by Jeanni Ritchie
The World Ballet Company brought The Great Gatsby to life at Coughlin-Saunders last month with two dazzling performances.
Based in Los Angeles, the Sasha Gorskaya and Gulya Hartwick-led World Ballet Company creates original Broadway-style ballets.
The company works with the best of international talent and is composed of renowned professional dancers from all over the world.
Their family-friendly productions have original scores, rich storytelling, vibrant hand-painted sets, and stunning costumes. They have traveled to more than 280 cities, reaching an audience of more than half a million, many who are attending their first-ever ballet performance.
Their latest, a retelling of the 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald classic has had a recent resurgence in pop culture history, the Broadway production opening in April 2024 and World Ballet Company’s production premiering in February 2025. The Great Gatsby comes to life on stage, flappers dancing, champagne flowing, and secrets whispered through dance. Act 2 finds the company interacting with the audience as well.
The facial expressions, the pointed toes, the emotions…the entire cast goes to the top of my pyramid!
Jeanni Ritchie is a contributing journalist from Central Louisiana. She can be reached at jeanniritchie54@gmail.com.
