The Curious Life of Edgar Allan Poe

Premiering Spring 2026

Featuring original choreography by Glorielle Niedfeldt and Julianna Rubio Slager, The Curious Life of Edgar Allan Poe is a hauntingly beautiful ballet that sheds new light on one of America’s most enigmatic literary figures. Known for his tales of mystery and macabre, Poe was more than a gothic storyteller—he was a man shaped by profound loss, mental anguish, and a burning desire for connection and meaning.

Set against the backdrop of a nation unraveling, this work moves beyond the myth to explore Poe’s humanity. Through powerful and evocative choreography, the ballet unpacks themes of grief, genius, addiction, and the search for redemption. Audiences will encounter the women whose presence marked his life and imagination—his mother, his wife Virginia, and the female characters that haunted his prose.

As tensions rise in a young America struggling with slavery and on the verge of civil war, Poe’s internal unraveling mirrors the nation’s own descent into chaos. Yet within that darkness, glimmers of beauty and grace persist.

The Curious Life of Edgar Allan Poe invites audiences to wrestle with mystery, to sit with the uncomfortable, and to recognize that even in the deepest shadow, there is a yearning for the light.