementary forms of lines, circles, triangles, and squares in a dynamic modern dance. This imaginative and innovative ballet brings basic shapes to life through a visually stunning performance. It was conceived as a means of introducing young audiences and classically trained young dancers to the concepts of modern dance which tend to be more abstract, through the use of basic shapes familiar to them. Rather than tell a story as a traditional ballet might, it paints a visual picture using the shapes which the dancer’s movements create. Through interweaving and juxtaposing the basic shapes, a multilayered, three-dimensional texture emerges. The dancers create levels of energy from tranquility to frenzy through their movements as set to the mood ranges of the music.
“I LOVE SHAPES” was the first modern work to be added to the repertoire of Ballet Excel Ohio, formerly the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, and the first commissioned for a youth ballet.
Choreographed by Tom Evert
An Original Modern Ballet
World Premiere: March 10-11, 1989
(Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, Ohio)
Reprise: August, 18 2020
( Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)
Original Score by Sebastian Anthony Birch