Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award Features Louisville Ballet and Ballet Bound
- Information VOICE_TRIBUNE
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Press Release
The 2025 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award winners include Darren Walker for Lifetime Achievement, Nancy Lieberman for Humanitarian of the year, and Anquan and Dionne Boldin for Humanitarian Impact.
The exceptional evening opened with a performance by Louisville Ballet performing former company artist Brandon Ragland's ballet I Am. First created as part of Louisville Ballet's 2021 digital production for Choreographer's Showcase, I Am explores the discomfort and growth that comes from occupying unwelcoming spaces.
Through movement – and in concert with the voices and words of three Louisville-based Black poets – Ragland’s choreography evokes the complexity and challenges Black people often experience when inhabiting “white spaces;” their efforts to adapt; and their self-discovery upon confronting their discomfort, defying stereotypes, and asserting their presence.
We were so proud that six of our continuing Ballet Bound Scholars were invited to participate. They were integrated into Brandon's I Am choreographer, dancing alongside six Company Artists, and contributing their own spoken word poetry that they recited live during the performance.
Central Kentucky Dance Theatre and The Louisville Ballet School
On Friday, December 12, our Louisville Ballet Youth Ensemble will be making a special guest appearance as Snowflakes in Central Kentucky Dance Theatre's production of The Nutcracker. Our dancers will be representing The Louisville Ballet School for this holiday tradition in Lexington at the University of Kentucky's Singletary Center.
As the State Ballet of Kentucky, we are so excited for this opportunity for our student artists to represent us across the Commonwealth while the Louisville Ballet will be performing opening night of The Brown-Forman Nutcracker.