Critic's Pick — Nashville Ballet: 'Giselle'

Nashville Ballet continues its season this weekend with Nick Mullikin’s dark and dreamy reimagining of Giselle. Originally drawing inspiration from a pair of ghost stories (Heinrich Heine’s folktale De l’Allemagne and Victor Hugo’s poem “Fantômes”), the piece follows an innocent peasant girl who loses her heart to a handsome but deceptive young prince, a prince who is already promised to another. Devastated, poor Giselle dies of a broken heart, joining the ranks of the dreaded Wilis — a vengeful group of spirits who have all been betrayed by their lovers. Exploring timeless themes of love, deceit and despair, Giselle is set to a haunting score from French composer Adolphe Adam, and brought to life by Nashville Ballet’s music director and principal conductor Ming Luke and the Nashville Symphony. This marks the first time Nashville Ballet has presented Giselle since 2009, and it’s also Mullikin’s first full-length ballet as the company’s artistic director. Audiences can look forward to new choreography, fresh design elements and a rather bold new ending that asks audiences to consider the often weighty consequences behind our actions.

Oct. 2-4 at TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater

505 Deaderick St.