Dale Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Press release: ABT STUDIO COMPANY CONCLUDES SPRING U.S. TOUR AT THE JOYCE THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY, MAY 1–5, 2024, WITH THREE NEW YORK PREMIERES AND ONE WORLD PREMIERE NEW YORK, NY (April 2, 2024) – American Ballet Theatre Studio Company returns to New York City to conclude their 2024 Spring U.S. tour with five performances at The Joyce Theater, May 1–5, 2024. The performance series will feature richly varied programs of original commissions plus classical and neoclassical favorites, including the New York Premieres of choreography by Amy Hall Garner, Jamar Roberts, and ABT Principal Dancer James Whiteside, and the World Premiere of a pas de deux by ABT Studio Company dancer Brady Farrar. Led by ABT Studio Company Artistic Director Sascha Radetsky, the central mission of ABT Studio Company is to prepare its pre-professional dancers – currently ages 17-22 – for careers at American Ballet Theatre or other leading ballet companies worldwide. 80% of current American Ballet Theatre dancers are alumni of ABT Studio Company, including 14 Principal Dancers and 9 Soloists. Each year, ABT Studio Company commissions new works from emerging and established choreographers and engages the broadest possible ballet audience by performing varied repertoire in a range of venues around the globe. ABT Studio Company’s 2023-2024 season features performances in 15 cities across the United States and in Córdoba, Mexico. ABT Studio Company dancers performing at The Joyce Theater are Max Barker, Kayke Carvalho, YeonSeo Choi, Brady Farrar, Elijah Geolina, Lilia Greyeyes, Daniel Guzmán, Arisu Hirata, Chaeyeon Kang, Audrey Lynn, Vince Pelegrin, and Trinity Santoro. ABT Studio Company Trainee and current ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School student Sooha Park will additionally appear in the performances. ABT Studio Company welcomes four recent alumni to perform alongside the group at The Joyce, courtesy of American Ballet Theatre: ABT corps de ballet member Alejandro Valera Outlaw and ABT apprentices Madison Brown, Kyra Coco, and Sylvie Squires. ABT Studio Company’s repertory at The Joyce will include the following New York Premieres: Within the Sunset by Amy Hall Garner, a new work commissioned for ABT Studio Company, with music by Rodrigo y Gabriela, Lawson Rollins, and Estas Tonne. In the Face of Darkness by Jamar Roberts, a new work commissioned for ABT Studio Company, with music by Franz Schubert. Young & Beautiful by ABT Principal Dancer James Whiteside, a new work commissioned for ABT Studio Company, with music by Lana Del Ray. Night Falls (World Premiere) by ABT Studio Company dancer Brady Farrar, a new work commissioned for ABT Studio Company, with music by Frédéric Chopin. Lighting for all new works is designed by ABT Studio Company Production Manager Audrey Schultz. Additional repertory works presented by ABT Studio Company at The Joyce will be The Seasons pas de deux by Alexei Ratmansky, Known By Heart Duet © by Twyla Tharp, “Country Gardens” from Brief Fling © by Tharp, Flight of the Bumblebee by Brady Farrar, excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake after Marius Petipa, and the Diana and Acteon pas de deux after Agrippina Vaganova. Tickets starting at $12, including fees, can be purchased online and at The Joyce box office at 175 Eighth Avenue. *All casting, programming, and pricing are subject to change. Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 7:30 P.M. Diana and Acteon pas de deux (after Agrippina Vaganova) Flight of the Bumblebee (Brady Farrar) The Seasons pas de deux (Alexei Ratmansky) “Neapolitan Dance” from Swan Lake (after Marius Petipa) Young & Beautiful (James Whiteside) – New York Premiere Known By Heart Duet © (Twyla Tharp) “Rose Adagio” from The Sleeping Beauty (after Marius Petipa) Night Falls (Brady Farrar) – World Premiere Within the Sunset (Amy Hall Garner) – New York Premiere Thursday, May 2, 2024, 8:00 P.M. Diana and Acteon pas de deux (after Agrippina Vaganova) Flight of the Bumblebee (Brady Farrar) The Seasons pas de deux (Alexei Ratmansky) “Neapolitan Dance” from Swan Lake (after Marius Petipa) Young & Beautiful (James Whiteside) Known By Heart Duet © (Twyla Tharp) “Rose Adagio” from The Sleeping Beauty (after Marius Petipa) Night Falls (Brady Farrar) Within the Sunset (Amy Hall Garner) Friday, May 3, 2024, 8:00 P.M. Diana and Acteon pas de deux (after Agrippina Vaganova) Flight of the Bumblebee (Brady Farrar) The Seasons pas de deux (Alexei Ratmansky) “Rose Adagio” from The Sleeping Beauty (after Marius Petipa) “Country Gardens” from Brief Fling © (Twyla Tharp) In the Face of Darkness (Jamar Roberts) - New York Premiere “Neapolitan Dance” from Swan Lake (after Marius Petipa) Night Falls (Brady Farrar) Within the Sunset (Amy Hall Garner) Saturday, May 4, 2024, 8:00 P.M. Diana and Acteon pas de deux (after Agrippina Vaganova) The Seasons pas de deux (Alexei Ratmansky) “Neapolitan Dance” from Swan Lake (after Marius Petipa) Young & Beautiful (James Whiteside) “Country Gardens” from Brief Fling © (Twyla Tharp) Night Falls (Brady Farrar) “Rose Adagio” from The Sleeping Beauty (after Marius Petipa) Flight of the Bumblebee (Brady Farrar) Within the Sunset (Amy Hall Garner) Sunday, May 5, 2024, 7:30 P.M. Diana and Acteon pas de deux (after Agrippina Vaganova) Flight of the Bumblebee (Brady Farrar) The Seasons pas de deux (Alexei Ratmansky) “Neapolitan Dance” from Swan Lake (after Marius Petipa) Young & Beautiful (James Whiteside) Known By Heart Duet © (Twyla Tharp) “Rose Adagio” from The Sleeping Beauty (after Marius Petipa) Night Falls (Brady Farrar) Within the Sunset (Amy Hall Garner) For more information about ABT Studio Company, please visit ABT’s website and follow @ABTStudioCo on Instagram. *All casting, programming, and pricing are subject to change. American Ballet Theatre recognizes the following donors for their extraordinary giving in support of ABT Studio Company: Sofia Elizalde, Patricia R. Morton, James M. and Nora C. Orphanides, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund. Additional support provided by Edward "Chip" Beam in loving memory of John and Jack, Sandra and Charles Carmeci, Mr. and Mrs. Peter L. Malkin, The Agnes Varis Fund, Constance A. Woo, and four anonymous donors. Commissions and presentations of new work by women choreographers are supported by the ABT Women’s Movement. Champion support for the ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal. Leadership support of ABT’s New Works initiatives is provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund, and through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. Special thanks to Denise Littlefield Sobel for her leadership gifts to: ABT Today Fund, advancing the Company's mission; and ABT RISE, fueling the Company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Link to comment
Royal Blue Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 (edited) For the weekend matinees during this run (May 4 and 5), there were performances by the Pre-Professional Division of the ABT JKO School at the Joyce. My curiosity about the excerpts from the classics on the program led me to buy tickets for both. Not having attended any such performances before, my expectations were held in check. What a fantastic, rich experience it was to watch these young ballet dancers perform in both the aforementioned excerpts and other works! As the curtain went up to Tchaikovsky's music from The Sleeping Beauty, the audience observed the unique spectacle of more than seventy dancers—beautifully posed—teeming the stage of this intimate theater. Certain recent thoughts about the role and significance of a crowded stage in this ballet made such an opening particularly resonant and moving to me. A succession of so-called Class/Character Demonstrations or Dances by various choreographers followed the brief initial selection of excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty. The music ranged from Sergei Prokofiev and André Messager to Mikis Theodorakis and others. A solo titled Tunnel Vision, snippets of choreography by students set to music by Caroline Shaw, and a work by the artistic directors of Complexions Contemporary Ballet to Baroque music composed by Vivaldi rounded out the first half of the program. None of this multifarious material felt redundant or excessive to me, partly because of the brevity of each piece and the dedication, gusto, and beauty exhibited in the performances of the students. Nevertheless, what followed the intermission was grander. The first lakeside scene in Swan Lake is one of the most aesthetically fulfilling and metaphorically rich in ballet. Virtually every reenactment of it on stage casts its spell. Consequently, viewing the "Act II Suite" which included the White Swan Pas de Deux, and the choreography for the Little Swans, the Big Swans, and the Corps de Ballet provided unmitigated delight. And what an extraordinary treat it was to observe Devon Teuscher (an alumna of the ABT JKO school) perform exquisitely as the Swan Queen in the haunting Pas on both afternoons! Another guest and current ABT principal dancer, Joo Won Ahn, partnered her elegantly as Prince Siegfried. Twyla Tharp's The Ballet Master, offered three months ago at this theater, made me conscious of my foolishness in having skipped ABT performances of Don Quixote for so long. That made the extended dance excerpts from all three acts of the ballet offered by the Pre-Professional Division in its "Don Quixote Suite" all that more desirable. The Dream Scene from Act II was particularly breathtaking on both Saturday and Sunday. Indeed, it was rewarding to attend both days since there were so many casting changes in the program, and different students performed separate segments of choreography for the major roles (Kitri and Basilio, for example) each afternoon. This offered the audience an opportunity to gauge the talent of diverse students. And there was plenty of marvelous talent on display from females and males of various racial backgrounds. It was difficult, in fact, to keep track of everyone showing promise. However, I must single out the two young women cast as Amour in the Dream Scene. A young black woman of stately appearance—equally impressive earlier in the Complexions piece—assumed the role on Saturday. And the entire demeanor and expression of the young blonde who enacted the role Sunday afternoon, combined with delightful dancing, mesmerized me every second she occupied the stage. What thrilling presence and charisma this individual projected! Appropriately then, given the impact of the two weekend performances, the imaginary arrows shot by both found their way into my heart and left me enamored with the ABT JKO school. There was a wonderful, extremely helpful insert made of hard paper tucked into the week's regular Studio Company program, listing all the selections performed and the names of the ABT JKO School Pre-Professional Division students who participated. Edited May 17 by Royal Blue Link to comment
Royal Blue Posted May 17 Share Posted May 17 I also attended the Sunday evening performance on May 5 by the ABT Studio Company. The program included the following: Diana and Acteon pas de deux (after Agrippina Vaganova) Flight of the Bumblebee (Brady Farrar) The Seasons pas de deux (Alexei Ratmansky) “Neapolitan Dance” from Swan Lake (after Marius Petipa) Young & Beautiful (James Whiteside) And after an intermission: Known By Heart Duet © (Twyla Tharp) “Rose Adagio” from The Sleeping Beauty (after Marius Petipa) Night Falls (Brady Farrar) Within the Sunset (Amy Hall Garner) Besides the last piece, which left me lukewarm, I enjoyed the entire program. Most of the dancing was excellent. Although I wanted to identify every company member, the ability to tell with certainty—based on their photos—who was dancing in each piece eluded me. For that reason, I will only mention a couple of them. Brady Farrar seems like a budding star. And Kyra Coco, an ABT apprentice, displayed commendable savvy and finesse in Farrar's Night Falls to music by Chopin. Several songs by Lana Del Rey comprise the music for James Whiteside's Young & Beautiful, with the eponymous one as the finale. The work movingly addresses the trials and tribulations of young people pursuing a career in the competitive field of ballet. However, the final song's music and lyrics ("Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful? / Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul") resound with a poignancy that encompasses the experience of all dancers. I would have liked to see the program and this work in particular again during the run. Link to comment
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