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McConnell Arts Center - Worthington, OH Sarah Hixon presents History of Modern Dance for the Lifelong Learning Institute Tuesday, April 28, 2026 from 1:00-3:00pm $15 for single lecture, $75 season subscription What exactly is Modern dance? This session offers an accessible overview of the rich history of Modern dance including its origins—both American and European lineages—and its theatrical development. Excerpts of important dance works from significant artists of the past 140 years will enrich your understanding of the art form. We will learn about how and why a decisive break from Ballet reshaped performance across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. From early Modern dance pioneers like Isadora Duncan to contemporary artists of today, we will explore how shifts in philosophy, music, visual art, and technology influenced ideas about the body, space, time, and narrative. Using video clips, we will connect choreographers and their significant works to the social contexts that shaped them such as women’s emancipation, the civil rights movement, and anti-war counterculture. Designed for curious dance audiences and newcomers alike, this talk uses video excerpts, guided observation, and plain-language analysis to build a working knowledge of dance history and a vocabulary for watching dance. Attendees will leave able to recognize hallmark techniques, situate major artists on a timeline, and identify through-lines that link early modern dance to today’s concert, community, and cross-disciplinary stages. Recommended for arts enthusiasts, educators, and anyone interested in how dance reflects—and helps to shape—the modern world. Register HERE

From the Barnett Center at The Ohio State University, College of Arts and Sciences Sept 27, 2024 In our first event in this series, Sarah Hixon, of Hixon Dance came to offer her experience and knowledge of life in the performing arts to our students. Sarah Hixon is a choreographer, dance educator, and collaborator. She is the founder and artistic director of Hixon Dance, a professional performing company established in 2007. The company is known for its collaborations with other artists, especially musicians, and for presenting impactful and accessible performances. Ms. Hixon studied choreography with Doug Varone, Bebe Miller, David Parsons, Susan Rethorst, Vera Blaine, Susan Shields, and others. She trained at The Washington Ballet, American Repertory Theatre, and The Milwaukee Ballet, among others. She holds a BFA in Dance from George Mason University and an MFA in Choreography from The Ohio State University. Ms. Hixon began her presentation by laying out the ideological impetus for starting a career in Columbus, and discussing what she loves about working here. Then, she advised her listeners on the resources to support a career in dance like hers, including spaces, licenses, collaborators, and exploring opportunities for professional development. She also spoke in great detail about the monetary side of a life in the arts, informing the audience about how contracts and tax documents are used for unsalaried employees, how to effectively balance a budget, and what kinds of organizational models are effective in our city. Much of her experience as an arts entrepreneur in Columbus has been through the lens of dance, and founding her own performance company; however, Ms. Hixon's words and experience were valuable to all in attendance, and applicable to young performing artists everywhere. We were overjoyed to have her at the Barnett Center to speak to our students, and offer her expertise!

On CD 92.9 with Brian Philips March 8, 2023 https://soundcloud.com/cd1025morning/art-makes-columbus-sarah-hixon-hixon-dance

https://voyageohio.com/interview/check-out-sarah-hixons-story/ July 14, 2022 by Jessica Ramirez Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Hixon. Photo: Stephanie Matthews Sarah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? I discovered dance as a child and began training at the age of 6 in my hometown of Pasadena, CA. I passionately pursued dance throughout my youth, studying concert dance forms like ballet and modern and performing many times every year. Even as a young dancer, I grew very interested in choreography—the art of creating dances. I dabbled in it, choreographing dance pieces for friends’ talent shows or assisting my instructors in re-setting dances they had taught me to new students. I went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from George Mason University. I was honored to receive the Faculty Award for Excellence in Choreography. I went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts in Dance with an emphasis on choreography at The Ohio State University. I began my professional company, Hixon Dance, shortly after graduating. I choreograph and direct for the company, as well as handle most of the administrative duties. The company has performed all over central Ohio and beyond, and has been a mainstay of the independent dance community in Columbus for 15 years. We became an official nonprofit in 2016. In 2017 we began offering movement classes for the community. This program is important because it provides a space for students of all ages and backgrounds to learn about dance, explore their own creativity, and collaborate together in a safe place. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to help dancers of all ages learn to love movement and to continue to make great works of dance for the stage! We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road? Pursuing any performing art comes with many challenges. I have had to overcome physical injury, emotional abuse, and a lot of rejection during my career. There is a considerable amount of judgment about the body in traditional training—body size, shape, etc. which can be very difficult to live with. It is hard to not internalize a lot of these things as a person. Most young people studying dance will, unfortunately, experience some kind of traumatic event. However, I refuse to be defined by one narrow idea of “success” in the performing arts. I have had many great opportunities to teach, choreograph, and collaborate with some amazing artists and I strive to break cycles of disrespect. Now that I primarily focus on the administrative side of my organization, it comes with new challenges. There is always a full plate of tasks, from grant writing and budgeting to helping students and their parents find the best class fit for them. We opened our own studio space last year so that has kept me extra busy! There are always struggles as a nonprofit organization, but we are having a real impact on our community and that makes it all worthwhile. Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work? Hixon Dance is known for making rich collaborative dance works for the stage. We regularly collaborate with other artists—especially musicians—and experts in other fields to inspire, create, and produce new work. The company consistently presents impactful and finely crafted works that are accessible to audiences with a strong commitment to a multidisciplinary creative process. I like to make work that has a lot of ways “in” for an audience—dances that people can emotionally relate to and understand. Choreographing is a daring and vulnerable act. To create dance is to expose your genuine self, ideas, and emotions to others. For me, it is also a way of thinking about the world and about the people in it. I make dances to deeply explore experiences, philosophies, stories, personas, or phenomena. Choreographing is my activism. Choreographing strengthens my understanding, increases my capacity for empathy, and profoundly connects me to other people. For me, a successful dance is one that is carefully crafted, thoughtful, and genuine. While my own creative process continually undergoes change, the goal for my work remains the same: to bring to life an individual perspective on the world, no matter how dark or humorous, painful or euphoric. There is a great deal of trauma in most dance education programs, and I find that to be extremely detrimental. I wanted to create a movement education program where students would find a truly safe environment to explore dance and their own movement ideas. Our educational program values inclusive community building, real body positivity and developing healthy techniques, and instilling a growth mindset in our students. We love making a safe space for dancers who don’t “fit in” with typical dance studios. The experiences are richer, more meaningful, and very gratifying. Photo: Ken Falk The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us? The pandemic has been one of the greatest challenges our organization has ever faced. To create dance, you need dancers together in the same space for a long time. Our stage productions take a minimum of 6 months to produce, and it is often closer to 8 or 10 months of regular rehearsal. During the 2020-21 season, we held company classes and rehearsals almost entirely over Zoom with dancers using their kitchens or living rooms or whatever space they had available to them. It was extremely challenging and did not provide the same level of connection that we are used to, but it was good to have something creative to focus our attention and energy on. When the weather was ok, we did have some outdoor classes and rehearsals, just so we could be together in the same place and move together. That was huge. We created 7 original dance works for the camera, and short films that featured each company member and then the entire company. It was actually great to delve into a different medium and focus on making work that was intended to be seen on film. It allowed us to incorporate different outdoor settings or specific sites which added new context to the work. We also held classes for students online during that year over Zoom as well. We had about 30 intrepid students from ages 3 to 80 who took a class with us all year. There were a lot of cameos from pets, siblings, or family members! While it was challenging to provide movement education in this way, it was wonderful to provide a time and space for kids and adults to focus on themselves, movement ideas, and self-expression. It provided some connection for them, and for us. Kids got to still talk to their friends and see each other dance over Zoom. It was really wonderful to know we were helping in this small way. Photo: Ken Falk

April 04, 2022 By REBECCA TIEN Spotlight Contributor Clintonville Spotlight On a bright, Sunday morning, five barefoot women worked together to drag gnarled tree branches and stumps onto the rehearsal floor at Hixon Dance Studio, framing the space with lengths of gauzy fabric suspended from the ceiling. The simple set mirrored the mood of Sarah Hixon’s new piece, “A Harrowing World: Dance, Poetry and Song,” which is simultaneously tortured and tender. Photo: Rebecca Tien Hixon described the piece as an exploration of “sororal and maternal relationships, how we respond to grief, the way we create shelter through our experiences, and how the past shapes our perspective of the world.” The inspiration came from local poet Maggie Smith’s now famous poem, Good Bones, and five of her other works. Hixon wove those words together with dance and original composition by musicians Lauren Spavelko and Jacob Reed. Life is short and the world is at least half terrible, and for every kind stranger, there is one who would break you, though I keep this from my children. Smith’s words speak of an innocence that must inevitably be broken and the pain and disillusionment that comes with that. They speak of a searing and uncomfortable truth, leaving a strong impulse to shake them free. This the dancers performed gorgeously, moving through connection, love and frustration in equal measure. Photo: Rebecca Tien The work was long in progress. It was conceived in the summer and fall of 2019, when Hixon first was exploring melding words and form together. At the time she was working with a dramaturg to find text that could be interpreted through dance, and Chris Leyva introduced her to Smith’s work. The piece was intended to be performed in April 2020, but like so many things at that time, got indefinitely delayed. “We had to hit the pause button and figure out how we worked as a company,” said Hixon. “We stayed connected through Zoom, dancing in our basements, kitchens, living rooms, whatever space we had, and that was hard physically, to try to work in these tiny spaces, but also psychologically.” Eventually, the company was able to convene again in person and in the summer of 2021, the company began to revisit the piece – which was performed the weekend of March 25-27. “The first couple of rehearsals there was a lot of negotiating,” Hixon recalled, as dancers returned to her space at 5080 N. High St. across from the Graceland Shopping Center. “Am I allowed to touch you? Is it OK if I stand this close? It was definitely a process getting back into it and feeling safe.” Photo: Rebecca Tien Hixon also was struck by how differently the piece is interpreted by her dancers and potentially received by an audience in light of “this new traumatic experience we have collectively been through. If nothing else, the dancers have a lot of strong feelings about getting to do this in front of an audience, without masks on.” Hixon’s approach is distinct and perhaps foreign to anyone who might have been exposed to a world of dance that involves ordered rows of girls in pink with tight buns. Dancers arrive in whatever feels comfortable to move their bodies freely, from the littlest 2-year-old dancers who attend class at the studio right through the 82-year-olds who improve their strength and balance through movement. Photo: Rebecca Tien What is also unique is Hixon’s collaborative approach with her company dancers. The process of continual creative expression and the give-and-take of ideas between the dancers and Hixon is clear even in the final moments of rehearsal before the performance. Each dancer plays an integral part in bringing Hixon’s vision to life, offering their own insight and personal experience to every movement they perform on stage. Hixon might bring the bones, but her dancers robe them with sinew and flesh, making each movement deeply their own.

Sarah Hixon on the literary roots of her company’s new poetry-inspired presentation, ‘A Harrowing World,’ which runs March 25-27 at Columbus Dance Theatre Andy Downing Columbus Alive Published March 22, 2022 https://www.columbusmonthly.com/story/entertainment/arts/2022/03/22/hixon-dance-show-built-good-bones-maggie-smiths-poems/7128152001/ The process of bringing “A Harrowing World” to the stage at Columbus Dance Theatre has been a long one. Initially set to premiere in April 2020, the show was delayed nearly two full years by the coronavirus pandemic, and the roots of the concept actually stretch back to the early spring of 2019, when Sarah Hixon, artistic director of Hixon Dance, started to immerse herself in the poetry of Columbus writer Maggie Smith. At the time, Hixon was working with an astrophysicist on a piece that bridged the worlds of science and dance, which led her to explore texts centered on the concept of transformation, including poems by Smith about personal transformation. “And I loved the poems, even though they weren’t right for that project,” Hixon said. “But I kept them in the back of my mind, and after that project ended … I wanted to go back and explore [Smith’s work] a little bit deeper.” Gradually, as Hixon worked her way through Smith’s catalog, an idea for a new show started to take shape, one rooted in the local author’s poems. The resultant work, dubbed “A Harrowing World” and taking place at Columbus Dance Theatre Friday to Sunday, March 25-27, finds a team of five dancers and four musicians performing a series of six interpretive modern dance pieces, each inspired by one of Smith’s poems, including: “See No Evil,” “Heart,” “At Your Age, "I Wore a Darkness,” “Harrowing,” “Good Bones” and “Rain, New Year’s Eve.” “I think what I like about [Smith's work] is she has these strong, almost visceral images that you can emotionally respond to, but at the same time the language is actually really sparse, at least in the poems I selected,” Hixon said. “She doesn’t give the full story about who she’s talking about and when it was and where it was — and some poems do that, where there’s a lot of painting of scene. But she doesn’t do that, and I love it. I love how scarce the language is because it allows me to come in and add how I’m responding to it emotionally or narratively.” When reading Smith’s “See No Evil,” from 2005's Lamp of the Body, for example, Hixon was transported back to childhood, when her older sister, the middle of three children, died of leukemia at age 8. “And the poem, again, there’s lots of room for interpretation, but the narrator is looking at an old photo, and describing things in the photo, but not giving you a lot of information,” Hixon said. “But what is clear is that it’s a family photo. And it’s also clear that one of those people is no longer alive. And so, it immediately made me think about my background. … I’ve always wondered how that trauma affected my parents, my older sister. I was quite young, so I don’t necessarily remember the difference in my family before and after the event. … It made me think about loss, about parenting, about grief. And it was interesting to go back and reflect on it, and almost give this event some light.” In transforming the poems for the stage, Hixon said she started by pulling the poems even further apart, taking specific words or turns of phrase to create “a score,” or a set of potentials for the dancers, who would then collaborate with Hixon in creating a series of movements meant to capture the feel of Smith’s prose. “And then we’d work together to pull those apart, to change them,” Hixon said. “We’d change the dynamics, change the facing, change the tempo — all sorts of things to polish it. And by doing that, we end up having a kind of language for the work.” While Hixon received Smith’s blessing to bring her verses to the stage, as well as approval from her publisher, the artistic director refrained from having in-depth conversations with Smith about the selected works, preferring to explore her interpretations of the poems via the movements of the dancers. “I’ve never asked her, like, ‘Tell me what this is all about,’” said Hixon, who was nervous when Smith attended a January rehearsal. “I felt like I was taking her work and hugely adding to it, putting in my ideas and stories, and I was a little afraid, because I wasn’t sure how she was going to respond. But I think she totally got it.” Following two years of pandemic life, which Hixon Dance navigated by pivoting online — a move Hixon described as almost antithetical to the form and that consisted largely of dancers filming solo videos of home performances — “A Harrowing World” and its explorations of grief, loss and transformation have likely taken on new dimensions, though Hixon wasn't yet sure how these added layers might reveal themselves. “Coming back [to in-person rehearsals] there was a little bit of, ‘Is it OK to touch you? Can I get this close?’ There was that negotiation because we had been socially distancing,” Hixon said. “I’m really curious to see how different the piece reads now than it would have two years ago. I definitely think that’s going to have an effect people feel.”

GCAC Art Makes Columbus featuring Sarah Hixon of Hixon Dance March 16th, 2022 Sarah Hixon joined the show March 16th to talk about a new dance program inspired by the poetry of Maggie Smith. Listen Now: https://soundcloud.com/cd1025morning/sarah-hixon-for-web-final

An excerpt from an article by Jennifer Hambrick August 25, 2020 Worthington-based Hixon Dance has taken all of its class offerings online. Hixon Dance Founder and Artistic Director Sarah Hixon says the move to all-virtual classes is intended to eliminate safety concerns and prevent class schedule disruptions amid the pandemic. “We felt like we know we can do this, and we can invest in this platform, so let’s just do that and have something consistent that can keep students and teachers safe,” said Hixon. Hixon Dance is offering real-time and pre-recorded dance and movement classes for all age groups and skill levels. The studio is also building a library of on-demand classes that students will be able to access on Vimeo this fall. “It is not the same as doing it in person in the studio for lots of reasons, but it is certainly better than not doing it at all.” Hixon said. The Hixon Dance professional company rehearses virtually through Zoom. COURTESY OF HIXON DANCE Hixon has also been leading rehearsals for the Hixon Dance professional company entirely online.

An excerpt from an article by Jennifer Hambrick Bodies And Space And Time Sarah Hixon, artistic director of Hixon Dance, is looking forward to a time when she can resume planning for her company’s upcoming season performances when, right now, all of the key ingredients she and her dance company need are not available to them. “The hard thing about creating dance is that it really is a collaborative process from the ground up. You need bodies and space and time,” Hixon said. In the face of the COVID-19 emergency, Hixon Dance canceled what would have been its final performances of the 2019-20 season, a collaboration with the Ohio Song Project, two local composers and a local poet. The company has also had to cancel all dance classes through at least May 10, and Hixon says the summer camps that Hixon Dance had planned to offer in June might also be in jeopardy. Photo: Ken Falk Hixon hopes her company will be able to reschedule the scrapped April performances sometime next season. But the ongoing COVID-19 emergency and the uncertain timetable on which the lockdown will end have so far not allowed her to reschedule the performance. The longer the lockdown continues, the more difficult scheduling that or any other future performance is likely to be. “We do need time ahead of a performance date to prepare, and dance is one of those things that just takes time because you can’t do that at home on your own. You have to be in the studio with other bodies,” Hixon said. As the lockdown draws on, Hixon and her dancers are doing what they can online to stay in shape and to stay connected with each other. “The company is working on trying to figure out a way to do some Zoom classes, so I am able to teach and the dancers are able to do something in their homes. We’re really talking about a limited way to try to stay in shape in these times,” Hixon said. “It’s not adequate, as far as really being able to accomplish what you can accomplish in a dance class, but it is enough to get by.” Hixon Dance is also leveraging the power of the internet to hold company auditions for the first time entirely online. The process invites dancers to upload applications and complete video audition reels to the company’s website. “It’s obviously better to see dancers in person and to get to talk to them and get to know them a little it before making decisions about personnel,” Hixon said. “But I’ve had projects come up before where I’ve needed dancers in a hurry, and we have done that through video reel online before.” Meanwhile, until the COVID-19 emergency abates, and as the company’s administrative operations remain in what she describes as a “wait-and-hold” pattern, Hixon is keeping her eyes on the calendar. “I’m questioning how early can I get dancers in the studio and make sure those projects can happen,” Hixon said. “I don’t even know if our fall projects are feasible at this point. I’m moving ahead as if they are. I’d hate to abandon them too soon.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hixon Dance has delayed its new show A Harrowing World, but you can still get to know Sarah Hixon, the company’s artistic director. Chris Leyva, an area playwright and director, recently sat down with Sarah to talk about the piece and how it came about. https://columbusunderground.com/columbus-makes-art-presents-sarah-hixon-developing-a-harrowing-world/ Photo: Ken Falk Chris: Tell me about the new show Hixon Dance is currently creating. Sarah: It’s called A Harrowing World. I took six poems by Columbus poet Maggie Smith that I felt were related and that would create an interesting story arc. The dancers and I worked together in the studio to create movement to the poetry. The dance explores both maternal and sororal relationships and how the traits we inherit – and pass on – change our perspective of the world. Photo: Ken Falk Chris:How is this show different from other pieces you’ve created in the past? Sarah: Last year our show was based on science concepts. This show is definitely more emotional, more personal, more intimate. We’ve commissioned three new pieces of music for this show which will set three of the poems as songs. The way the dancers and I have developed the movement alongside the poetry has been a careful balance. Creating beautiful and sometimes abstract movement in a way that makes the work very accessible for an audience. I think people will see the way that personal relationships, even though they can be complicated and messy, can also be a place of haven and of comfort, especially when times are trying in your life. Photo: Ken Falk Chris: Is your personal experience as a mother and a sister influencing your work on this piece? Sarah: Yes, very much so. I think that’s why I selected the poems that I did. I’m actually the youngest of three sisters, one of whom did pass away when she was eight. So, I definitely clung on to the first poem “See No Evil” because of that. And I have a young child, so I’m always learning and growing as a parent – sometimes struggling. But I also have an aging mother that I’m struggling with as her grown child. I’m navigating the power shift that happens as she needs more help. She still doesn’t like taking my advice or guidance. Those definitely are a part of this piece. Chris: Tell me more about the music for this show. Sarah: All the music will be performed live by members of The Ohio Song Project, which is directed by Scott Ewing. It will include Sean Ferguson on theorbo, Scott Ewing on piano, Emily Noel, soprano, and Jenna Hunnicutt, mezzo-soprano. The first piece is by John Cage and is very trance-like and hypnotic. That will be paired with a new piece written by local composer Lauren Spavelko. She is going to set a poem by Smith called “Heart,” which has playful imagery but is also a bit melancholy. The second section will include a piece from the 17th century by Bertolotti for theorbo, an instrument related to the lute. And then our music director and local composer Jacob Reed has set a poem called “Harrowing,” from which we obviously get our title, for a mezzo-soprano and theorbo. He will also set “Rain, New Year’s Eve” for soprano and piano. Photo: Ken Falk Chris: Why do you think Columbus as a city lends itself to the type of show that you’re creating? Sarah: The arts community is pretty connected. We have a lot of outlets for being able to see and hear and experience the work of other artists. It makes collaboration easy and exciting. I enjoy the collaborative aspect of making these kinds of productions with so many people—it adds so much richness to the work. I love having the artistic input and voices of dancers, musicians, composers, dramaturgs, and others. The Columbus community of artists makes it easy to find great collaborators, and patrons of the arts are open to so many of these new experiences. To learn more about Hixon Dance and their upcoming productions, visit hixondance.com.

Peter Tonguette, The Columbus Dispatch Thursday, September 12, 2019 As she was preparing to appear in Hixon Dance’s new production of “Peter and the Wolf,” dancer Victoria Alesi decided to do some homework. ​ “There were a lot of ballet or balletic versions that have been performed and produced,” Alesi said of “Peter and the Wolf,” “but no real modern, contemporary versions that we were able to find.” ​ The Hixon Dance version promises to break fresh ground when it is performed Saturday and Sunday at the McConnell Arts Center in Worthington. ​ “That was really cool to know that we were putting on something totally new that we couldn’t find anywhere on the internet,” Alesi said. ​ Hixon Dance will retain the basic plot of the family friendly dance, which revolves around a Russian boy named Peter (Danielle Kfoury), who finds himself in a tussle with an antagonistic wolf (Alesi). ​ The animal-centric cast also includes the bird (Jasmine Shafley), the cat (Julia Ayau) and the scolding grandfather (David Jon Krohn, also the narrator). ​ Artistic Director Sarah Hixon acknowledges that most audiences will associate “Peter and the Wolf” with ballet rather than modern dance. ​ “Ballet is just such a part of the zeitgeist that everybody understands at least on a surface level,” said Hixon, who choreographed the show. “But they don’t have that same knowledge base for modern dance.” ​ Even so, Hixon hopes young audiences will be receptive to the switch in dance styles. ​ “It’s an American art form and definitely something that I think kids can certainly get into,” Hixon said. ​ In creating their roles, the company’s dancers have looked to videos of animals for inspiration. ​ For example, Alesi is aiming to approximate wolflike movement. ​ “I’m a very hungry creature throughout this dance — truly a predator in a lot of ways,” Alesi said. “I can use a lot of my strength, which I have — I’m also an athlete — ... as well as a lot of tension in my fingers because they’re my claws, they’re my mouth, they’re my teeth.” The score by Sergei Prokofiev — to be performed by the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra — asks the audience to associate instruments with particular characters. ​ “It’s programming that can be fun for all, but it really tries to introduce the orchestra to young students,” said Artistic and Music Director Antoine T. Clark, who will conduct the orchestra. “They (can) expect to hear Prokofiev’s wonderful score,” he said, “and how he is able to bring, in a way, the character of the music, or the instruments, and pair it with this story.” ​ Hixon, whose company usually performs to accompaniment by trios or quartets, is looking forward to the accompaniment of a larger ensemble. ​ “It’s going to be 12 musicians and lots of instruments,” Hixon said. “We’re pretty excited to get to dance to that large of a force.” ​ Although the stage at the Worthington arts center is not as expansive as some in central Ohio, the dancers don’t intend to be inhibited in their animal-inspired moves — and that includes the wolf in the title. ​ “A wolf can travel up to 30 miles a day,” Alesi said. “I get to use that migratory movement as a huge inspiration.”

Tuesday, Sept 10, 2019 https://woub.org/2019/09/10/peter-and-the-wolf-at-mcconnell-arts-center-sept-14-15/ Saturday, September 14 and Sunday, September 15, Sarah Hixon and her dance company, Hixon Dance, will present Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf at the McConnell Arts Center (777 Evening Street, Columbus, OH) with music provided by the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra. Both performances will be at 3 p.m. You can hear a brief interview with Hixon about the forthcoming production, embedded above. The production of Peter and the Wolf is one of two Young Person’s Concerts that the center is presenting as a part of their 2019-2020 season. The other will be Discovering the Orchestra, slated for performance on Sunday, March 21, 2020 at 3 p.m. This production will seek to introduce young audiences to the orchestra, and will include Columbus-based composer Christopher Weait’s new children’s work, Up and Down the Orchestra. In addition, an excerpt of Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 in D Major will be performed.