To the background of a throbbing 1970's beat and an urban landscape, patrons in a crowded disco dance with attitude, sass, and at times, fierce despair. Tough, brutal, yet poignant, the stage sizzles with street life and physical pyrotechnics as an aloof drug pusher and two displaced lovers are destined for collision. Inspired by the lives of Los Angeles’ disparate inhabitants, Stack-Up depicts the emotional 'traffic' in a community that is stacked on top of each other. 

Please note: strobe lighting is used in the final section of this ballet.

REVIEWS

"Stack-Up seems bound to another era, which made it no less intriguing to watch. [It] conjured a different kind of community, what could be a group of friends convening on a Friday night.  Set against an impressionistic cityscape inspired by Los Angeles, the relentlessly jazzy choreography often resembles an '80s aerobics routine, not least because of four cartwheeling, back-flipping dancers in neon exercise gear.  The story revolves around a romantic couple and a loner, who drugs [the man] during a disco scene.  In his ensuing solo, [he] veers impressively between states of ecstacy and fear.  Staged in honor of the coming centennial of Mr. Beatty's birth, Stack-Up is dated, but so thoroughly that it fascinates as a kind of time capsule."

–Siobhan Burke, The New York Times, 12/14/17

"Stack-Up, a panoramic look at urban street life in late 20th-century Los Angeles – with a backdrop adapted from a painting by Romare Bearden – sizzles with disco energy, mixing critique and affection for its seventeen characters."

–Elizabeth Zimmer, The Village Voice, 12/19/17

"...an ageless masterwork that reflects the nightlife of any era. The action follows a wide-ranging set of exclusive social groups partying the night away in an impressionistic view of the 80’s by way of Los Angeles. Replete with virtuosic challenges – turns into sky scraping layouts, split leaps forward that switch to land in wide squats, acrobatic partnering, and a moving line of high kicks multiple pirouettes – Beatty’s collection of audience-pleasing daring wedded with Soul Train lines adds up to more than mere showing off. With its emphasis on character and political negotiations between disparate sects of night creatures, Stack-Up functions as social commentary that beckons the audience to join in on the fun. One hopes that Stack-Up remains in the repertoire for many seasons to come. It is quite simply, the event of the season."

–Juan Michael Porter II, HuffPost, 1/2/18

This new production of Stack-Up is made possible with generous support from The Honorable Amalya L. Kearse.