The Ultimate Love Story: Interlochen Arts Academy Presents Romeo and Juliet Ballet

Behind the scenes with the cast and director

By Lourin Sprenger | Feb. 7, 2026

At Interlochen Center for the Arts, high school dancers are learning what it means to fall in love, feud, and grieve… all without saying a word.

This February, Interlochen’s high school ballet program will present a 90-minute production of the ultimate love story: Romeo and Juliet. Set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score and staged under the guidance of Joseph Morrissey, director of dance at Interlochen, the production brings together nearly 50 student and faculty performers for an emotionally driven retelling of Shakespeare’s tragic love story.

“We have four full weeks of rehearsal, and then the fifth week we’re in the theater,” Morrissey says of the streamlined rehearsal schedule. “By that point, if we don’t know what we’re doing, then we still have a problem.”

Despite the compressed timeline, Morrissey believes the challenge is exactly what makes the experience impactful for young dancers between the ages of 14 and 19. “It’s mature beyond their years,” he explains. “But they’re handling it very well.”

Drama Drives the Dance

Unlike popular ballets filled with fairies, princes, and swans, Romeo and Juliet demands emotional honesty and restraint. Morrissey emphasizes that the smallest details: the way a hand lifts, a glance is held, or a character hesitates are what carry the story forward.

“This ballet is so drama driven,” he says. “The drama drives the dance.”

For Lindy Sloan and Rowan Barber, seniors cast in the title roles of Juliet and Romeo (roles shared with two other sets of students), that shift has been both challenging and exciting.

“This ballet is more human-like versus the more classical repertoire we do,” Sloan says. “You’re not standing super polished all the time. You’re just standing how you would every day, which is really hard, especially in pointe shoes.”

“There’s a lot of acting and character work,” Barber says. “It’s like an extra muscle you have to flex in your brain. But once you’re comfortable, you can really manipulate it and have fun with the emotions.”

That vulnerability is something Morrissey actively encourages, pushing students outside of the typical dance role. “I find myself telling them the opposite of what ballet usually demands: Turn in,’” he says. “Just be a human being. That can be surprisingly difficult.”

No Performance Is the Same

The production’s quick turnaround, about 20 days from start to stage, adds pressure, but it’s a pace the dancers at Interlochen know well.

“We’re used to it,” Sloan says. “But this feels like a lot to learn in a very short amount of time, especially because it’s so character based. Every rehearsal moment really counts.”

Still, both dancers say the process has been deeply rewarding, particularly in the scenes that define the ballet. The seniors in the starring roles have been working tirelessly for this moment for the last four years.

“My favorite parts to rehearse are the iconic scenes…the ballroom, the balcony,” Sloan says with a smile. “And honestly, learning my death was really fun.”

Barber, who alternates between the roles of Romeo and Tybalt, relishes the dramatic contrast. “I love being Tybalt,” he says. “He’s intimidating, but he’s not really evil, he’s protecting what he loves. It’s so different from playing a prince in a fairytale ballet. This feels like real life.”

Morrissey has triple-cast several principal roles, allowing different interpretations to emerge across performances. “Each show has a different energy,” he says. “Everyone’s making it their own.”

“That’s what keeps it exciting,” Sloan adds. “Each performance is its own event. Someone’s doing something for the first or last time. It’s never exactly the same.”

A Right of Passage

For Sloan and Barber, Romeo and Juliet marks a milestone in their senior year. The ballet has been part of Interlochen’s four-year performance cycle, something they’ve known was coming since they first arrived on campus.

“It’s been in the background for four years,” Sloan says. “There’s pressure, but it feels like the right timing. It feels very full circle.”

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Barber explains. “I’ve seen so many interpretations, both on stage and in film. To finally get to tell this story, and really act through movement, is incredibly exciting.”

Adding to the production’s complexity are striking sets and costumes, some of which were recently hand-sewn in Kyiv under wartime conditions.

“When you try them on for the first time, it’s magical,” Barber recalls of his costume fitting. “Professional companies don’t always have resources like this. It’s such a privilege.”

The designs aim at realism over the fantasy that often comes with ballet—long dresses instead of tutus, hair worn down instead of tightly secured buns. “You never dance with your hair down in ballet,” Sloan says. “That’s just Juliet. It makes it feel so real.”

From the director’s chair, Morrissey sees these choices as essential to the storytelling. “This is a human story,” he says. “They’re not flying around with wings on. This gives them the chance to show who they are.”

Capturing Audience Attention

Running approximately 90 minutes, Morrissey has shaped the ballet with modern attention spans in mind, editing Prokofiev’s score to keep the narrative moving.

“I’m here to tell a story,” Morrisey says. “It just happens to be through the medium of dance.”

The production runs over Valentine’s Day weekend, Feb. 13-15, at Interlochen’s Corson Auditorium, with performances Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening, and Sunday afternoon. The ballet will then tour to Bay Harbor’s Great Lakes Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 20.

“Whether you’re in a relationship or not, you’re going to feel something,” Morrissey says. “It’s the ultimate love story and a great way to warm your heart in the middle of a cold February.”

For the young dancers telling a story of young love, the impact will last long after the final curtain. “No matter what you do in life,” Sloan says, “this is something you carry with you forever.”

And for audiences, it’s an opportunity to witness young artists telling a centuries-old story with fresh vulnerability, learning, in real time, how to be human on stage.

Tickets are available through Interlochen Center for the Arts’ box office and online at interlochen.org. Advance purchase is recommended.

Pictured: A 2022 performance of Romeo and Juliet at Interlochen.