Mythic Unveils Charlotte Ballet’s Artistic Renaissance

The Poster 2024 Gold Award-winning design “Unveiled. Unbelievable.” by Alex-Marie Ablan from Mythic, for Charlotte Ballet, masterfully merges creativity and strategy. It symbolizes the Ballet’s triumphant return to the stage ushering in a new era under the guidance of an internationally acclaimed artistic director. Its striking imagery of veiled dancers captures moments of revelation and transformation, heralding a period of rejuvenated artistic vibrancy for the ballet company.

By: Alexandra Frazier, Associate Creative Director, and Emilie Boone, Management Supervisor

Charlotte Ballet is a powerhouse known throughout the Southeast for high-caliber performances and a mixed repertoire of classic and contemporary works. The company routinely sets the bar for what it means to be a cultural institution in North Carolina and beyond. They’re also a dream client — willing to push boundaries, understanding of the creative process, deeply artistic in their own right, and collaborative in the best ways.

That’s why Mythic was personally invested in making a statement about their 2022/2023 season. After a long pandemic-induced absence from the stage, we needed to announce that Charlotte Ballet was back and better than ever. Working closely with the ballet team and photographer Todd Rosenberg, we developed the “Unveiled. Unbelievable.” campaign. The work needed to serve two purposes: 1) tease the return of premier ballet in Charlotte and 2) announce the passing of the baton from former artistic director Hope Muir to internationally acclaimed choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo.

To dramatize this reveal, we cloaked the dancers in fabric and had them figuratively unveil the newness of the upcoming season under Cerrudo’s direction. Glimpses of their bodies and the movement beyond convey what’s to come, highlight the company’s return to a full season of work, and create a series of visually striking out-of-home posters, digital ads, and social posts to arrest local audiences’ attention. Our goal: stir curiosity. Strike up conversation. And re-engage former season ticket holders with a reminder of all they’d loved and missed during Covid’s shelter-in-place mandates. 

After an almost two-year hiatus, the Charlotte Ballet saw audiences flock to the theater for storybook classics and modern new works. Attendance soared back to pre-pandemic levels, with audiences purchasing season ticket subscriptions in droves. Site traffic also increased, with the new photography and creative campaign driving digital views and social media engagement. Ultimately, we unveiled the continuation of an unbelievable partnership.

After working together for more than a decade in several client/agency relationships, Lee James and David Soliday joined forces to create Mythic. David grew up on the client side. Lee comes from the creative side of the agency world. These two perspectives – accountability and innovation – foster Mythic’s unique understanding of what a client’s needs are and how best to deliver on them.

By assembling a talented and diverse team from across the country, Mythic is able to provide the kind of strategic thinking, insight-driven ideas, and creativity that maximize brand potential today while setting a course for the future.

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Discover more award-winning Poster 2024 entries here.