ABT II to perform at the Joyce Theater's 1.2.3. Fest.

[Dale]

ABT II TO PERFORM AT THE JOYCE THEATER’S 1.2.3. FESTIVAL,

APRIL 29-MAY 11, 2008

New York Premieres by Aszure Barton, Brian Reeder and Lauri Stallings Planned

Three New York Premieres, including Aszure Barton’s Barbara, Brian Reeder’s Cake and Lauri Stallings’ slokas will highlight ABT II’s performances at the 1.2.3. Festival at The Joyce Theater. George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Antony Tudor’s Continuo, along with the Don Quixote pas de deux from Act III, August Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano, Marius Petipa’s Carnival in Venice pas de deux from Satanella, and excerpts from Raymonda will also be featured in four performances by ABT II to be given on May 1 at 8 p.m., May 9 at 8 p.m., May 10 at 2 p.m. and May 11 at 7:30 p.m.

As part of The Joyce Theatre’s 1.2.3. Festival, ABT II will also perform on the opening night program on April 29 at 8 p.m. with Ailey II and Taylor 2. The Joyce’s opening night program will feature Paul Taylor’s Arden Court performed by Taylor 2, Streams by Ailey II and excerpts from Raymonda as performed by ABT II.

The New York Premiere of Brian Reeder’s Cake, set to music by Karen LeFrak with costumes and props by Charles Nolan, is scheduled for Thursday, May 1. Based on the life and times of Marie Antoinette, Cake will receive its World Premiere by ABT II on April 11, 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska. Cake is Reeder’s seventh work for ABT II and will be repeated on Sunday evening, May 11.

Lauri Stallings’ slokas, set to music by the Balanescu Quartet, received its World Premiere in San Jose, Costa Rica in November 2007. Stallings’ performance career includes the Cleveland San Jose Ballet, BalletMet, Canada’s Ballet British Columbia and Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago. She has created works for Atlanta Ballet, Hubbard Street, Dance Chicago, American Repertory Ballet, SUNY/Purchase and the Dutch National Ballet Project, among others. slokas is Lauri Stallings’ first work for ABT II.

Aszure Barton, a New York-based Canadian-born choreographer, is the founder and artistic director of Aszure & Artists. She created works for Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell's Kitchen Dance, the Juilliard School, Benjamin Millepied & Company, BJMDanse Montréal (Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal), and Hubbard Street Dance. Barton has toured and performed internationally with the National Ballet of Canada, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Wendy Osserman Dance Company, and Aszure & Artists. Barbara, Barton’s first work for ABT II, has been underwritten by The Altria/ABT Women’s Choreography Project, which identifies and nurtures female choreographers through new commissions and training workshops. Barbara, set to a medley of songs by the French singer and songwriter Barbara, is the first new commission to be produced through the project.

ABT II is a classical company of thirteen young professional dancers. Directed by Wes Chapman, ABT II prepares dancers to enter American Ballet Theatre and provides opportunities for the emergence of new choreographers and composers. Reaching more than 25,000 students each year through national performances, lecture-demonstrations and academic residencies, ABT II’s goal is to serve as a cultural ambassador to communities around the nation.

The mission of The Joyce is to advance the art of dance and choreography in all its richness and variety and to encourage, sustain, and educate a diverse audience. The Joyce serves a broad-based national and international dance community, and oversees two of New York City’s leading dance venues: The Joyce Theater, an afford­able, 472-seat, state-of-the-art theater in Chelsea; and Joyce SoHo, a dance center that offers three fully equipped studios at highly subsidized rates for rehearsals and performances to independent choreographers and nonprofit dance companies.

This program is supported, in part, by major funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Tickets are $38, Sunday evening performances are $25, and are available online at www.joyce.org <http://www.joyce.org> , in person at the Box Office, or by phone at 212.242.0800. For more information about ABT II, please visit www.abt.org/education <http://www.abt.org/education> .