In her somewhat subdued curtain talk, artistic director, Christine Cox, announced BalletX got a much-needed boost too—in the form of a whopping $7.4 million behest from the late Joan DeJean, who died in December at age 75. DeJean, a longtime Penn professor and author of many scholarly and feminist-themed books, was also a devout fan of the company for many years. The gift is the largest the company, indeed, more than any local company, has ever received. It will be interesting to see if this encourages more artistic risks in the future. 

Cox also announced that BalletX would be leaving its home base, the Wilma for the last 18 years, in the fall to perform across the Avenue of the Arts at the Suzanne Roberts Theater, which has a larger seating capacity.

For now, the three commissioned choreographers gave us two colorfully delicious works to open and close the show, and one slightly darker, more linearly thematic work by Belgian choreographer Quagebeur, aptly titled “Everything InBetween.” Composer Jeremy Birchall’s original score gave us a penchant underpinning for this peek into couple’s therapy. The couple perched on a white settee pushed up and to different sides of the stage by a contingent of the company’s 13-14 dancers (different casting each night.) The couple (Francesca Forcella and Jerard Palazo) wore indigo blue tops and pants and the dancers in the background more faded shades of blue. This suggested they might represent past selves or past lovers. In one prolonged section, a woman has push and pull over Forcella with Palazo. Forcella’s duet with her was the most sensuous and poignant of several pairing both in the forefront and background. Are they saying goodbye at the end of an affair? Forcella and Palazo end on a note of uncertainty too.