SHERLOCK
(While Away | Diablo Rojo | Sherlock)
October 24-26, 2025 at Peter Martin Wege Theatre
Step into the mystery as we kick off our 2025-26 season with Sherlock, an electrifying world premiere from our resident choreographer, Penny Saunders. Join us October 24-26, 2025, at Peter Martin Wege Theatre as we bring the legendary detective to life in a way never seen before.
This brand-new ballet takes audiences deep into the world of Sherlock Holmes, blending stunning choreography with immersive storytelling and a touch of noir. But it’s more than just a mystery—it also explores the mind of the man behind the legend, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. With all-new costumes, sets, lighting, and movement, Sherlock is a thrilling co-production with Nashville Ballet and Ballet Idaho. And to make it even more cinematic, we’re weaving in authentic 1940s radio recordings of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes—a nostalgic layer that will transport audiences straight into the story.
Alongside this world premiere, we’re bringing back two audience favorites from last season—Jennifer Archibald’s While Away, a powerful and emotional contemporary work, and James Sofranko’s Diablo Rojo, a fiery, rhythm-driven ballet that pulses with energy.
SHERLOCK | DATES & TIMES
Friday, October 24, 2025
Evening Performance at 7:30 p.m. | Get Tickets
Saturday, October 25, 2025
Matinee performance at 2 p.m. | Get Tickets
Evening Performance at 7:30 p.m. | Get Tickets
Sunday, October 26, 2025
Matinee performance at 2 p.m. | Get Tickets
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Estimated Run Time: 1hr and 45 minutes with one intermission
Seating: Reserved seating
Tickets: Tickets go on sale mid-July
Accessibility: Accessible and companion seating available
Please contact the Grand Rapids Ballet Box Office with any questions about this event via phone at 616.454.4771 ext 110, or by email at boxoffice@grballet.com. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
SHERLOCK | CREATORS
Jennifer Archibald
Biography
JENNIFER ARCHIBALD is the founder and Artistic Director of the Arch Dance Company and Program Director of ArchCore40 Dance Intensives. She is a graduate of The Alvin Ailey School and the Maggie Flanigan Acting Conservatory where she studied the Meisner Technique. Archibald has choreographed for the Atlanta Ballet, Ailey II, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Kansas City Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet Nashville, Grand Rapids Ballet, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, and Stockholm’s Balletakademien, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre and worked commercially for Tommy Hilfiger, NIKE and MAC Cosmetics as well as chart-listed singers and actors. She was the first female Resident Choreographer in Cincinnati Ballet’s 40-year history for seven years under the direction of Victoria Morgan. For 2024 Jennifer is commissioned to create works for Smuin Ballet, Washington Ballet, BalletMet and is the guest choreographer for Pathways to Performance Reframing the Narrative at the Kennedy Center. She was appointed as Movement Director for Michael Kahn’s closing season for The Oresteia at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. She was also the 2018-19 recipient’s for the CUNY Dance Initiative Residency.
Archibald’s works have been performed at venues including New York’s City Center, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Aaron Davis Hall, Jacob’s Pillow Inside|Out Stage and Central Park’s Summerstage Mainstage. Jennifer was awarded a Choreographic Fellow for Ailey’s New Directions Choreography Lab under the direction of Robert Battle. She is a Choreographic Winnings recipient by the Joffrey Ballet. Jennifer choreographed “Seven”, a biographical work about Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee, commissioned by St. Louis based MADCO Dance Company. Her work for Stockholm’s Balettakademien “Delilah” toured Scandinavia. She is the creator of the Documentary Ballet format, where she creates works rooted in historical history bringing communities together. The Documentary Ballets are inclusive and communal projects. Breaking’Bricks honors the community of Black Wall Street in Tulsa Oklahoma produced by Tulsa Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballets produced Sounds of the Sun honoring the life of dancer Florence Waren exploring her experience during the holocaust. Documentary Ballets are theatrical engagements that evolve beyond the stage, with historical education as an integral part of the creative process.
Dance Magazine considers Ms. Archibald a major player on the college circuit Jennifer is currently an Acting Lecturer at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. In 2015, she was appointed as Guest Faculty Lecturer to develop the Hip Hop dance curriculum at Columbia/Barnard College. Jennifer is also a guest artist at several universities including Fordham/Ailey, Purchase College, Princeton, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of South Florida, Goucher College, Columbia College Chicago, Bates College, Boston Conservatory, Point Park University, Miami New World School of the Arts, South Carolina’s Governor’s School of the Arts, Ailey Fordham, Austin University, Oklahoma University, University of Missouri, Jacksonville University, and University of Alabama, and New York Tisch University. Internationally, she has taught master classes in Switzerland, Brazil, Bermuda, Canada, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden, France, Russia, Mexico, China, and Ecuador.
Penny Saunders
Biography
Penny Saunders, originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, graduated from the Harid Conservatory in 1995 and began her professional career with The American Repertory Ballet under the direction of Septime Webre. She went on to dance with Ballet Arizona, MOMIX Dance Theater, Cedar Lake Ensemble, and in 2004 she joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
In 2011, Saunders won the International Commissioning Project which launched her choreographic career, creating pieces for Hubbard Street, Cincinnati Ballet, Whim W’Him, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Parsons Dance, Oklahoma City Ballet, BalletX, Sacramento Ballet, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Diablo Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Eugene Ballet, Charlotte Ballet and Seattle Dance Collective among others.
Saunders is honored to be the Resident Choreographer at The Grand Rapids Ballet, to have received support from The New York City Ballet Choreographic Commissions Initiative, to have participated in The Guggenheim Works & Process, and The National Choreographers Initiative, and to be the recipient of the 2016 Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship. She is currently Artist in Residence at USC Kaufman School of Dance as well as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at The University of Utah School of Dance.
James Sofranko
Biography
James Sofranko assumed the position of Artistic Director of Grand Rapids Ballet in 2018 after an 18-year career as a soloist with the San Francisco Ballet.
He is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and received his dance training at The Harid Conservatory in Florida and later at The Juilliard School in New York City, where he received his BFA in dance.
At San Francisco Ballet, he danced in numerous works and world premieres by choreographers such as Helgi Tomasson, Val Caniparoli, William Forsythe, Liam Scarlett, Justin Peck, Alexi Ratmansky, Edwaard Liang, Lar Lubovitch, Wayne Macgregor, Mark Morris, Julia Adam, Yuri Possokhov, Christopher Wheeldon, Paul Taylor, Arthur Pita, Stanton Welch, Jorma Elo, Hans Van Manen, Jiri Kylian, John Neumeier, James Kudelka, Lila York, Kenneth Macmillan, George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins. Some of his favorite roles include Mercutio in Tomasson’s Romeo and Juliet, Eros in Mark Morris’ Sylvia, Bugle Boy in Taylor’s Company B, and the second sailor in Robbins’ Fancy Free.
He received an Isadora Duncan award (Izzie) for best performance in 2011 in Yuri Possokhov’s Classical Symphony.
James starred in the principal role of Eddie in the Broadway touring company of Movin’ Out, a musical choreographed by Twyla Tharp to the songs of Billy Joel.
In 2012 he co-founded DanceFAR (Dance For A Reason), an annual benefit performance and after-party that brings the Bay Area dance community together to support the work of the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC).
In 2014, he formed a new contemporary repertory company in San Francisco, SFDanceworks, presenting works by Alejandro Cerrudo, Lar Lubovitch, José Limón, Nacho Duato, Christopher Bruce, and world premieres by Penny Saunders, James Graham, Danielle Rowe, Dana Genshaft, and Sofranko himself. He continues his work with SFDanceworks currently in the role of Artistic Advisor.
Since 2018, Sofranko has created 11 original works for Grand Rapids Ballet: Two Tangos, Ballade, The Sweet By and By, A Dreamer, Calling Forth, Aubade, Julia, Piece of You, Ave Maria, Peter and the Wolf, and Romeo and Juliet Fantasy. In February 2023 he will create a world-premiere full-length production of Romeo and Juliet to be premiered at DeVos Performance Hall with the Grand Rapids Symphony. He has also created works for San Francisco Ballet School, SFDanceworks, Long Beach Ballet, and Marin Dance Theater. James has worked as a repetiteur for Yuri Possokhov, resident choreographer for San Francisco Ballet, and has staged his ballets on Cincinnati Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet and San Francisco Ballet.
Since assuming the directorship of Grand Rapids Ballet, the company’s repertoire has grown to include classical and contemporary works by some of the most sought after choreographers working today. The dancers have come from across the United States and around the world.
Sofranko has brought repertory which includes choreography by Yuri Possokhov, Alejandro Cerrudo, Penny Saunders, Trey McIntyre, Val Caniparoli, Adam Hougland, Danielle Rowe, Nicolas Blanc, Brian Enos, Christopher Stowell, Darrell Grand-Moultrie, Jennifer Archibald, Ben Stevenson, Edwaard Liang, Amy Seiwert, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, and George Balanchine. He instituted a program entitled Jumpstart which allows new choreographic talent to emerge from within the ranks of the dancers. He has personally collaborated on world premieres with musicians Gene Hahn and Jordan Hamilton, and the company collaborates frequently with other cultural organizations in the area, including with the Grand Rapids Symphony, ArtPrize, Festival of the Arts, DisArt and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
Since 2019 the company has performed annually at the amphitheater at the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park and in 2021 began performing at Studio Park Celebration Cinemas in downtown Grand Rapids.
During the 2020-21 season, Grand Rapids Ballet successfully weathered the pandemic by producing a first-ever virtual season, in collaboration with SALT Creative Production Studios. Sofranko curated four virtual programs, including “The Nutcracker Experience,” which was seen on television throughout West Michigan and earned the company an Emmy nomination.
James would like to thank his wife Cynthia Sheppard Sofranko for her ongoing support and creative input in all of his work.
