SMF hosts the southern debut of the dynamic company BalletCollective with live music from Hotel Elefant. Acclaimed choreographer Troy Schumacher of New York City Ballet (NYCB) connects artists at the forefront of their genres to collaborate across mediums, creating works that leave "a number of burning images in the mind” (The New York Times). Schumacher and other NYCB dancers make up BalletCollective, who will make their Southeastern debut at SMF for a program in which Schumacher curates contributions from architects James Ramsey and Carlos Arnaiz and indie classical composers Ellis Ludwig-Leone (San Fermin) and Judd Greenstein. The results are two thrilling, inventive dance works that explore Ramsey’s development of the Lowline—the world’s first underground park slated to open in New York’s Lower East Side in 2020—and Arnaiz’s architectural analyzation of a classic shot by former NBA basketball star Allen Iverson. These two pieces will be performed alongside 2015’s heart-wrenching work, Invisible Divide, featuring singer Vanessa Upson of Violetness. BalletCollective's breathtaking ensemble of performers provides audiences with the rare chance to experience NYCB dancers up close in works tailor-made for them, all to live music performed by the ensemble Hotel Elefant.