"Atlanta Ballet’s ‘Rite of Spring’ isn’t beautiful. It’s sublime.

To create a similarly uncanny visual aesthetic, Schreier relied heavily on her design collaborators. The curtain went up on a stage decked in what at first glance appeared to be lush vines and foliage suspended above a bare floor. The lighting, by Ben Rawson, tinted the set, by Jason Ardizzone-West, in vibrant shades of green, with subtle hints of pink and purple. Abigail Dupree-Polston costumed all of the dancers in filmy georgette pants tapered at the ankle and tight-fitting doublets with subtle ruffles of chiffon at the chest, waist and shoulders.

After a pause behind a dropped scrim for a set and costume change, the somber melodies that opened the second half, “The Sacrifice,” were calm before the storm. The lighting accelerated what throughout had been an almost imperceptible shift into a more muted palette. The hanging scenery descended claustrophobically. Color leached from the scene, a transformation reflected in the dancers’ bodies."

Robin Wharton  - ARTS ATL