Edwaard Liang to be the new Artistic Director of Washington Ballet

[FPF]

The Columbus Dispatch and Washington Post both have just reported that Edwaard Liang is going to be AD at Washington Ballet beginning with the 2024-2025 season.

https://www.dispatch.com/story/entertainment/dance/2023/10/24/balletmet-artistic-director-edwaard-liang-to-leave-balletmet/71294175007/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater/2023/10/24/washington-ballet-new-artistic-director/

[lmspear]

🤞 Fingers and toes are crossed for a good outcome.

[daughterlovesballet]

This is very exciting!  I'm so glad TWB board went with someone with AD experience, so as not to make the same mistake twice.  

[YouOverThere]

A pleasant surprise, as I expected that the WB would only attract applicants from small companies or who didn't have AD experience. Does this qualify as a step up for Mr. Liang?

Ballet Met has 3 dancers with DC connections (1 former WB dancer), so I wonder if he will bring any dancers with him. Though what the WB really needs right now is a couple of Leading Man-type dancers after most of the ones they had followed Julie Kent to Houston, and only 1 of the 3 is male (who doesn't appear to have much experience dancing lead roles in the big classics).

I will start stockpiling Kleenex with the expectation that he will program Feast of the Gods at some point. It's unfortunate that my former co-attendee did not live to be able watch it.

[zerbinetta]

It’s rather a pity, with all the emphasis on first director of color /Asian , that there is no mention of Choo San Goh, who was co-director of the company until his death.

[Drew]

24 minutes ago, zerbinetta said:

It’s rather a pity, with all the emphasis on first director of color /Asian , that there is no mention of Choo San Goh, who was co-director of the company until his death.

Thanks for mentioning.  Goh was an important choreographic talent too -- at one point Baryshnikov arranged to work with him.

[zerbinetta]

His ballet Fives introduced a fifteen year old Amanda McKerrow to NY when Washington Ballet played Brooklyn College many years ago.

[daughterlovesballet]

On 10/25/2023 at 6:44 PM, zerbinetta said:

His ballet Fives introduced a fifteen year old Amanda McKerrow to NY when Washington Ballet played Brooklyn College many years ago.

I love FIves and I hope TWB performs it again soon.

[sandik]

On 10/25/2023 at 2:56 PM, Drew said:

Thanks for mentioning.  Goh was an important choreographic talent too -- at one point Baryshnikov arranged to work with him.

Goh was very much a choreographer of his time.

[California]

On 10/25/2023 at 3:56 PM, Drew said:

Thanks for mentioning.  Goh was an important choreographic talent too -- at one point Baryshnikov arranged to work with him.

Here's the piece by Goh for ABT and Baryshnikov:

Here's a clip of the Baryshnikov interview about the piece, narrated by Shirley MacLaine. Interesting that Baryshnikov commissioned this in 1981, shortly after he took over as ABT Artistic Director:

 

[lisbit]

Thanks for the amazing video!  I studied at WSB in the early 90s and remember the Goh ballets.  
 

I think this is a very exciting move for Washington Ballet.  The company was never intended to be a mini ABT (as Kent was trying to create), but a chamber company doing new and different, yet still classically based, work.  Day knew that ABT and the big international companies already owned the KC story ballet market. She was wise to pick another direction. 
 

On a side note, after the demise of the National Ballet, the KC should have made the Washington Ballet their home company and given them a space.  This is why DC will never be a big ballet city like NY, SF or Seattle despite having the means.  It could have grown into a much bigger organization considering DC’s population, wealth and education level. 

[California]

The Singapore Ballet staged a festival of Goh's works in 2018. Very recent! Somebody has tapes or scores sufficient to restage them.

The clips of "Fives" starts at 0:51. It was my understanding that after Mary Day saw this work (made for DNB) she invited him to Washington.

If Washington Ballet wants to get some attention, this would be a great project for them.

And I wonder if ABT could get Terry Orr and Marianna Tcherkassky to restage the piece made for Baryshnikov. I can see Camargo and Bell in the lead.