Colin: Son, Marine—ballet performances Veterans Day weekend Nov. 9-11 at Hylton Center

In honor of Veteran’s Day Amy Grant Wolfe, artistic director of Manassas Ballet Theatre’, is once again presenting Colin: Son, Marine, Hero Nov. 9, 10 & 11, 2023 at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas.

One of Manassas Ballet Theatre’s signature pieces, this ballet is an original and very personal ballet showcasing the story of Wolfe’s son, Colin, who lost his life in Iraq to a roadside bomb in 2006.

In 2013, Mark Menza, a composer who was also a longtime friend and colleague of Wolfe’s, approached her about composing a musical piece for MBT that was patriotic and in memory of her son, Colin.

This led to the birth of a one act ballet about his life, and it caught the attention of the worldwide media. News agencies around the world, including NPR, BBC, and Czech TV, responded with great enthusiasm and many called for an expansion of the ballet to include more details.

After touring the one act ballet to Bakersfield, CA and Culpeper, VA, Wolfe went back to Menza to collaborate on composing additional music to expand the ballet. This full-length ballet debuted in November 2014 at the Hylton Performing Arts Center.

Wolfe gathered inspiration by interviewing Colin’s relatives, childhood friends, commander, and fellow Marines during the summer of 2014, and added new layers to the original heart of the story. In May of 2018, Colin was presented once again at the Hylton Performing Arts Center.

This ballet depicts three central aspects of Colin’s life: the discipline which he developed from studying ballet; his love and pride of his Judaism; and his call to serve his country.

Colin grew up dancing with the Manassas Ballet Theatre, performing each year through 2005. Colin had always been grateful to the generations before who fought for freedom - especially those of WWII who liberated the Jews and others from the concentration camps of the Holocaust – admiring them and desiring to follow their footsteps.

A visit from Marines while in elementary school tweaked Colin’s interest to join them; the terrorist attacks of 9/11 solidified his desire to become a Marine. In June 2005, Colin enlisted with the Marine Corps, graduating that September.
Colin became a Marine because he was passionate about making the world a better place,” Amy Wolfe stated. Colin was deployed to Iraq in July 2006. He wa“s killed by a roadside bomb only seven weeks later on August 30, 2006.

Now, 17 years after Colin’s death, with the knowledge that the feelings of loss never get easier, his mother is committed more than ever to reach out to all who have served and suffered and to help them in their healing.

Wolfe wants them to always remember that their lives have purpose, to not feel guilty for surviving, but rather to work hard and to keep moving forward in honor of those we have lost.

For more information about the performance visit http://www.manassasballet.org or call 703-257-1811. Tickets start at $25 and are available at http://www.hyltoncenter.org or 703-993-7759. MBT performances are held at the Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, VA, 20110. Streaming will be available starting November 25 at 7:30 at vimeo.com/ondemand/mbtcolin for $25.

Manassas Ballet Theatre is a 501c(3) nonprofit corporation founded 40 years ago in 1983. The mission of Manassas Ballet Theatre is to improve the quality of life in Northern Virginia by providing accessible and affordable professional ballet performances, educational outreach to the community and the highest level of training to the serious student.

MBT is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Virginia Commission of the Arts, Prince William County and the City of Manassas, and is an Arts Partner of the Hylton Performing Arts Center on the Manassas campus of George Mason University.