Asian American Ballet Project (AABP) returns to the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts on June 27–28, 2026, with Once Upon Our Time, its fourth annual concert featuring four original ballets rooted in Asian folktales.
Created and performed by Asian American dancers, choreographers, and composers, the program offers stories rarely seen in ballet. For audiences seeking to see themselves reflected onstage, Once Upon Our Time brings long-overlooked cultural narratives forward with beauty, excellence, and intention.
AABP’s choreographers drew inspiration from these ancestral stories – some familiar from childhood, others newly discovered in adulthood. “Part of the Asian American experience is the loss of ancestral stories,” said Beth Mochizuki, Founder and Artistic Director of AABP. “When our choreographers came across these narratives for the first time, they found that they resonated deeply, and chose to create ballets rooted in them. With Once Upon Our Time, we’re expanding what ballet can hold.”
The 2026 program features three returning AABP works and one world premiere, presented alongside live musical collaborations with Asian American composers for a distinctly Asian American artistic experience.
Choreographed by Michael Lowe for AABP in 2023, Suho and the White Horse draws from the Mongolian origin story of the morin khuur, or horsehead fiddle. Following a shepherd boy and his beloved white horse, the ballet explores sacrifice, loss, and the way music carries the soul across generations. For the 2026 production, the work expands to include seven local children in newly added roles and choreography.
Alexa Capareda’s Gabi sa Gubat / Night Jungle, created in 2025 and expanded for 2026, is set in a forest alive with Philippine folkloric figures including the White Lady, duendes, tikbalang, aswang, and manananggal. The ballet reflects on the magnetism of shared mythologies and the ways they illuminate the human psyche.
Adrienne Chan’s Lon Po Po, choreographed in 2024 and updated for 2026, draws from the Chinese folktale widely considered the original Little Red Riding Hood. With new choreography, costumes, and scenery, and accompanied by live quartet music composed by Julian Gau, the ballet examines responsibility, sisterhood, and survival.
The 2026 world premiere of Tấm Cám, choreographed by company dancer Lauren Huynh in her AABP debut, offers a Vietnamese reinterpretation of the Cinderella story. Set on four company dancers, one guest performer, and eight local children, and featuring original live piano music by composer Christopher Vu, the ballet centers on morality, nature, and resilience.
Together, these four ballets illuminate the breadth and vitality of Asian storytelling – its histories, its imaginings, and the ways its narratives continue to inspire new artistic voices.
Tickets are now on sale for Once Upon Our Time at asianamericanballetproject.org.
Share this:
