Eva Burton and Christopher Kaiser dance in Ben Stevenson’s "Dracula," which opens the 2025-26 OBT season. (Courtesy Photo: Jingzi Zhao)

Oregon Ballet Theatre has announced its 2025-26 season, “offering both an anchor and an escape into familiar fantasy.”

The season kicks off in October with Ben Stevenson’s “Dracula” (Oct. 10-18), which returns from the grave by popular demand. Then as December descends on Portland, it’s the beloved holiday tradition of George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” (Dec. 5-24) — with 18 performances, it’s the largest annual production in the state of Oregon. Rounding the corner into the new year, February audiences will discover cupid’s mark on a romantic classic, “The Sleeping Beauty” (Feb. 13-21, 2026) by Christopher Stowell — just in time for Valentine’s/Galentine’s Day.

“After a season defined by firsts — new voices, new works, and new audiences — we wanted to root ourselves in something more grounding,” said OBT Artistic Director, Dani Rowe. “The world can feel uncertain, and this season offers what I call familiar fantasy: timeless stories that audiences love, reimagined with the level of artistic integrity and vibrancy that OBT guarantees.”

Spring is green in Pea Town as Rowe surprises and entertains with a fresh twist on the traditional tale, “Princess and the Pea” (April 3-11, 2026), a new work co-produced with The Joffrey Ballet, which premiered to rave reviews at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago in 2025.

The season’s grand finale, “The OBT Collection” (June 11-13, 2026), presents a trove of discoveries with a collection of bold, West Coast voices pushing ballet into uncharted territory at Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton. With four one act ballets, including new work by Dani Rowe, San Francisco Ballet’s Davide Occhipinti, OBT’s Lauren Flower, and an unexpected gem unearthed by 2025’s “OBT by Design,” these are the ballets you haven’t seen yet but won’t soon forget.

More: obt.org.