Septime Webre, Front and Center

When Septime Webre announced earlier this month that he was ending a highly successful and energizing 17-year run as the Washington Ballet’s artistic director to “focus on creating new ballets and to staging on other companies the many original works I have created for the Washington Ballet,” there was still some unfinished business to consider.

That would be the rest of the company’s season, a diverse quartet of four productions that exemplify Webre’s unique leadership. Webre gave the company more than a flash of the new, with his own stagings and works and by bringing the choreography of stars like Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Mark Morris, Paul Taylor, Hans van Manen and William Forsythe to Washington.

Over the remainder of the season, in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater, we will see Webre’s style clearly illustrated, beginning this week (through Feb. 28) with “Director’s Cut,” which includes the evocatively titled “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated,” with music composed by Thom Williams for Forsythe’s influential ballet of 1987. Also on the program is the remarkable “Prism,” choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to improvisations by pianist Keith Jarrett.

Webre comes front and center with “State of Wonder,” 32 intricate dance translations set to Bach’s classic “Goldberg Variations,” with live music by S&R Foundation Artist in Residence Ryo Yanagitani.

March will see the arrival (through April 3) of “Hamlet” by Ballet Austin Choreographer and Artistic Director Stephen Mills, which features music by Philip Glass. Webre calls Mills’s “Hamlet” “sleek and dramatic — from the choreography to the sparse and contemporary scenic design, a performance that is like no Shakespeare work you’ve ever seen.”

Then there’s “Carmine Burana.” “This is personal to me,” says Webre, who did the choreography for Carl Orff’s retelling of 24 medieval poems. “The work inspired me, and it also was something I considered a highlight of my time here.” “Carmina Burana” will also feature the 100 voices of the Cathedral Choral Society under the direction of Dr. J. Reilly Lewis. Paired with George Balanchine’s “Themes and Variations,” it will run from April 13 to 17.

Finally, coincidentally if not fortuitously, there is “Bowie & Queen,” an evening of dance tributes to the rock legends David Bowie — whose recent death at the age of 69 hit several generations of admirers hard — and Freddy Mercury, the electric lead singer of Queen. It will run May 4 to 15.

Electric choreographer Trey McIntyre has created “Mercury Half-Life,” exploring the life and times of Mercury, who invented and reinvented himself often as the crowd-pleasing but pioneering rockmeister of Queen. Edwaard Liang pays tribute to Bowie and his chameleon persona and music with the help of violinist Machiko Ozawa in “Dancing in the Street.” Both works are company premieres.