The Morris Museum of Art Presents Off the Wall and Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green on Thursday, March 13, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. at the Miller Theater.

Deemed “fabulous . . . an ingenious idea . . . striking” by the New York Times, Off the Wall and Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green brings his Gullah-inspired paintings to life through creative choreography and settings that are based on his paintings.

This ballet was first performed in 2005 after William Starrett, artistic and executive director and principal choreographer of the South Carolina Ballet, and artist Jonathan Green met at the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Awards ceremony. The two admired each other’s work and collaborated to make Green’s paintings come to life through dance. Starrett created vignettes from twenty-two of Green’s paintings, exploring the themes of family, faith, hope, and love. He brings Green’s rich, vibrant colors to the stage through eye-popping backdrops, more than one hundred and fifty hand-sewn costumes, and music that combines traditional work songs with gospel, soul, classical, and jazz music—some of which is performed live by a choir. The marvelous choreography is the tie that binds—the company’s dancers portraying the cultural heritage of the Gullah and Geechee communities that are depicted in Green’s paintings.

Tickets will be available at the Miller Theater soon! 

Opening March 1, 2025, be sure to view Jonathan Green: The Aesthetics of Heritage exhibition at the Morris Museum of Art.