PA Ballet's 2007-08 season

[Ray]

The PAB lineup for 2007-08 (culled from the links for Mar. 8th):

Paul Taylor's Company B

Balanchine's Concerto Barocco

Another piece from the company's repertoire

Ben Stevenson's Dracula.

The Nutcracker (new production, by the way)

Robert Weiss' Messiah

Coppélia, choreography Nicholas Sergeyev after Marius Petipa

Wheeldon's Carnival of the Animals

New work by Peter Quanz to music by Elliott Carter

What do people think of this lineup? I'm underwhelmed; a few interesting choices, but nothing here seems like it will challenge the company's dancers. In other words, business as usual for PA Ballet. I don't see much of an artistic vision at work here.

Also, the same news story that announced these ballets reports that PAB is raising many of its seat prices.

[purelyballet]

Paul Taylor's Company B

Balanchine's Concerto Barocco

Another piece from the company's repertoire

Ben Stevenson's Dracula.

The Nutcracker (new production, by the way)

Robert Weiss' Messiah

Coppélia, choreography Nicholas Sergeyev after Marius Petipa

Wheeldon's Carnival of the Animals

New work by Peter Quanz to music by Elliott Carter

I have never seen Company B nor Messiah so I am excited to see the company perform both of these ballets. I am also very excited to see them do Concerto Barocco and Carnival of the Animals and just like Nutcraker is to Christmas I love seeing Dracula at Halloween time. I could live without Coppelia but at least this gives a little of something for everyone.

[lillianna]

According to the schedule in the Carmina Burana program, the company will be doing 2 different programs in October, one at the Merriam and one at the Academy. And will not have any programs in January or February like they usually do. Why is there no February program? Are they planning a tour? The schedule seems very different than their usual season.

[purelyballet]

lilliana, I noticed that as well and was wondering the same thing. I heard through the grapevine that they will be doing the Fall Festival at City Center again this year, but have not heard about any other touring dates. I also noticed that their Nutcracker starts a little later this year as well. Any idea if they are doing the Cleveland Nutcracker tour again this year?

[Petra]

I think they are also participating in the Dance across America program at Kennedy Centre in DC.

[purelyballet]

GWTW do you know the dates of the DC program?

[Dale]

I posted the information on the Kennedy Center thread:

June 10-15, 2008 – Kennedy Center Opera House

Program A (June 10 & 11) features Ballet West in George Balanchine's Serenade,

Pennsylvania Ballet in Jerome Robbins' In the Night and Houston Ballet in Stanton

Welch's Velocity. Program B (June 12 & 14) features Pacific Northwest Ballet in Nacho

Duato's Jardi Tancat, Kansas City Ballet in Todd Bolender's The Still Point and The

Washington Ballet in a work by Twyla Tharp. Program C (June 13 & 15) features

Boston Ballet in a new work by Jorma Elo, Joffrey Ballet in Antony Tudor's Lilac

Garden and Oregon Ballet Theater in a work by Christopher Wheeldon, There Where She Loved.

[Dale]

Here's the offiial release regarding the season:

A CARNIVAL, ANGELS, A VAMPIRE, AND A SHINY NEW NUTCRACKER ARE AMONG

THE HIGHLIGHTS OF PENNSYLVANIA BALLET’S MAGICAL 2007-2008 SEASON

Season Includes Two Company Premieres, A World Premiere, and

a New Production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker

Pennsylvania Ballet celebrates its 44th season with a lineup of spectacular new ballets and

treasured favorites. The 2007-2008 season includes three full-length masterpieces, a total of two

Company premieres and a world premiere, and a new production of Philadelphia’s favorite holiday

tradition, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. The Company will also perform a series in New York

City in the fall. Subscriptions, starting at $87, are available by calling 215.893.1955, or by visiting

www.paballet.org.

“I am pleased and proud to bring these new, celebrated classics to Philadelphia audiences,” says

Artistic Director Roy Kaiser. “Pennsylvania Ballet is a company of dancers with extraordinary versatility

and supreme artistry, and this season will showcase their abilities to the fullest.”

PENNSYLVANIA BALLET’S 2007-2008 SEASON:



Company B: Choreography by Paul Taylor (Music: The Andrews Sisters)

Concerto Barocco: Choreographed by George Balanchine (Music: Johann Sebastian Bach)

Another work to be announced

October 10 – 14

Merriam Theater at the University of the Arts

250 S. Broad Street

The season begins October 10-14, 2007 at the Merriam Theater with a program of repertory favorites

featuring Paul Taylor’s Company B, George Balanchine’s neoclassical masterpiece Concerto Barocco,

and another work to be announced. In Company B, Paul Taylor’s choreography swings to the rousing

World War II hits by the Andrews Sisters, with songs like “Pennsylvania Polka,” “Rum and Coca-Cola,”

and “Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy” rooting the athletic contemporary ballet movement in a specific social

and historical context. Concerto Barocco features George Balanchine’s forte of mirroring the musical

qualities in movement, with choreography that reflects the rhythms, intensities and emotional hues of

Bach’s Concerto in D minor for Two Violins.



Dracula: Choreography by Ben Stevenson (Music: Franz Liszt, arranged by John Lanchbery)

October 26 – November 3

Academy of Music

Broad and Locust Streets

Everyone’s favorite Transylvanian Dracula flies into the Academy of Music, just in time for Halloween,

October 26-November 3, 2007. Complete with flying vampires and dazzling pyrotechnics, Ben

Stevenson’s Dracula takes audiences on a journey to 19th-century Transylvania where the Dark Prince’s

dark and gloomy castle casts a shadow on the helpless village below. This macabre tale is set to a

powerful score by Franz Liszt, and features over 60 richly detailed costumes by Judanna Lynn and

breathtaking scenery by Thomas Boyd.



The Nutcracker: Choreography by George Balanchine (Music: Peter IlyichTchaikovsky)

World Premiere!

December 14 – 31

Academy of Music

Broad and Locust Streets

Pennsylvania Ballet unveils a new production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, December 14-31,

2007 at the Academy of Music. The magical story, memorable Tchaikovsky score, and Balanchine’s

inspiring choreography will shine like never before with glittering new scenery designed by Peter Horne

and colorful new costumes designed by Judanna Lynn, in the style of the 1830s romantic period. This

historic new production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker will make everyone’s holiday season

more magical. New sets and costumes are being underwritten in part by a grant from the William Penn

Foundation. The production’s corporate supporters include PNC Bank, Presenting Sponsor, and Chrysler

Jeep, the Official Automotive Sponsor of The Nutcracker.



Messiah: Choreography by Robert Weiss (Music: George Frideric Handel)

Company Premiere!

March 5 – 9

Academy of Music

Broad and Locust Streets

Handel’s most celebrated work comes to life with Messiah, March 5-9, 2008 at the Academy of Music.

Choreographed by Director of the Carolina Ballet Robert Weiss, who served as Artistic Director of

Pennsylvania Ballet from 1982-1990, Messiah opens with a full choir onstage in a skeletal abstraction of

a church. Sun streams through the bare windows of the chapel and dancers slowly appear. With angels

and doves floating about the stage, the work blends an old world charm with contemporary movement

and imagery.



Coppélia: Choreography by Nicholas Sergeyev after Marius Petipa (Music: Leo Delibes)

April 25 – May 3

Merriam Theater at the University of the Arts

250 S. Broad Street

Ballet’s greatest comedy, Coppélia, returns to the Merriam Theater stage April 25-May 3, 2008. Set in a

19th-century village, a mysterious toymaker named Dr. Coppélius makes a doll, which he names Coppélia.

He dreams that one day she will come to life, and she does...almost! This timeless story of a young

couple in love, battling between worlds of realism and idealism, is simple, charming and laugh-out-loud

funny. With choreography by Sergeyev after Marius Petipa and a bright score by Leo Delibes, this

sentimental comic ballet is beloved by audiences everywhere.



Carnival of the Animals: Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon with a special celebrity guest

(Music: Camille Saint-Saёns)

Company Premiere!

World Premiere: Choreography by Peter Quanz

Another work to be announced

June 6 – 14

Academy of Music

Broad and Locust Streets

The season comes to a fabulous finish with the Company Premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s critically

acclaimed Carnival of the Animals. This large ensemble piece tells the story of Oliver Percy, a young

boy who spends the night in New York’s Museum of Natural History. Throughout the evening, the

creatures of the museum come to life, and the animals oddly resemble people he knows in real life;

hyenas are his classmates, hens and cockerels their parents, weasels and rats their younger siblings. With

witty and amusing narration written by John Lithgow and Camille Saint-Saёns’ famous score, Carnival of

the Animals is an incredible ballet for children – and the child in us all. Also on this exciting program is

a world premiere by international choreographer Peter Quanz. Quanz is originally from a small town

outside of Toronto, Canada, and trained at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Since age 9, Quanz’s

intention was to become a choreographer, an endeavor that continues to unfold with grand

accomplishments. He has choreographed major works for the Stuttgart Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet and

American Ballet Theatre. The piece he is creating for the 07-08 season is his first work choreographed

for Pennsylvania Ballet.

In addition to the Company’s Philadelphia season, Pennsylvania Ballet is planning to perform at

New York’s City Center in the fall of 2007. More details will be announced this spring regarding the

Company’s engagement in New York.

Subscriptions are available by calling 215.893.1955 or online at www.paballet.org. Full

season subscription prices range from $87 to $495. Subscribers receive many benefits over single ticket

purchasers including a 20% discount, priority seating, convenient partial payment plan, easy ticket

exchanges, discounts to fine restaurants and other area cultural institutions, advance ticket purchasing for

The Nutcracker and more! Pennsylvania Ballet offers special subscription series specifically designed for

young professionals. Thursday Night Jumps! and Sophisticated Sundays combine exciting social events

and behind the scenes opportunities with performances throughout the season. Sophisticated Sundays is

presented by American Express and is made possible through funding from the American Express

Performing Arts Fund.

Pennsylvania Ballet also offers a Family Matinee Series which includes a free Family Day event

on the day of the show. Family Day is a fun-filled celebration featuring entertainment, games and craft

activities, as well as autograph opportunities with some of the featured dancers. The Family Matinee

Series performances this season are as follows: The Nutcracker on Saturday, December 15, Coppélia on

Saturday, April 26 and Carnival of the Animals on Saturday, June 7.

For more information or to subscribe to Pennsylvania Ballet’s 2007 – 2008 Season, please call

215.893.1955 or order online at www.paballet.org.

Pennsylvania Ballet’s 2007-2008 season sponsors include American Express and US Airways,

the Official Airline of Pennsylvania Ballet.

Pennsylvania Ballet receives support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts,

a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts,

and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Founded in 1963 by Balanchine student Barbara Weisberger, Pennsylvania Ballet is one of the nation’s

leading ballet companies. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the Company’s annual local season features six

productions of classic favorites and new works, including the Philadelphia holiday tradition, George

Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. For more information, call 215.551.7000 or visit www.paballet.org.

[Ray]

Here's the offiial release regarding the season:

A CARNIVAL, ANGELS, A VAMPIRE, AND A SHINY NEW NUTCRACKER ARE AMONG

THE HIGHLIGHTS OF PENNSYLVANIA BALLET’S MAGICAL 2007-2008 SEASON

Season Includes Two Company Premieres, A World Premiere, and

a New Production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker

[bIG SNIP]

I'm tryin', PAB, but you're not makin it easy...Ricky Weiss??? The WHOLE Messiah???? And only two Balanchines??? The only thing this thin lineup will challenge for the dancers is their patience. Not promising.

[Rosa]

I wonder if they will do Swan Lake soon? I saw it when it premiered in 2004 and would like to see it again.

[Leigh Witchel]

It was also staged in 2005 both at the Edinburgh Festival and at The Academy in the fall, so it may not be brought back immediately.

[dove85]

PA Ballet did Swan Lake three years in a row after it premiered. And the ticket sales in Philadelphia last season were disappointing, mainly b/c people had just seen it and wanted something new. I think its pretty safe to say that they're going to give Swan Lake a rest for a few years until they think it will once again attract an eager audience.