Press

“Sewell has created a fanciful world onstage with elements seemingly drawn from ‘Fantasia’æ[a] hypnotic arrangement of ideas that haunts you for the rest of the evening, just like a strange but memorable dream.” Ribcage Premiere Fall 2014

"A polished gem of a chamber dance troupe from Minnesota…Mr. Sewell is…one of American ballet's most inventive choreographers…Different and unpredictable, this is the company to see."

"Sewell has perfected his unique approach to contemporary ballet, a choreographic technique he calls 'multiple coordination.' The evidence is 'Schoenberg Serenade,' the…fantastic nine-part work, commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra."


"[Sewell's] work may not be trendy, but it's musical, well made, often witty, and varied in terms of subject matter…This year's Joyce program focused more on dancing to music, which this choreographer manages adroitly."

"The James Sewell Ballet kicked off its season at the Guthrie — the first dance performance to grace that newly minted bastion of theater…This is a company well worth catching, It wears its charms with a difference."

"Sewell is daring and original, with a broad grounding in classical ballet and modern dance…[willing] to unearth genuine emotions and grapple seriously with how ballet relates to more organic styles of movement."


"At the end of a weekend full of Wheeldon and Sewell, Sewell shows me more sculpture, more play, more movement, and cooler men."

"Forget about the cliché idea of a night at the ballet; think; attitude, wit, and startling imagery. Think; smart, contemporary haircuts, an array of unexpected and evocative costumes, and a smattering of tattoos."

"A packed-to-the-rafters audience at Schein Hall greeted the triumphant return (for a third appearance) of The James Sewell Ballet…This stunningly inventive chamber dance company is fun, sophisticated and dazzling entertainment."

"Not your grandma's ballet company…A fresh way of putting the standard vocabulary together into sparkling dances that pique your emotions as much as they delight your eye."


"Since leaving Manhattan…in 1993, the company has been thriving rather than just surviving: presenting dozens of new works, building a fanatically devoted audience and keeping the red ink away."


"Sewell's work is different from everyone else's: it's energetic, direct and full of musical zest; its movement vocabulary is ballet as it could be performed on the playing fields."