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Dale

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Posts posted by Dale

  1. From the company:

    AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE AT 80 GIVES 80 HOURS OF SERVICE
    TO NEW YORK CARES COAT DRIVE

    As American Ballet Theatre celebrates the 80th Anniversary of its founding in January of 1940, Company dancers and staff joined together to contribute 80 hours of service to the New York Cares Coat Drive, giving back to the city that has been home and headquarters to America’s National Ballet Company® for eight decades.

    New York Cares meets pressing community needs by mobilizing caring New Yorkers in volunteer service. American Ballet Theatre’s 80 hours of service for New York Cares Coat Drive took place over two weeks this month at the midtown Coat Drive warehouse. ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie and Executive Director Kara Medoff Barnett joined dancers Isabella Boylston, Leah Baylin, Jacob Clerico, Claire Davison, Erica Lall, Virginia Lensi, Joseph Markey, João Menegussi, Rachel Richardson, Devon Teuscher, Cassandra Trenary, James Whiteside, Katherine Williams and dozens of ABT administrative staff members to sort and bundle 3,630 coats. “It was wonderful to participate in a community so focused on the task of helping others,” said McKenzie. “It’s all the more meaningful that we could kick off our anniversary celebration with these 80 hours of service.”

    ABT’s participation in the New York Cares Coat Drive was organized by ABT Chief Administrative Officer Kimberly Shariff in conjunction with the New York Cares team. New York Cares is the largest volunteer network in the city. Last year, 52,408 New Yorkers made the city a better place by volunteering in New York Cares programs at 880 nonprofits and schools  improving education, meeting immediate needs, and revitalizing public spaces. For more information, visit newyorkcares.org.

     

  2. The 2020 Spring Met season release:

     

    NEW YORK PREMIERE OF ALEXEI RATMANSKY’S
    OF LOVE AND RAGE TO HIGHLIGHT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S 80th ANNIVERSARY SPRING SEASON AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE, MAY 11JULY 4, 2020

    80TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON TO OPEN WITH “ABT THEN AND NOW” FEATURING WORKS BY GEORGE BALANCHINE, JESSICA LANG, JEROME ROBBINS, TWYLA THARP AND ANTONY TUDOR
    AND 40
    TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCES OF LA BAYADÈRE TO HONOR LEGENDARY BALLERINA NATALIA MAKAROVA STELLA ABRERA TO GIVE FAREWELL PERFORMANCE IN GISELLE, SATURDAY EVENING, JUNE 13

    NATALIA OSIPOVA, OLGA SMIRNOVA AND KIMIN KIM TO APPEAR AS GUESTS ARTISTS FOR THE SEASON

    American Ballet Theatre will celebrate its 80th Anniversary during the 2020 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House with the New York Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Of Love and Rage, an opening week devoted to both new and historic works from the Company’s repertory, and the 40th Anniversary performances of Natalia Makarova’s production of La Bayadère. The Spring season was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

    Principal Dancers for the 2020 Metropolitan Opera House season include Stella Abrera, Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo, David Hallberg, Sarah Lane, Gillian Murphy, Hee Seo, Christine Shevchenko, Daniil Simkin, Cory Stearns, Devon Teuscher and James Whiteside. Guest Artists for the season include Natalia Osipova, principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, Olga Smirnova, principal dancer with Bolshoi Ballet, and Kimin Kim, principal dancer with Mariinsky Theater.

    80th Anniversary  ABTomorrow Spring Gala
    American Ballet Theatre will celebrate its 80th Anniversary with the ABTomorrow Spring

    Gala, a special evening celebrating eight decades of artistry including a showcase of student talent representing ABT’s artistic future. The ABTomorrow Spring Gala will highlight the Company’s past and future with anniversary video tributes, excerpts from beloved classics including Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and La Bayadère, a preview of Alexei Ratmansky’s 2020 premiere of Of Love and Rage and a special performance by students of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.

    A Gala dinner-dance on the Promenade of the David H. Koch Theater will follow the performance. For more information on ABT’s 80th Anniversary ABTomorrow Spring Gala, please call the Special Events Office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3242.

    ABT Then and Now

    American Ballet Theatre will open its Spring season on May 11 with a week of repertory programs representing the Company’s heritage and its most recent commissions. Four performances of “ABT Then,” will comprise works premiered by Ballet Theatre in the 1940s, including George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations (1947), Antony Tudor’s Jardin aux Lilas (1940) and JeromeRobbins’s Fancy Free (1944). Four performances of “ABT Now,” beginning Tuesday, May 12, will present works premiered by ABT over the past year. They include Jessica Lang’s Garden Blue, Twyla Tharp’s A Gathering of Ghosts and Alexei Ratmansky’s The Seasons.

    New York Premiere  Of Love and Rage
    The New York Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Of Love and Rage is set for Tuesday

    evening, June 2, 2020. Based on the first century historical romance novel Callirhoe by Chariton, Of Love and Rage tells the story of star-crossed lovers Callirhoe and Chaereas in ancient Greece. The ballet will be set to music by Aram Khachaturian, arranged by Philip Feeney, and will feature sets and costumes by Jean-Marc Puissant and lighting by Duane Schuler. Of Love and Rage, Ratmansky’s 17th work for American Ballet Theatre, will have its World Premiere on March 5, 2020 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. The ballet will be given seven performances at the Metropolitan Opera House through June 6.

    La Bayadère  40th Anniversary Performances
    Four performances of La Bayadère will begin on Tuesday evening, May 19 with Isabella

    Boylston (Nikiya), Herman Cornejo (Solor) and Cassandra Trenary (Gamzatti) leading the opening night cast. The performance on Thursday evening, May 21 will honor choreographer and legendary ballerina Natalia Makarova on the occasion of ABT’s 40th Anniversary of the ballet. Guest Artists Olga Smirnova and Kimin Kim, along with ABT Principal Dancer Gillian Murphy, will lead the cast for the anniversary evening. The full-evening production of La Bayadère was conceived, directed and choreographed by Makarova, after Marius Petipa. The ballet is set to music by Ludwig Minkus, arranged by John Lanchbery, and features scenery by PierLuigi Samaritani, costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by Toshiro Ogawa. Dina Makarova serves as production coordinator. Natalia Makarova first staged “The Kingdom of the Shades” scene for ABT in 1974 and subsequently produced and choreographed the complete version (in three acts) for ABT in 1980. The World Premiere of Makarova’s production was given on May 21 of that year performed by Makarova (Nikiya), Anthony Dowell (Solor) and Cynthia Harvey (Gamzatti).

    Full-Length Ballets

    Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet will be given eleven performances beginning Friday evening, May 22 with Stella Abrera and James Whiteside in the title roles. Guest Artist Natalia Osipova will dance the role of Juliet on Monday, May 25 opposite David Hallberg as Romeo. Set to the score by Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. Romeo and Juliet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet in London on February 9, 1965 and was given its ABT Company Premiere at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 1985 with Leslie Browne and Robert La Fosse in the leading roles.

    Hee Seo (Giselle), Cory Stearns (Albrecht) and Devon Teuscher (Myrta) will lead the first of eight performances of Giselle beginning Monday evening, June 8. Guest Artist Natalia Osipova will perform the title role opposite David Hallberg as Albrecht on Thursday, June 11. Stella Abrera, a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre since 2015, will give her farewell performance with the Company in the title role of Giselle on Saturday evening, June 13, dancing opposite James Whiteside as Albrecht and Gillian Murphy as Myrta.

    Set to music by Adolphe Adam, with scenery by Gianni Quaranta, costumes by Anna Anni and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, Giselle features choreography after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa and has been staged for ABT by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The world premiere of Giselle, one of the oldest continually-performed ballets, occurred at the Theatre de l’Academie Royale de Musique in Paris on June 28, 1841. The ballet was first presented by ABT (then Ballet Theatre) at the Center Theatre in New York City on January 12, 1940 with choreography by Anton Dolin and scenery and costumes by Lucinda Ballard. The leading roles were danced by Annabelle Lyon and Anton Dolin. American Ballet Theatre’s sixth production, featuring scenery by Gianni Quaranta and costumes by Anna Anni, was created for the film Dancers, produced in 1987 by Cannon Films. This production’s first public performance was given on March 20, 1987 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, with Marianna Tcherkassky as Giselle and Kevin McKenzie as Albrecht. The current staging is by McKenzie, using the Quaranta and Anni designs.

    The Sleeping Beauty will be given eight performances beginning Monday, June 15 with Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside in the leading roles. Set to the classic score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty has choreography by Marius Petipa and staging and additional choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, with assistance by Tatiana Ratmansky. The production features scenery and costumes by Tony Award®-winning designer Richard Hudson. Hudson’s designs are based on the historic work of Léon Bakst, who created a seminal version of The Sleeping Beauty for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1921. The Sleeping Beauty received its World Premiere on March 3, 2015 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, danced by Diana Vishneva (Princess Aurora) and Marcelo Gomes (Prince Désiré).

    Jane Eyre, choreographed by Cathy Marston, will be given five performances beginning Monday, June 22 with Devon Teuscher in the title role and James Whiteside as Rochester. The ballet features choreography and direction by Marston, music compiled and composed by Philip Feeney, scenery and costumes by Patrick Kinmonth and lighting by Brad Fields. Jane Eyre received its American Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on June 4, 2019 at the Metropolitan Opera House with Devon Teuscher in the title role and James Whiteside as Rochester. The production received its World Premiere by Northern Ballet on May 19, 2016 at the Cast Theatre in Doncaster, England performed by Dreda Blow as Jane Eyre and Javier Torres as Rochester. Jane Eyre is a co-production with The Joffrey Ballet and was staged for ABT by Jenny Tattersall and Daniel de Andrade.

    Ten performances of Swan Lake, choreographed by Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, will round out the season, Friday, June 26 through Saturday matinee, July 4. The opening night cast on June 26 will be led by Hee Seo as Odette-Odile and Aran Bell as Prince Siegfried. Swan Lake features scenery and costumes by Zack Brown and lighting by Duane Schuler. This production of Swan Lake premiered on March 24, 2000 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. with Julie Kent (Odette-Odile), Angel Corella (Prince Siegfried) and Marcelo Gomes (von Rothbart).

    ABTKids 80th Anniversary Edition
    A special 80th Anniversary version of ABTKids comes to the Metropolitan Opera House on

    Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 11:00 AM. The 2020 ABTKids offers young audience members, ages 412, and their families a unique journey through the Company’s eight decades, with performances and activities themed to ABT’s history. The one-hour narrated program will present excerpts of ABT’s vast repertory from the 1940s through to the present. All seats for ABTKids are $25.

    Subscriptions for American Ballet Theatre’s 2020 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House, on sale beginning Wednesday, October 30 at 12 Noon, are available by phone at 212-362-6000, or online at ABT’s website www.abt.org.

    Of Love and Rage and The Seasons are a part of The Ratmansky Project. Leadership support for The Ratmansky Project has been provided by Avery and Andrew F. Barth, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James, and The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund.

    Jardin aux Lilas has been generously underwritten by Marjorie S. Isaac.
    Fancy Free is generously underwritten by an endowed gift from Avery and Andrew F. Barth, in honor of

    Laima and Rudolf Barth.

    Garden Blue is a part of the ABT Women’s Movement. Champion support for the ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal. Additional Leadership support provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, and through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

    La Bayadère is generously sponsored by an endowed gift from Drs. Philip and Marjorie Gerdine. American Ballet Theatre’s performances of Romeo and Juliet are generously underwritten through an

    endowed gift from Ali and Monica Wambold.

    American Ballet Theatre’s performances of Giselle are generously supported through an endowed gift from Sharon Patrick.

    ABT gratefully acknowledges the Lead Sponsor of The Sleeping Beauty, David H. Koch. Additional Leadership Support is generously provided by the Lloyd E. Rigler  Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation. Leadership support of Jane Eyre, part of the ABT Women’s Movement, is provided by The Leila and Mickey Straus Family Foundation. Champion support for the ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal. This production is generously supported through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

    Swan Lake has been generously underwritten by R. Chemers Neustein. American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre. LG is the Global Electronics Partner of ABT.

    ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

  3. I'd also suggest the NY Times. Alastair Macaulay wrote about the ballet many times, performed by several different companies. And he seemed to always have a different point to make about the ballet, so it might be worth a binge read. 

    https://www.nytimes.com/by/alastair-macaulay

    Plus various online articles in the journal Ballet Review:

    http://www.balletreview.com/images/Ballet_Review_46-1_Boos_Jewels.pdf

    http://www.balletreview.com/images/Ballet_Review_36-2_Jewels.pdf

    And one could search www.danceviewtimes.com for "Jewels."

     

     

     

  4. Company release:

    STELLA ABRERA TO GIVE FAREWELL PERFORMANCE WITH AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE, SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020
    AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE

    ABRERA TO CONCLUDE 24-YEAR CAREER WITH A PERFORMANCE IN THE TITLE ROLE OF GISELLE

    Stella Abrera, a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre since 2015, will give her farewell performance with the Company in the title role of Giselle on Saturday evening,
    June 13, 2020 at the Metropolitan Opera House
    .

    Born in Manila, Philippines, Stella Abrera grew up in South Pasadena, California and began her ballet training with Philip and Charles Fuller and Cynthia Young at Le Studio in Pasadena. She continued her studies with Lorna Diamond and Patricia Hoffman at the West Coast Ballet Theatre in San Diego. For three years, she studied the Royal Academy of Dancing method with Joan and Monica Halliday at the Halliday Dance Centre in Sydney, Australia.

    In 1995, Abrera received the Gold Medal at the Royal Academy of Dancing’s Adeline Genée Awards in London. She joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in 1996 and was promoted to Soloist in 2001. In August 2015, she was appointed Principal Dancer. Her repertoire with ABT includes the Girl in Afternoon of a Faun, Calliope and Terpsichore in Apollo, Gamzatti and a Shade in La Bayadère, The Ballerina in The Bright Stream, Cinderella and Fairy Godmother in Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, Cinderella in James Kudelka’s Cinderella, Aurora in Coppélia, Gulnare and an Odalisque in Le Corsaire, She Wore a Perfume in Dim Lustre, the woman in white in Diversion of Angels, Mercedes and the Driad Queen in Don Quixote, Helena in The Dream, the first passerby in Fancy Free, Lise in La Fille mal gardée, the Maiden in Alexei Ratmansky’s Firebird, Giselle, Myrta and peasant pas de deux in Giselle, Queen of Shemakahn in The Golden Cockerel, Pierrette in Harlequinade, Blanche Ingram in Jane Eyre, Lescaut’s Mistress in Manon, Katia in A Month in the Country, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Snow Queen in Kevin McKenzie’s The Nutcracker, Clara the Princess in Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Emilia in Othello, Tatiana in Onegin, the Ballerina in Petrouchka, Older Sister in Pillar of Fire, Juliet and Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, The Spirit of the Corn in The Seasons, Princess Aurora, the Lilac Fairy and Princess Florine in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty, the pas de trois in Swan Lake, the violin in Symphonie Concertante, leading roles in Bach Partita, Ballet Imperial, Birthday Offering, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Her Notes, The Leaves Are Fading, Monotones I, Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Les Sylphides, Symphonic Variations, Symphony #9, Symphony in C and Thirteen Diversions, and featured roles in Airs, Baker’s Dozen, Black Tuesday, Deuce Coupe, Dream within a Dream (deferred), Gong, In the Upper Room, Petite Mort, Sinfonietta, Without Words and workwithinwork.

    Abrera created the roles of His Memory and His Experiences in HereAfter, the Spanish Dance in Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, the Fairy Violente (Temperament) in Ratmansky’s
    The Sleeping Beauty, His Mistress in Weren’t We Fools, Princess Tea Flower in Whipped Cream and roles in After You, Garden Blue, Pretty Good Year and Seven Sonatas.

    Abrera has performed as a Guest Principal with the Australian Ballet, The Washington Ballet, The Royal New Zealand Ballet and Ballet Philippines. In 2014, she founded the charity Steps Forward for the Philippines to benefit typhoon victims in the Philippine province of Guiuan. In April 2018, she directed and performed in a benefit gala at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater in Manila, Philippines to raise funds for the creation of the Stella Abrera Dance and Music Hall at the Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education (CENTEX) in Batangas, Philippines. Abrera is the director of Pro-Studio/Stella Abrera®, a training and coaching initiative for professional dancers launched in 2019 at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park for Dance.

    Abrera’s remaining performance for the Company’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater will be the role of The Spirit of the Corn in The Seasons on Tuesday, October 22.

    Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced from $30, are available online, by phone at 212-496-0600 or at the Koch Theater box office. The David H. Koch Theater is located at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City.

    Subscriptions for ABT’s 2020 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House are available online or by phone at 212-362-6000, beginning Wednesday, October 30 at 12 Noon. For more information, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

  5. More news:

     

    ERICA CORNEJO TO JOIN HERMAN CORNEJO
    ON STAGE IN 
    EL CHAMUYO
    IN CELEBRATION OF HERMAN CORNEJO’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE,
    SATURDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 26 AT DAVID H. KOCH THEATER

    Erica Cornejo, former American Ballet Theatre Soloist and former Boston Ballet principal dancer, will join her brother Herman on stage in El Chamuyo at the David H. Koch Theater on Saturday evening, October 26 at 8:00 PM. The pas de deux is a pièce d’occasion celebrating Herman Cornejo’s 20th Anniversary with ABT.

    El Chamuyo, a tango choreographed by Ana María Stekelman and set to music by Francisco Canaro, was first performed by the Cornejos in 1998 at a gala dinner honoring Argentina on the Grand Tier of the Metropolitan Opera House. While in New York for the event, they attended Company class at American Ballet Theatre, and were invited to join ABT Studio Company.

    Born in San Luis, Argentina, Erica Cornejo began her study of ballet at the age of four. In 1994, she was invited to join Julio Bocca’s company, Ballet Argentino, where she was promoted to principal ballerina and Bocca’s partner in 1995. She joined ABT Studio Company in 1998 and became a member of ABT’s corps de ballet later that same year. She was promoted to Soloist in 2002. In 2006, Erica joined Boston Ballet as a principal dancer, where she performed leading roles until her retirement in 2017. She is co-founder and artistic director of INTEGRARTE, a Dance Art Movement Center in Boston.

    In addition to El Chamuyo, Herman Cornejo’s 20th Anniversary celebration on Saturday evening, October 26 will include his New York debut in the title role of George Balanchine’s Apollo and a leading role in A Gathering of Ghosts, the season’s World Premiere work by Twyla Tharp created for Cornejo and the Company. Cornejo will also lead A Gathering of Ghosts on October 16 at 7:30 PM, October 17 at
    7:30 PM, October 19 at 8:00 PM and October 22 at 7:30 PM.

    Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced from $30, are available online, at the Koch Theatre box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. The David H. Koch Theater is located at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

  6. I just sort of stumbled across this new interview: 

    Quote

    In this episode of Talks at GS, New York City Ballet leaders Jonathan Stafford and Wendy Whelan discuss the experience of taking over the largest ballet company in the US during a tumultuous time in its history and their vision for the future of ballet. 

     

     

  7. From the company:

     

    CHOREOGRAPHERS FOR 2019 ABT INCUBATOR SELECTED

    CLAIRE DAVISON, ZHONG-JING FANG, SUNG WOO HAN, GABRIELLE LAMB AND LAURA O’MALLEY
    TO CREATE NEW WORK FOR CHOREOGRAPHIC PROGRAM

    Choreographers Gabrielle Lamb and Laura O’Malley, along with American Ballet Theatre dancers Claire Davison, Zhong-Jing Fang and Sung Woo Han, have been selected to create work for the 2019 ABT Incubator, a two-week choreographic workshop providing a focused lab to inspire new choreographic voices and generate ideas for the creation of new work. Directed by ABT Principal Dancer David Hallberg, ABT Incubator will be held
    October 29
    November 9, 2019 at ABT’s New York studios.

    ABT Incubator choreographers were chosen through an audition process with selections made by a panel including Hallberg, ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie, Danspace Executive Director Judy Hussie-Taylor and choreographer Jessica Lang. Selected choreographers are provided studio space and a stipend to create new work on ABT dancers. Lang will serve as a program mentor, offering composition exercises and professional management advice for ABT Incubator participants. In addition, ABT Incubator provides participating dancers and choreographers access to museum and gallery tours, as well as theater experiences. The workshop culminates with a private studio showing on November 9.

    “This year’s iteration of ABT Incubator is in alignment with my long-term vision for the program: to nurture voices over the course of time, each year facilitating another vital step in the process,” said Hallberg. “With exciting newcomers joining the program, as well as Gabrielle Lamb and Sung Woo Han returning to create and further develop their work for a second consecutive year, ABT Incubator has become invaluable to building a roster of new creative talent.”

    Claire Davison, from Boulder, Colorado, received her early training at the Boulder Ballet School. Davison was a finalist at Youth America Grand Prix in New York in 2009. She joined the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School on scholarship in 2010, became an apprentice with ABT in November 2012 and joined the Company’s corps de ballet in June 2013.

    Zhong-Jing Fang was born in Shanghai, China. She has received numerous awards, including first place in the Prix de Lausanne and the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation Prize in 2000. Fang joined ABT Studio Company in 2002 after graduating from the Performing Arts College of Shanghai Drama University. She became an apprentice with ABT in April 2003 and a member of the corps de ballet in January 2004. Fang was promoted to Soloist in September 2018.

    Sung Woo Han, born in Seoul, South Korea, trained at the Royal Ballet School on full scholarship. He has won numerous awards including International Ballet Competition-Varna, Youth America Grand Prix and second prize at the Prix de Lausanne in 2011. Han joined ABT’s corps de ballet in 2013. He previously choreographed Beneath the Conscious for ABT Incubator in 2018.

    Gabrielle Lamb is the director of Pigeonwing Dance, a contemporary dance company based in New York City. Lamb is the winner of a Princess Grace Award for Choreography and a New York City Center Choreography Fellowship, as well as choreographic competitions at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Milwaukee Ballet and Western Michigan University. Her work has been presented by companies such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Jacob’s Pillow and Dance Theatre of Harlem. She was previously selected to choreograph for ABT Incubator in 2018.

    Laura O’Malley, from Phoenix, Arizona, has danced as a soloist with Stuttgart Ballet and Dutch National Ballet. She later joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. O’Malley has choreographed for LINES Ballet’s education programs, Berkley Ballet Theater, SFDanceworks and various dance films.

    ABT Incubator is supported by American Express and the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

  8. An event:

     

    AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE DANCER-CHOREOGRAPHERS
    DISCUSS THEIR NEWEST WORKS AND THE ABT WOMEN’S MOVEMENT
    FREE EVENT AT THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN ATRIUM AT LINCOLN CENTER,

    MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 AT 7:00 PM

    American Ballet Theatre dancer-choreographers Gemma Bond, Zhong-Jing Fang and James
    Whiteside will participate in a discussion on the ABT Women’s Movement on Monday, September 16,
    2019 at 7:00 PM. The discussion, moderated by MSNBC anchor Yasmin Vossoughian, will take place at
    the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center and is free and open to the public.

    Launched in 2018, the ABT Women’s Movement is an ongoing initiative to support the
    creation, exploration and staging of new works by women for ABT and ABT Studio Company. ABT
    Women’s Movement choreographer and former corps de ballet dancer Gemma Bond will discuss the
    creation of her first work for ABT, which will receive its World Premiere on Wednesday, October 23,
    2019 at the David H. Koch Theater during the upcoming Fall season. Zhong-Jing Fang, a current ABT
    Soloist and emerging choreographer, has been selected to create for ABT Incubator, the Company’s
    in-house choreographic workshop. Principal Dancer James Whiteside, a choreographer for the inaugural
    ABT Incubator workshop, joins the panel to discuss his latest work for ABT’s Fall season, New American
    Romance, which will receive its New York Premiere on Wednesday, October 23.

    The David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center is located on Broadway between 62 and 63

    Streets. For more information about the event, please visit http://www.lincolncenter.org/atrium/show/abt-
    womens-movement.

    Champion support for the ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal.

  9. A release:

     

    CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S

    2019 FALL SEASON AT
    THE DAVID H. KOCH THEATER

    Casting for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch

    Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

    Principal Dancers for the 2019 Fall season include Stella Abrera, Isabella Boylston,
    Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo, Sarah Lane, Hee Seo, Christine Shevchenko, Cory Stearns,
    Devon Teuscher and James Whiteside.

    A World Premiere by Twyla Tharp will highlight the Opening Night Gala

    performance on Wednesday, October 16 at 6:30 PM. Set to String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op.
    111 by Johannes Brahms, with costumes by Norma Kamali and lighting by Jennifer Tipton,
    Tharp’s new work, created for Herman Cornejo and ABT Company members, is the
    choreographer’s 17th ballet for the Company. The Gala program also features Catherine Hurlin
    and Aran Bell in the New York Premiere of Jessica Lang’s Let Me Sing Forevermore and the
    debut of Devon Teuscher in George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations.

    On Saturday evening, October 26, American Ballet Theatre will present a program of
    works in honor of Principal Dancer Herman Cornejo and his 20th Anniversary with ABT. This
    special evening will include Cornejo’s New York debut in the title role of George Balanchine’s
    Apollo, with debuts by Misty Copeland as Terpsichore, Cassandra Trenary as Calliope and Skylar
    Brandt as Polyhymnia. The evening will also feature Cornejo in the World Premiere work by
    Tharp.

    Apollo, last performed by the Company in 2012, will receive its first performance of
    the season on Friday evening, October 18 featuring Joo Won Ahn performing the title role for the
    first time. Stella Abrera and Katherine Williams will debut in the roles of Terpsichore and
    Polyhymnia respectively. At the matinee on Saturday, October 19, Calvin Royal III will make his
    New York debut in the title role, while Hee Seo and Zhong-Jing Fang will debut in the roles of
    Terpsichore and Calliope. Choreographed by George Balanchine in 1937, Apollo is set to music
    by Igor Stravinsky and is staged for ABT by Victoria Simon.

    The season’s first performance of Clark Tippet’s Some Assembly Required on Friday
    evening, October 18 will feature the debut of Cory Stearns dancing opposite Sarah Lane. A pas
    de deux first presented by ABT in 1989, Some Assembly Required is set to music by William
    Bolcolm, with costumes by Gary Lisz and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. The ballet is staged for
    ABT by Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner. Skylar Brandt and Roman Zhurbin will dance
    the ballet for the first time at the matinee on Saturday, October 19.

    Jessica Lang’s Let Me Sing Forevermore, a pas de deux set to a medley of songs
    recorded by Tony Bennett, features costumes by Bradon McDonald and lighting by Brad Fields.
    Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside will dance the roles for the first time at the matinee on
    Saturday, October 19. Let Me Sing Forevermore received its World Premiere on March 23, 2019
    at the Erik Bruhn Competition in Toronto, Canada performed by Catherine Hurlin and Aran Bell.
    Twyla Tharp’s Deuce Coupe, set to songs by The Beach Boys, with costumes and
    scenery by Santo Loquasto (after original costume design by Scott Barrie and original scenics by
    United Graffiti Artists) and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, will be given its first performance of the
    season on Friday, October 18. Blaine Hoven and Thomas Forster will make their debuts in the
    work at the matinee on Saturday, October 19. Deuce Coupe was given its World Premiere in
    1973 by The Joffrey Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois and received its ABT
    Company Premiere on May 30, 2019 at the Metropolitan Opera House. Deuce Coupe is staged
    for ABT by Kara Chan, Sara Rudner and Shawn Stevens.

    Additional debuts for the 2019 Fall season include Javier Rivet in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Seasons on Tuesday, October 22 and Joo Won Ahn in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations at the matinee on Saturday, October 26.

    Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced

    from $30, are available online, at the Koch Theatre box office or by phone at 212-496-0600.
    Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $35. The David H. Koch Theater is located
    at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, please visit ABT’s
    website at www.abt.org.

    Leadership support for The Ratmansky Project has been provided by Avery and Andrew F. Barth,
    the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James, and The Ted and Mary Jo Shen
    Charitable Gift Fund. Additional support has been provided by Dr. Joan Taub Ades, Linda Allard,
    Sarah Arison, Steven Backes, Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, Lisa and Dick Cashin, The
    Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, Linda and Martin Fell, Vicki Netter Fitzgerald, William J.
    Gillespie, Brian J. Heidtke, Caroline and Edward Hyman, The Marjorie S. Isaac/Irving H. Isaac
    Fund, Robin Chemers Neustein, Howard S. Paley, Pearl T. Maxim Trust, Lloyd E. Rigler –
    Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, Bernard L. Schwartz, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, John
    Leland Sills and Elizabeth Papadopoulos-Sills, Melissa A. Smith, The H. Russell Smith
    Foundation/Stewart R. Smith and Robin A. Ferracone, Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation, Sutton
    Stracke, and Sedgwick Ward.


    Champion support for ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal. Additional support
    provided by Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, Donna and Richard Esteves, Margee and John
    Falk, Janine and J. Tomilson Hill, the National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller Brothers Fund,
    Denise Littlefield Sobel, The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation,
    Elizabeth Yntema, and through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works
    Fund.

    Theme and Variations is generously underwritten through an endowed gift from Mr. and Mrs. John
    C. Sites, Jr.
    Deuce Coupe is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff
    New Works Fund.
    The Family Friendly Matinee is generously underwritten by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
    American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre.
    ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New
    York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York
    State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the
    City Council.

    1513347554_ScreenShot2019-08-15at11_08_11AM.png.c5530e8880517f4aa712fa79e6832858.png

    By the way, I forgot to put up this release from last week:

    NEW AMERICAN ROMANCE BY JAMES WHITESIDE
    ADDED TO AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S

    FALL SEASON AT DAVID H. KOCH THEATER, OCTOBER 16–27, 2019
    NEW YORK PREMIERE SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23
    New American Romance, choreographed by American Ballet Theatre Principal
    Dancer James Whiteside, will receive its New York Premiere on October 23 during the
    Company’s Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater. It was announced today by Artistic
    Director Kevin McKenzie.

    Set to Suite Bergamasque for solo piano by Claude Debussy, New American
    Romance is Whiteside’s first work for American Ballet Theatre. Featuring eight dancers, the
    ballet received its World Premiere on July 27, 2019 at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail,
    Colorado. New American Romance will be given three performances during ABT’s Fall season,
    replacing the previously scheduled Dream within a Dream (deferred) by Michelle Dorrance.
    Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season, priced from $30, are
    available online, at the Koch Theatre box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. Performance-only
    tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $35. The David H. Koch Theater is located at
    Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, please visit
    ABT’s website at www.abt.org.
    New American Romance is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin
    Sosnoff New Works Fund.

     

  10. Official announcement:

     

    JOO WON AHN AND ARAN BELL
    PROMOTED TO SOLOIST WITH AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
    ABT WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS OF THE CORPS DE BALLET AND APPRENTICES FOR THE 2019–2020 SEASON
    Joo Won Ahn and Aran Bell have been promoted to the rank of Soloist with American Ballet Theatre. The promotions, announced today by ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie, become effective September 1, 2019.
    Joo Won Ahn, originally from Wonju, Korea, began his formal training in 2006 at Y.J. Ballet People Academy and Sunhwa Arts School. In 2012, he continued his studies at Korea National University of Arts in Seoul. Ahn was invited to join ABT Studio Company in 2013 after winning the Gold Medal at Youth America Grand Prix in New York City. He joined ABT as an apprentice in January 2014 and the corps de ballet in June 2014. Ahn’s repertoire with the Company includes Solor in La Bayadère, a Cavalier in Cinderella, Ali and Lankendem in Le Corsaire, the Russian Dance and Spanish Dance in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Winter in Ratmansky’s The Seasons, Bluebird, a Fairy Cavalier and Italian Prince in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty, Neapolitan Dance in Swan Lake, leading roles in AFTERITE, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Garden Blue, Serenade after Plato’s Symposium and Thirteen Diversions and featured roles in AfterEffect, Bach Partita and In the Upper Room. He created roles in Mark Morris’s After You and Ratmansky’s Songs of Bukovina.
    Aran Bell was born in Bethesda, Maryland and began studying ballet at age four at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and with Denys Ganio in Rome, Italy. He continued his training with Fabrice Herrault in New York City and Magaly Suarez in Florida. He spent several summers at The Royal Ballet School in London and at American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive in New York City. Bell’s awards include the Hope Award at Youth America Grand Prix Finals in New York City in 2009 and 2010 and the Premio Capri Danza International Award in 2014. He was featured in the 2011 film First Position: A Ballet Documentary. Bell joined ABT Studio Company in September 2014. He became an apprentice with ABT in May 2016 and a member of the corps de ballet in March 2017. His repertoire includes Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Lankendem in Le Corsaire, Harlequin’s Friend in Harlequinade, St. John in Jane Eyre, Prince Désiré in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty, Prince Siegried and von Rothbart in Swan Lake, leading roles in Garden Blue and Thirteen Diversions and featured roles in AfterEffect, Deuce Coupe, In the Upper Room and Songs of Bukovina. He created a leading role in AFTERITE and the role of Winter in Ratmansky’s The Seasons.
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    PROMOTIONS ANNOUNCED 2019 – Page 2
    American Ballet Theatre apprentices Jacob Clerico, Jarod Curley, Michael de la Nuez, Léa Fleytoux, Abbey Marrison and Ingrid Thoms have been named members of ABT’s corps de ballet for the 2019–2020 season. ABT Studio Company dancers Leah Baylin, Kanon Kimura, Melvin Lawovi, Joseph Markey, Duncan McIlwaine and Chloe Misseldine will become apprentices with the Company.
    Jacob Clerico was born in Natick, Massachusetts and began his training at Holliston’s Dancing Arts Center. He continued studying at the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (JKO) School in 2015 and joined ABT Studio Company in September 2017. Clerico became an apprentice with the main Company in 2018.
    Jarod Curley, from Bethesda, Maryland, studied at the Frederick School of Classical Ballet. He later trained at the John Cranko School and joined ABT Studio Company in September 2016. He joined the main Company as an apprentice in 2018.
    Michael de la Nuez was born in Lexington, Kentucky and trained at De La Dance Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. He joined ABT Studio Company in February 2018 and became an apprentice in December 2018.
    Léa Fleytoux grew up in Paris, France and trained at the Conservatory National Superior of Music and Dance of Paris before joining the ABT JKO School in 2016. She became a member of ABT Studio Company in January 2017 and an apprentice with the main Company in 2018.
    Abbey Marrison was born in Markham, Ontario, Canada and studied at the Karpov Ballet Academy. She joined the ABT JKO School in September 2016 and joined ABT Studio Company the following year. Marrison became an apprentice with the main Company in 2018.
    Ingrid Thoms began her training at the Kintz Mejia Academy of Ballet in her hometown of McLean, Virginia. She continued her training at the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida until joining the ABT JKO School in 2016. She became a member of ABT Studio Company in September 2017 and an apprentice the following year.
    American Ballet Theatre welcomes the following ABT Studio Company alumni as apprentices in Fall of 2019:
    Leah Baylin, from Boulder, Colorado, trained at the ABT JKO School and joined ABT Studio Company in January 2018.
    Kanon Kimura was born in Tokyo, Japan and received training at the San Francisco Ballet School. She joined ABT Studio Company in September 2018.
    Melvin Lawovi studied at VM Ballet School in his hometown of Toulouse, France. He became a member of ABT Studio Company in January 2018.
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    PROMOTIONS ANNOUNCED 2019 – Page 3
    Joseph Markey, from Jacksonville, Florida, trained at Orlando Ballet School under ABT’s National Training Curriculum. He joined ABT Studio Company in September 2018.
    Duncan McIlwaine was born in Worcester, Vermont. He studied at the ABT JKO School since age 13 and became a member of ABT Studio Company in January 2018.
    Chloe Misseldine, from Orlando, Florida, trained at Orlando Ballet School under ABT’s National Training Curriculum. She joined ABT Studio Company in March 2018.
    American Ballet Theatre’s Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House continues through July 6, 2019. For tickets and information, please visit www.abt.org.

  11. From the company:

     

    AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S

    ABT INCUBATOR

    RETURNS FOR SECOND ANNUAL WORKSHOP,
    OCTOBER 29–NOVEMBER 9, 2019
    TWO-WEEK CHOREOGRAPHIC PROGRAM OPEN TO
    ABT DANCERS AND FREELANCE CHOREOGRAPHERS
    Audition for Freelance Choreographers to be Held August 8
    American Ballet Theatre continues its in-house choreographic program this
    Fall with ABT Incubator. It was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.
    ABT Incubator, a two-week choreographic workshop, provides new and
    seasoned choreographers with a focused lab to inspire and generate ideas for the creation
    of new work. Directed by American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer David Hallberg,
    ABT Incubator will be held October 29–November 9, 2019 at ABT’s New York studios
    and is open to ABT dancers and freelance choreographers. Participating choreographers
    will be chosen through an audition process with selections made by a panel of
    choreographers, directors and artists in ballet and dance, including Hallberg, McKenzie,
    Danspace Executive Director Judy Hussie-Taylor and choreographer Jessica Lang. The
    audition will be held Thursday, August 8 at ABT’s 890 Broadway studios.

    Choreographers chosen for the two-week program will be provided studio
    space, a stipend, collaborators, panel discussions and mentorships to create new work on
    dancers from ABT, culminating with a private studio showing on November 9.
    “Following the success of the first iteration of ABT Incubator in 2018, I have
    recognized the immense value of our choreographic workshop and am thrilled to host this
    essential program for ABT for its second season,” said Hallberg. “I remain as committed
    as ever to providing new voices in choreography with the resources to focus on process
    and create freely.”

    “American Ballet Theatre is committed to establishing an environment
    conducive for creating new work,” said McKenzie. “ABT Incubator is the next step for
    our institution to support that commitment.”

    Choreographers of all ages, ethnic and racial backgrounds and gender
    identifications are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in
    the United States to be considered. Audition information and guidelines for freelance
    choreographers are available by visiting: www.abt.org/abtincubator.

    ABT Incubator is supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

  12. The release:

     

    WORLD PREMIERE BY TWYLA THARP
    IN HONOR OF HERMAN CORNEJO’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY
    TO HIGHLIGHT 
    AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S 2019 FALL SEASONAT THE DAVID H. KOCH THEATER, OCTOBER 1627

    FALL SEASON TO CELEBRATE ABT CHOREOGRAPHERS PAST AND PRESENT WITH WORLD PREMIERE BY GEMMA BOND, NEW YORK PREMIERE OF JESSICA LANG’S LET ME SING FOREVERMORE
    AND REVIVALS OF GEORGE BALANCHINE’S APOLLO
    AND CLARK TIPPET’S SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

    FAMILY FRIENDLY MATINEE ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 BOX OFFICE TO OPEN JULY 22

    World Premieres by Twyla Tharp and Gemma Bond will highlight AmericanBallet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, October 16-27. The season was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

    Principal Dancers for the 2019 Fall season include Stella Abrera, Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo, Sarah Lane, Alban Lendorf, Hee Seo, Christine Shevchenko, Cory Stearns, Devon Teuscher and James Whiteside.

    The Company will present a program of works in honor of Principal Dancer Herman Cornejo on his 20th Anniversary with American Ballet Theatre. This special celebration on Saturday evening, October 26 will include Cornejo in works by George Balanchine and Tharp.

    Fall Gala and World Premieres

    American Ballet Theatre’s Fall season will open with a Gala performance onWednesday, October 16 at 6:30 PM. Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises® will be the Fall Gala honoree. The evening will feature a performance by students of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, the World Premiere of a new

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    ABT 2019 FALL SEASON ANNOUNCED  Page 2

    work by Twyla Tharp, Jessica Lang’s Let Me Sing Forevermore and GeorgeBalanchine’s Theme and Variations.

    The new Tharp work, created for Herman Cornejo and ABT Company members, will be given its World Premiere at the opening night gala on Wednesday evening, October 16. Tharp’snew ballet, her 17th for ABT, will be set to String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 by Johannes Brahms with lighting by Jennifer Tipton. The work will be given five performances during the season.

    A World Premiere work by ABT corps de ballet member Gemma Bond is scheduled for Wednesday evening, October 23. Set to Benjamin Britten’s Suite on English Folk Tunes for orchestra, Bond’s first work for ABT will feature costumes by Sylvie Rood and lighting by Serena Wong. The new work will be given three performances during the Fall season.

    The New York Premiere of Jessica Lang’s Let Me Sing Forevermore is set to a medley of songs recorded by Tony Bennett. A pas de deux with costumes by Bradon McDonald, Let Me Sing Forevermore received its World Premiere on March 23, 2019 at the Erik Bruhn Competition in Toronto, Canada performed by Catherine Hurlin and Aran Bell.

    Revivals

    The 2019 Fall season will feature revivals of George Balanchine’s Apollo andClark Tippet’s Some Assembly Required.

    Apollo, choreographed by Balanchine and set to music by Igor Stravinsky, will have its Revival Premiere on Friday evening, October 18. The ballet was given its world premiere by Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes at the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt, Paris on June 12, 1928. The ballet received its first American performance by Ballet Theatre at The Metropolitan Opera House, New York on April 27, 1937. Apollo was first performed by American Ballet Theatre on April 25, 1943 at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York with André Eglevsky as Apollo, Vera Zorina as Terpsichore, Nora Kaye as Polyhymnia

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    ABT 2019 FALL SEASON ANNOUNCED  Page 3

    and Rosella Hightower as Calliope. Staged for ABT by Victoria Simon, Apollo was last performed by the Company in 2012.

    Clark Tippet’s Some Assembly Required will be revived for the 2019 Fall season for four performances beginning Friday evening, October 18. Set to WilliamBolcom’s Second Sonata for Violin and Piano, the ballet features costumes by Gary Lisz and original lighting by Jennifer Tipton. Some Assembly Required received its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on April 14, 1989 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C., performed by Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner. Staged for ABT by McKerrow and Gardner, the ballet was last performed by the Company in 2009.

    Returning Repertory

    Theme and Variations, created by George Balanchine for Ballet Theatre in 1947, will be given five performances beginning October 16. Set to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (“Theme and Variations” from Suite No. 3 for Orchestra), Theme and Variations has costumes and scenery by Zack Brown. Theme and Variations, which was last performed by ABT in 2015, received its World Premiere at New York's City Center on November 26, 1947, danced by Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch.

    Alexei Ratmansky’s The Seasons returns for three performances beginning Thursday, October 17. Set to The Seasons by Alexander Glazunov, the ballet features costumes by Robert Perdziola and lighting by Mark Stanley. The Seasons, Ratmansky’s16th ballet for ABT, received its World Premiere on May 20, 2019 at the Metropolitan Opera House.

    Jessica Lang’s Garden Blue will be given three performances beginning Wednesday, October 23. The ballet is set to Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor “Dumky,”Movements 1, 2 and 3 by Antonín Dvořák, with scenery and costumes by American artist Sarah Crowner and lighting by Nicole Pearce. Garden Blue received its World Premiere on October 19, 2018 at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City.

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    ABT 2019 FALL SEASON ANNOUNCED  Page 4

    Twyla Tharp’s Deuce Coupe will be given five performances during the Fall season beginning Friday, October 18. Set to music by The Beach Boys, Deuce Coupefeatures scenery and costumes by Santo Loquasto, after original costume design by Scott Barrie and original scenics by United Graffiti Artists, and lighting by Jennifer Tipton.Deuce Coupe was given its World Premiere in 1973 by The Joffrey Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois and received its ABT Company Premiere on May 30, 2019 at the Metropolitan Opera House.

    Dream within a Dream (deferred), created by Michelle Dorrance for ABT in 2018, will return for three performances beginning Wednesday, October 23. Set to music by Duke Ellington, the ballet features costumes by Linda Cho and lighting by Brad Fields. A co-commission with the Vail Dance Festival, Dream within a Dream (deferred)received its World Premiere on October 17, 2018 at the David H. Koch Theater in
    New York City.

    Family Friendly Matinee

    A special matinee on Saturday, October 26 will feature family friendly programming including ABT Studio Company in Interchangeble Text by Gemma Bond and season works by George Balanchine, Jessica Lang and Twyla Tharp. Children (ages 6-18) receive a 50% discount off tickets with the purchase of a full-priced adult ticket.

    Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater go on sale beginning July 22, 2019 at 10:00 AM. Tickets priced from $30 are available online, at the Koch Theatre box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $35. The David H. Koch Theater is located at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

    (more)

    ABT 2019 FALL SEASON ANNOUNCED  Page 5

    Leadership support for The Ratmansky Project has been provided by Avery and Andrew F. Barth, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James, and The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund. Additional support has been provided by Dr. Joan Taub Ades, Linda Allard, Sarah Arison, Steven Backes, Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, Lisa and Dick Cashin, The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, Linda and Martin Fell, Vicki Netter Fitzgerald, William J. Gillespie, Brian J. Heidtke, Caroline and Edward Hyman, The Marjorie S. Isaac/Irving H. Isaac Fund, Robin Chemers Neustein, Howard S. Paley, Pearl T. Maxim Trust, Lloyd E. Rigler  Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, Bernard L. Schwartz, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, John Leland Sills and Elizabeth Papadopoulos-Sills, Melissa A. Smith, The H. Russell Smith Foundation/Stewart R. Smith and Robin A. Ferracone, Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation, Sutton Stracke, and Sedgwick Ward.

    Champion support for ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal. Additional support provided by Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, Donna and Richard Esteves, Margee and John Falk, Janine and J. Tomilson Hill, the National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Denise Littlefield Sobel, The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, Elizabeth Yntema, and through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

    Theme and Variations is generously underwritten through an endowed gift from Mr. and Mrs. John C. Sites, Jr.

    Deuce Coupe is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

    The Family Friendly Matinee is generously underwritten by Bloomberg Philanthropies. American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre.

    ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

  13. From the company:

    CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR FIRST TWO WEEKS OF AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S 2019 SPRING SEASON AT METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE

    World Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s The SeasonsScheduled for Spring Gala, Monday, May 20 at 6:30 P.M.

    Casting for the first two weeks of American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

    The season will begin with eight performances of Alexei Ratmansky’sHarlequinade, beginning Monday, May 13, with Isabella Boylston, James Whiteside, Stella Abrera and Thomas Forster in the leading roles. The performance on Tuesday, May 14, will feature New York debuts by Carlos Gonzalez (Harlequin), Devon Teuscher (Pierrette) and Calvin Royal III (Pierrot). Tyler Maloney will dance the role of Harlequin for the first time in New York at the matinee on Wednesday, May 15. This production ofHarlequinade received its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on June 4, 2018, led by Isabella Boylston (Columbine), James Whiteside (Harlequin), Gillian Murphy (Pierrette) and Thomas Forster (Pierrot). A comic ballet in two acts, Harlequinade is set to music by Riccardo Drigo and first premiered in 1900 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ratmansky’s Harlequinade features sets and costumes by Robert Perdziola and lighting by Brad Fields.

    The 2019 Spring Gala on Monday, May 20 at 6:30 P.M., paying tribute to the 10thAnniversary year of Alexei Ratmansky as ABT Artist in Residence, will feature the choreographer’s 2016 work Serenade after Plato’s Symposium and this Spring’s World Premiere of The Seasons. Serenade after Plato’s Symposium is set to music by Leonard Bernstein and features scenery and costumes by Jérôme Kaplan and lighting by Brad Fields. The ballet will be danced by Herman Cornejo, Alexandre Hammoudi, Thomas Forster, Calvin Royal III, Gabe Stone Shayer, Daniil Simkin, Joseph Gorak and Devon Teuscher.

    The World Premiere of The Seasons will be led by Aran Bell, Hee Seo, Katherine Williams, Catherine Hurlin, Luciana Paris, James Whiteside, Sarah Lane, Skylar Brandt, Isabella Boylston, Blaine Hoven, Arron Scott, Tyler Maloney, Cassandra Trenary and Calvin Royal III. Set to the score by Alexander Glazunov, The Seasons features sets and costumes designed by Robert Perdziola and lighting by Mark Stanley.

    The second week of the Spring season will continue with four performances of an all-Ratmansky program of repertory works, May 21–23. In addition to The Seasons, the Ratmansky Trio will include Songs of Bukovina (2017) and On the Dnieper (2009).

    Joo Won Ahn, Devon Teuscher, Zhong-Jing Fang, April Giangeruso, Betsy McBride, Thomas Forster, Stella Abrera, Herman Cornejo, Gabe Stone Shayer, Jonathan Klein, Catherine Hurlin and Blaine Hoven will debut in The Seasons on Tuesday, May 21.Songs of Bukovina, with Isabella Boylston and Blaine Hoven leading the opening night cast, is set to music by Leonid Desyatnikov and features costumes by Moritz Junge and lighting by Brad Fields. The ballet was given its World Premiere on October 18, 2017 at the David H. Koch Theater in New York, performed by Christine Shevchenko and Calvin Royal III, as well as April Giangeruso, Lauren Post, Katherine Williams, Stephanie Williams, Marshall Whiteley, Joo Won Ahn, Duncan Lyle and Patrick Frenette.

    The May 21 cast of On the Dnieper will be led by Hee Seo as Natalia with debuts by Cory Stearns as Sergei, Christine Shevchenko as Olga and James Whiteside as Olga’s Fiancé. The matinee on Wednesday, May 22 will feature debuts by Thomas Forster (Sergei), Devon Teuscher (Natalia) and Catherine Hurlin (Olga). On the Dnieper, set to a score of the same name by Sergei Prokofiev, has scenery by Simon Pastukh, costumes by Galina Solovyeva, lighting by Brad Fields and projections by Wendall K. Harrington. Ratmansky’s production of On the Dnieper received its World Premiere on June 1, 2009 at the Metropolitan Opera House, performed by Veronika Part (Natalia), Marcelo Gomes (Sergei), Paloma Herrera (Olga) and David Hallberg (Olga’s Fiancé). Prokofiev’s score for On the Dnieper was originally commissioned by the Paris Opera, and the ballet received its World Premiere in 1932 by the Paris Opera Ballet. On the Dnieper was last performed by ABT in 2010.

    The second week will conclude with three performances of Whipped Cream, beginning Friday, May 24, led by Daniil Simkin as The Boy, Stella Abrera as Princess Tea Flower, Calvin Royal III as Prince Coffee and Sarah Lane as Princess Praline. Tyler Maloney will make his New York debut as The Boy at the matinee on Saturday, May 25. Choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, the ballet features scenery and costumes by artist Mark Ryden and lighting by Brad Fields. Whipped Cream, with a libretto and score by Richard Strauss, is based on the two-act ballet originally created as Schlagobers, which premiered at the Vienna State Opera in 1924. Ratmansky’s production received its World Premiere by ABT on March 15, 2017 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California danced by Daniil Simkin (The Boy), Stella Abrera (Princess Tea Flower), David Hallberg (Prince Coffee) and Sarah Lane (Princess Praline).

    Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Metropolitan Opera House season, beginning at $25, are available online, at the Met box office or by phone at 212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City. For more information, visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

    Complete casting follows.

    Leadership support for Harlequinade, part of The Ratmansky Project, has been generously provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and The Marjorie S. Isaac/Irving H. Isaac Fund.

    On the Dnieper is generously sponsored by Leila and Mickey Straus and through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

    Leadership support for The Ratmansky Project has been provided by Avery and Andrew F. Barth, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James, and The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund. Additional support has been provided by Dr. Joan Taub Ades, Linda Allard, Sarah Arison, Steven Backes, Lisa and Dick Cashin, Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, Linda and Martin Fell, Vicki Netter Fitzgerald, William J. Gillespie, Brian J. Heidtke, The Marjorie S. Isaac/Irving H. Isaac Fund, Howard S. Paley, Pearl T. Maxim Trust, Lloyd E. Rigler – Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, Bernard L. Schwartz, John Leland Sills and Elizabeth Papadopoulos-Sills, Melissa A. Smith, The H. Russell Smith Foundation/Stewart R. Smith and Robin A. Ferracone, The Toni and Martin Sosnoff Foundation, Sutton Stracke, and Sedgwick Ward. Leadership support for Whipped Cream, part of The Ratmansky Project, has been generously provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the Lloyd E. Rigler - Lawrence A. Deutsch Foundation.

    American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre.

    ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

    Follow American Ballet Theatre on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ABTBalleton Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AmericanBalletTheatre
    on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/ABTBalletTheatre
    or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/abtofficial/?hl=en

  14. From the company:

     

    WORLD PREMIERE BY ALEXEI RATMANSKY SET FOR MARCH 5, 2020 AT SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS, COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA

    American Ballet Theatre will premiere a new full-length production choreographed by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky on March 5, 2020 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The ballet will be given five performances,
    March 5-8, 2020 in California, and will have its New York Premiere during ABT’s 2020 Metropolitan Opera House season.

    Based on the historical romance novel Callirhoe by Chariton, the World Premiere work tells the story of star-crossed lovers Callirhoe and Chaereas in ancient Greece. The ballet will be set to music by Aram Khachaturian, arranged by Philip Feeney, and will feature sets and costumes by Jean-Marc Puissant.

    The World Premiere will be Ratmansky’s seventeenth work for American Ballet Theatre.

    For more information on American Ballet Theatre, please visit www.abt.org.

     

  15. A release:

    ISABELLA BOYLSTON, MISTY COPELAND AND DEVON TEUSCHER DISCUSS AMERICAN PREMIERE OF JANE EYRE
    WITH CHOREOGRAPHER CATHY MARSTON
    AT 92ND STREET Y, FRIDAY, MAY 3 AT 8:00 P.M.

    American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancers Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland and Devon Teuscher will join choreographer Cathy Marston for a conversation on her full-length ballet Jane Eyre. Boylston, Copeland and Teuscher will dance the title role in Marston’s ballet during ABT’s Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House. The discussion, moderated by Elda Rotor, Vice President and Publisher for Penguin Classics, will take place at the 92nd Street Y on Friday, May 3, 2019 at 8:00 P.M. Tickets for the event, starting at $35, are available online at https://www.92y.org/event/jane-eyre.

    The American Premiere of the full-length Jane Eyre, set for Tuesday, June 4, features choreography and direction by Marston, music compiled and composed by Philip Feeney, scenery and costumes by Patrick Kinmonth and lighting by Brad Fields. The production received its World Premiere by Northern Ballet on May 19, 2016 in Doncaster, England. Jane Eyre is a co-production with Joffrey Ballet and is staged for ABT by Jenny Tattersall and Daniel de Andrade. Following the June 4 Company Premiere, the ballet will be given seven performances by ABT through Monday, June 10.

    Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Metropolitan Opera House season, beginning at $25, are available online, at the Met box office or by phone at 212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City. For more information, visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

    Jane Eyre is part of the ABT Women’s Movement, a multi-year initiative to support the creation, exploration and staging of new works by women for ABT and the ABT Studio Company.

    Leadership support for Jane Eyre is generously provided by The Leila and Mickey Straus Family Foundation.

    Jane Eyre is part of the ABT Women’s Movement. Champion support for the ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal. Leadership support has been generously provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel and the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Additional major gifts have been provided by Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, Donna and Richard Esteves, Margee and John Falk, Janine and J. Tomilson Hill, The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Elizabeth Yntema, and through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

  16. Happy to see revivals of rarely performed Balanchine and Robbins works: JEROME ROBBINS’ Piano Pieces and Concertino,BALANCHINE’s “Variations” from Episodes, Haieff Divertimento and Sylvia: Pas de Deux. 

    I know Suzanne Farrell Ballet performed Haieff and Miami and POB regularly performed Sylvia but I'm happy to see them at the home theater. They will be great vehicles for today's dancers. 

    ETA: Plus Danses Concertantes, Divertimento from ‘Le Baiser de la Fée! La Source etc..so many other wonderful Balanchine ballets. And a Ratmansky new ballet. I've always thought he does some of his best work at NYCB. 

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