Jazz Royalty

Featuring Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth
with the Dancers of Texas Ballet Theater

Click here to listen to a short excerpt from Jazz Royalty.

BE THRILLED in the presence of Jazz Royalty, when Texas Ballet Theater presents world premiere performances with jazz legends Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth. The pair brings their celebrated sound to a unique night of jazz and ballet!

With a voice like velvet, Dame Cleo Laine makes every song she sings her own. Whether it’s scat to the tunes of Duke Ellington or an intimate duet with the sax of Sir John, she weaves a spell over her audience as she pours on the honey and spits out the rhythm.

Called one of the best jazz singers in the world, Cleo Laine is the only vocalist with Grammy nominations in jazz, pop and classical music.

Watch music and dance in a new light when innovative jazz choreography includes the evening’s musicians in the ballet. After all, any jazz fan knows that listening to a finger-snapping version of an old favorite means making friends with the music, so when dancers make friends with the musicians, everybody’s got fascinating rhythm!

“Dame Cleo's remarkable voice, with its coloratura highs and deep moaning lows, and her witchy beauty are phenomena in themselves.”
- The New York Times

Program Information
Music by John Dankworth and Various Artists
Choreography by Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., and Tim O’Keefe

Photo Credit
Artists: Thomas Kilps, Peter Zweifel, Victoria Wadsworth.
Photo: Ellen Appel.