Dear Friends, 

They say things come in threes. For Portland Ovations that means three successive cancellations: Mali Obomsawin’s Sugarcane, an evening and School-Time Performance of Les Ballets Africains, and FLIP Fabrique’s Blizzard. With great regret, Obomsawin cancelled the remainder of her tour of Sugarcane due to the emotional energy required to perform this work about the devastating loss of First Nation children. Both Les Ballets Africains and FLIP Fabrique encountered visa issues — Les Ballets Africains’ visas were denied by the U.S. consulate, while FLIP Fabrique’s visas have yet to be approved and thus had to cancel the beginning of their U.S. tour.  

This trio of lost events represents so much of what Ovations offers in its programming: deep reflection and understanding, cultural exploration, connections to Maine, and joy. In these very cold days of February with so much going on in the world, live performance remains a warm and much welcome comfort. 

While these cancellations occurred for different reasons – they each underscore the precarious nature of live performance. In all cases, our planning is done very far in advance; we cannot always anticipate future circumstances. Despite our efforts to preserve these events for our audiences it was ultimately not possible. Please know these moments hit us as hard as they do you – we too greatly looked forward to sharing and gathering with you for each and every one of these extraordinary projects.  

Ticket holders to these performances received direct emails on how to seek a ticket exchange, get credit on account, donate the value of their ticket as a charitable gift, or receive a full refund. We are grateful for your support and understanding in these moments.   

We are thankful for our Ovations Members, sponsors, and funders who ensure that even when we are faced with the unexpected, our programing continues because of their loyalty and generosity. And to our many audience members who continue to show up for live performance, we can’t say it enough – we couldn’t do this without you.  

With gratitude and kindness, 

Aimée M. Petrin
Portland Ovations Executive & Artistic Director