Work
Sunset o639 Hours
a full-length contemporary ballet
About
This narrative evening-length work interprets the dramatic, true story of pilot Edwin Musick’s 1938 inaugural airmail flight across the Pacific. With stunning dancers and an onstage cabaret-style band, audiences will be transported by the rich sights and sounds of pre-World War II New Zealand, Samoa, and Hawaii through this beautiful and intensely personal narrative of loss, longing, and paradise.
"[a] poetic realm of the imagination"
— The New York Times
"The musicians’ contributions are central. Ms. Langabeer and Andrew Marsh sing, often spellbindingly, as well as play instruments. Thanks to them and the dancers, “Sunset, o639 Hours” becomes beautifully elegiac, taking us into the hearts of people who lived decades ago and are now largely forgotten.
— The New York Times
Matthew Neenan | choreographer
Andrew Mars | contributing musician/lyricist
Joshua Machiz and Isaac Stanford | contributing musicians
Maiko Matsushima | Set Designer
Drew Billiau | Lighting Designer
Nick Kourtides | Sound Designer
Christine Darch | Costume Designer
Neil Feather | Instrument Inventor
Archival recording provided by Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Korero
Performance history
July 9 - 15, 2014: Performed by BalletX at The WILMA Theater, Philadelphia, PA, USA
July 23 - 26, 2015 : Performed by BalletX at WILMA Theater, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Aug 1, 2015: Performed by BalletX at Vail Dance Festival Vail, Colorado, USA
Aug 11 & 12, 2015: Performed by BalletX at Joyce Theater Ballet Festival New York, Joyce Theater
July 22, 2016: Performed by BalletX at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Becket, Massachusetts, USA
Nov 16 - 20, 2016: Performed by BalletX at WILMA Theater, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Aug 2, 2021: Performed by BalletX at Vail Dance Festival Vail, Colorado, USA
Sept 9 - 12, 2021: Performed by BalletX at Suzanne Roberts Theater, Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, USA