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Boston Ballet presents Next Generation program


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BOSTON BALLET PRESENTS

NEXT GENERATION

Unique Program Features Three World Premieres and a Company Premiere

BOSTON, MA – February 6, 2008 – Boston Ballet presents Next Generation, a showcase of works by an exciting range of young choreographers, March 6 - 9 at Citi Performing Arts CenterSM Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont Street, Boston. Next Generation features world premiere ballets by Jorma Elo, Helen Pickett, Heather Myers, and a Company premiere by Sabrina Matthews, all of whom have been championed and nurtured by Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen.

“I believe that art is a window into the future,” said Nissinen. “Cultivating works by new choreographers is very important to the art form and its vitality.”

Boston Ballet’s Resident Choreographer Jorma Elo was inspired to create his newest work, In On Blue, for Boston Ballet while making a dance film in Finland. Working with dancers in a blue screen studio for nine hours, Elo found the experience surreal and saw new dimensions created as dancers dressed in blue moved against a blue background. The ballet will feature three women and ten men. The costumes, floor, backdrop and wings for the ballet are all blue, and music by Eugene Ysaye and Bernard Herrman contribute an aura of mystery and suspense to the piece, Elo’s fifth commission for Boston Ballet. Elo has also created ballets for New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet, Finish National Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theatre. He is working on a new piece for San Francisco Ballet.

In 2005, Boston Ballet commissioned its first work by Helen Pickett, Etesian. She has since choreographed pieces for Washington Ballet and Sacramento Ballet, among others. The music for Pickett’s new piece is a juxtaposition of classical Eastern Indian music with that of Western minimalist composers. Twenty dancers perform to music by Michael Nyman's Samhitha, Jan Garbarek and Philip Glass in a work inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper, fashion, and E.E. Cummings’ poems.

Heather Myers, a Boston Ballet company member, choreographed her abstract ballet on six of her fellow dancers. The piece, her first for a major ballet company, is inspired by and performed to music of Franz Schubert. “The advantage of working with my colleagues is that I know them so well,” said Myers. “I know what they're good at, I understand them and their body language and can read what they need or don't feel works. We have a mutual respect and empathy for each other.”

Sabrina Matthews began choreographing in 1999 when she was a leading soloist at Alberta Ballet. Ein von Viel, originally commissioned by Nissinen while he was Artistic Director at Alberta Ballet, is an athletic romp for two male dancers. Selections from J.S. Bach’s The Goldberg Variations are played by an onstage pianist. The Boston Ballet premiere of Ein von Viel, translated as “one of many,” marks the first time that one of Matthews’ ballets is being performed in the United States.

In addition to the four Next Generation works, Nissinen has conceived a unique prelude, in which all four choreographers will perform together. Designed by Elo, the piece provides the audience with an introduction to each choreographer’s style and sets the tone for program. During this prelude, each choreographer will perform in a brief excerpt which is indicative of their choreographic style.

Schedule of Performances for Next Generation

Thursday, March 6 at 7pm

Friday, March 7 at 8pm

Saturday, March 8 at 2pm and 8pm

Sunday, March 9 at 2pm and 7pm

Next Generation

In On Blue – World Premiere

Choreography: Jorma Elo

Music: Eugene Ysaye and Bernard Herrman

Costume Design: Charles Heightchew

Set Design: Jorma Elo

Lighting Design: Mark Stanley

World Premiere

Choreography: Heather Myers

Music: Franz Schubert

Costume Design: Heather Myers with Charles Heightchew

Set Design: Benjamin Phillips

Lighting Design: Mark Stanley

World Premiere

Choreography: Helen Pickett

Music: Michael Nyman, Jan Garbarek and Philip Glass

Costume Design: Helen Pickett with Charles Heightchew

Set Design: Helen Pickett and Benjamin Phillips

Lighting Design: Mark Stanley

Ein von Viel

Choreography: Sabrina Matthews

Music: Johann Sebastian Bach

Costume Design: Carolyn O’Brien

Lighting Design: Mark Stanley

Dance Spotlight

The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center offers a glimpse behind-the-scenes at one of the country’s most acclaimed dance companies when it partners with Boston Ballet for Dance Spotlight, a unique panel discussion for the public by Boston Ballet choreographers and artistic staff about the company and its creative processes. Dance Spotlight also offers audiences a sneak peak at ballets currently being rehearsed for upcoming performances. This year’s inaugural Dance Spotlight event highlights ballets being presented during Boston Ballet’s Next Generation program. The upcoming Dance Spotlight is on February 19 at 6pm at Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston.

The general public is invited to join Nissinen and three rising female choreographers for a unique preview of Next Generation’s new works. Helen Pickett, Sabrina Matthews and Heather Myers will discuss their new works and present excerpts from each performed by the acclaimed Boston Ballet dancers in an intimate setting. Admission is free with an advance ticket by calling the Tsai Center Box Office at (617) 353-8725.

Tickets

Tickets for season ballets can be purchased by phone through Telecharge at 800.447.7400, online at www.telecharge.com <http://www.telecharge.com> , or in person at the Citi Performing Arts CenterSM Wang Theatre box office, located at 270 Tremont Street in Boston's Theatre District, open Monday- Saturday from 10am - 6pm. Prices for Next Generation range from $25 - 110. ($25 price available in person only) Discounted group tickets (10 or more) are available by calling Boston Ballet's Group Sales at 617.456.6343. Rush tickets are available. Contact the Boston Ballet box office at 617.695.6955 or visit www.bostonballet.org <http://www.bostonballet.org> for details.

About Boston Ballet

Founded in 1963, Boston Ballet is one of the leading dance companies in North America. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen and Executive Director Valerie Wilder, the Company has 50 dancers and maintains an internationally acclaimed repertoire of classical, neo-classical and contemporary works, ranging from full-length story ballets to new works by some of today’s finest choreographers.

Boston Ballet’s second company, Boston Ballet II, is made up of nine pre-professional dancers who gain experience by performing with Boston Ballet and as an independent group, presenting lecture-demonstrations and unique programs to audiences throughout the Northeast. The Boston Ballet Center for Dance Education reaches and instructs more than 5,000 students of all ages each year through Boston Ballet School, Young Dancers Summer Workshop, Summer Dance Program, DanceLab, Citydance, Adaptive Dance and Taking Steps.

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