It is precisely in this spirit that choreographer Val Caniparoli’s adaptation of the story of Jekyll and Hyde liberates the narrative from the Gothic fiction form, one popularly associated with Halloween, while pushing classical ballet into a fully-fledged theatrical exploration of social and psychological issues that rarely have been part of narratives in the ballet canon. In a panel discussion earlier this month at Westminster University, Adam Sklute, Ballet West’s artistic director, said Caniparoli’s Jekyll and Hyde “is unlike any ballet we have performed,” which is “what I love about it as a complete theatrical piece that stretches the boundaries of what classical ballet has been.” Maiqui Manson and Artists of Ballet West, Jekyll & Hyde, Val Caniparoli, Ballet West.