Rhiannon Giddens and the Nashville Ballet

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Lucy Negro Redux is an original ballet choreographed by Nashville Ballet's Artistic Director Paul Vasterling based on Caroline Randall William's book of poetry of the same name. The piece explores the author's thesis that the "Dark Lady" and the "Fair Youth" – the subjects and inspiration of hundreds of Shakespeare's love sonnets – were undoubtedly a black woman and a young man, respectively.

The story is strung together by a score featuring original compositions by Rhiannon Giddens and spoken word from William's book. The ballet explores themes of love, otherness, equality and beauty. As the piece alternates in time, Elizabethan and present day, we see through dance how relationship themes transcend time. The audience is privy to the exploration of Shakespeare's romantic connection to both the male Fair Youth and the black Lucy Negro. Ultimately, in experiencing Lucy Negro, the narrator, and thus the audience, finds a powerful female voice.

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