PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and More Set for American Repertory Ballet's 2016-17 Season

American Repertory Ballet, New Jersey's preeminent classical and contemporary ballet company, is pleased to announce its 2016-2017 performance season. Entering its 53rd year (founded in 1963), New Jersey's top ballet company will perform throughout the state under the artistic leadership of Douglas Martin, former principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet. The company is committed to presenting ballets from the 19th and 20th centuries alongside new and existing works by choreographers from today.

Season highlights include world premieres by both Artistic Director Douglas Martin and Resident Choreographer Mary Barton to the stage. ARB will present Martin's premier, Pride and Prejudice, at McCarter Theatre in the spring accompanied by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. Barton's yet unnamed premier will also be performed in the spring but at Raritan Valley Community College.

In November and December, once again ARB will bring the beloved classic Nutcracker to the stage, a holiday tradition for more than 50 years. ARB's Nutcracker is one of the longest, continuously running Nutcracker productions in the nation.

The complete performance schedule is below.

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2016-2017 Performances:

FALL

An Evening of Dance

SHOW TIME: Friday, July 29, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $27 in advance; $30 at the door

Tickets go on sale to the general public Monday, July 25

LOCATION: McCarter Theatre's Berlind Theatre, Princeton, N.J.

Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet, presents its highly anticipated, annual Summer Intensive performance. This year, 100 dancers from its international audition tour will participate. Students from across the United States, as well as Italy, Switzerland and Australia, have spent the last five weeks in serious dance study, under world-class faculty, in a warm and companionable atmosphere under caring and careful instruction conducive to technical and artistic progress. The culmination of their efforts will be presented in McCarter Theatre's intimate Berlind Theatre. The program will feature the re-staging of a traditional classical work along with several others created specifically for this year's Summer Intensive students.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

SHOW TIMES:

Friday, September 23, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

TICKET PRICE: $20

LOCATION: Bart Luedeke Center Theater

Rider University, Lawrenceville, N.J.

American Repertory Ballet Artistic Director Douglas Martin's full-length ballet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, premiered in early 2015 to high praise. Set to an enchanting score by Felix Mendelssohn, the ballet brings to life the wit and splendor of one of William Shakespeare's most popular comedies. Featuring colorful choreography, costumes and sets, the story portrays the weaving tales of cunning fairies, quarreling lovers and a hilariously amateur acting group as their paths cross in a magical forest.

Choreography: Artistic Director Douglas Martin

Music: Felix Mendelssohn

"Wonderful. I smiled from beginning to end." -Critical Dance

Fall Favorites

SHOW TIME: Saturday, October 8, 2016 at 3:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $25/35

LOCATION: The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College, Branchburg, N.J.

American Repertory Ballet makes a return engagement to The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College, presenting Fall Favorites, a program of mixed repertoire. The Company, fresh off its successful 2015-2016 tour, is proud to present a three-part performance, which includes Shades of Time, ARB Resident Choreographer Mary Barton's moving visual work that evokes the passing of time, light and moods of the day; Ephemeral Possessions, ARB Artistic Director Douglas Martin's compilation of movements captured from memory to reflect vanishing experiences we all encounter; and Rite of Spring, a ballet by Martin, inspired by revolutionary works that the legendary Ballets Russes brought to America in the early 20th century, showing how the relationships of men and women transcend time.

Shades of Time

Choreography: Resident Choreographer Mary Barton

Music: Edward Elgar

Ephemeral Possessions

Choreography: Artistic Director Douglas Martin

Music: Samuel Barber

Rite of Spring

Choreography: Artistic Director Douglas Martin

Music: Igor Stravinsky

A Midsummer Night's Dream

SHOW TIME: Thursday, October 13, 2016 at 8 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $27/37/42/52/57

LOCATION: State Theatre, New Brunswick, N.J.

American Repertory Ballet Artistic Director Douglas Martin's full-length ballet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, premiered in early 2015 to high praise. Set to an enchanting score by Felix Mendelssohn, the ballet brings to life the wit and splendor of one of William Shakespeare's most popular comedies. Featuring colorful choreography, costumes and sets, the story portrays the weaving tales of cunning fairies, quarreling lovers and a hilariously amateur acting group as their paths cross in a magical forest.

Choreography: Artistic Director Douglas Martin

Music: Felix Mendelssohn

"Wonderful. I smiled from beginning to end." -Critical Dance

NUTCRACKER

Nutcracker

American Repertory Ballet brings the beloved classic Nutcracker to the stage with Tchaikovsky's magnificent score, stunning new sets (new first act scenery!), thrilling choreography and a cast of more than 100. A holiday tradition for more than 50 years (1964), American Repertory Ballet's Nutcracker is one of the longest, continuously running Nutcracker productions in the nation. Directed by Artistic Director Douglas Martin, ARB's professional company will be joined by select students from Princeton Ballet School to tell the story of a young girl named Clara and how a mysterious gift from her Uncle Drosselmeyer brings about enchanted dreams and fantastical scenes. American Repertory Ballet's Nutcracker is a perfect holiday treat for your entire family!

Union County Performing Arts Center, Rahway, N.J.

SHOW TIME: Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $20/25/35

SHOW TIME: Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $8

Sensory-Friendly Performance

McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N.J.

SHOW TIME: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $25/40/49/60

SHOW TIME: Friday, November 25, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $25/45/55/65

SHOW TIME: Friday, November 25, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $25/45/55/65

SHOW TIME: Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $25/45/55/65

SHOW TIME: Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $25/45/55/65

Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, Trenton, N.J.

SHOW TIME: Friday, December 2, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.

TICKET PRICES: $5

School-Time Performance

SHOW TIME: Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $20/35/45

SHOW TIME: Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 4:30 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $20/35/45

South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Orange, N.J.

SHOW TIME: Wednesday, December 7, 2016 at 12:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $8

School Time Performance

SHOW TIME: Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.

TICKET PRICES: $8

School Time Performance

SHOW TIME: Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 12:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $8

School Time Performance

SHOW TIME: Friday, December 9, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: Children $25; Adults $30

SHOW TIME: Saturday, December 10, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: Children $25; Adults $30

SHOW TIME: Saturday, December 10, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: Children $25; Adults $30

State Theatre, New Brunswick, N.J.

SHOW TIME: Friday, December 16, 2016 at 10:30 a.m.

TICKET PRICES: $8

School-Time Performance

SHOW TIME: Friday, December 16, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $35/45/55/65/75

SHOW TIME: Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $35/45/55/65/75

SHOW TIME: Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 4:30 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $35/45/55/65/75

SHOW TIME: Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $35/45/55/65/75

SHOW TIME: Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 4:30 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $35/45/55/65/75

This performances feature a live orchestra and choir under the direction of Maestro Michael Pratt.

SPRING

Masters of Dance and Music

SHOW TIMES:

Friday, March 10, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. -- School Time Performance

TICKET PRICE: $8

Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 3:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $25/35

LOCATION: The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College, Branchburg, N.J.

A collection of some of the most spirited and bold dance, Masters of Dance and Music is a plethora of style, grace and the boldly new. The program opens with Glazunov Variations, choreographed by renowned choreographer and former American Ballet Theatre dancer Kirk Peterson, and is a highly technical work danced to sections of Alexander Glazunov's music for the classical ballet, Raymonda. The program also features a new (and secret) world premiere by American Repertory Ballet Resident Choreographer Mary Barton. The evening concludes with the much-loved There is a Time, a deeply evocative work by José Limón, a true pioneer in modern dance and choreography. Limón's classic work is based on Ecclesiastes 3 and evokes rich feelings from the audiences as it dances its way through the time-worn words familiar to all of us.

Glazunov Variations

Choreography: Kirk Peterson

Music: Alexander Glazunov

World Premiere

Resident Choreographer Mary Barton

There is a Time

Choreography: José Limón

Music: Norman Dello Joio

A Midsummer Night's Dream

SHOW TIME: Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICE: $20

Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. -- A Sensory-friendly Performance

TICKET PRICE: $8

LOCATION: Union County Performing Arts Center, Rahway, N.J.

American Repertory Ballet Artistic Director Douglas Martin's full-length ballet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, premiered in early 2015 to high praise. Set to an enchanting score by Felix Mendelssohn, the ballet brings to life the wit and splendor of one of William Shakespeare's most popular comedies. Featuring colorful choreography, costumes and sets, the story portrays the weaving tales of cunning fairies, quarreling lovers and a hilariously amateur acting group as their paths cross in a magical forest.

Choreography: Artistic Director Douglas Martin

Music: Felix Mendelssohn

"Wonderful. I smiled from beginning to end." -Critical Dance

The abridged, one-hour, Sensory-Friendly performance of American Repertory Ballet's A Midsummer Night's Dream is especially for children and adults with special needs. The performance is made possible by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders as part of the UC Sensory Friendly Theatre series.

Douglas Martin's

Pride and Prejudice

SHOW TIMEs:

Friday, April 21, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. -- School Time Performance

TICKET PRICES: $10

Friday, April 21, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: $20/34/44/50

LOCATION: McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N.J.

Join us for the world premiere of Douglas Martin's full-length ballet, Pride and Prejudice. Martin, the innovative Artistic Director of American Repertory Ballet, brings the 1813 romantic classic penned by Jane Austin to life, celebrating its beloved tale of love, manners and marriage in the English gentry, a broad social class that includes those who owned land (the country or landed gentry) as well as the professional classes (lawyers, doctors and clergy) who did not. Specifically, it follows the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of the British Regency. The ballet is supported by the wonderfully melodic music of Ignaz Pleyel, the Austrian-born French composer, with costumes tailored to showcase the fashions of the English Regency period from 1790-1820. This is the seventh world premiere Martin has choreographed for American Repertory Ballet. This performance features live musical accompaniment by Princeton Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Music Director Rossen Milanov.

Choreography: Artistic Director Douglas Martin

Music: Ignace Pleyel

Costumes and Set Design: Christina Giannini

This performance features live musical accompaniment by Princeton Symphony Orchestra under the musical direction of John Devlin.

Princeton Ballet School's

Sleeping Beauty

SHOW TIMEs:

Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICES: Starting at $35

LOCATION: Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, Trenton, N.J.

Sleeping Beauty is perhaps the world's most beloved, and famous, ballet. It is the enchanting story of Princess Aurora who is bewitched by the evil Carabosse and placed, along with her kingdom, into a deep and protective sleep by the benevolent Lilac Fairy. She and the kingdom are awakened by the noble Prince whose kiss breaks the spell. The idea for the ballet came from Ivan Vsevolozhsky, the director of the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the end of the 19th century. He tasked choreographer and ballet master Marius Petipa with creating the ballet, which turned out to be, arguably, his (and some would say the world's) finest. He also commissioned Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky to compose the music; Tchaikovsky had written the score for Swan Lake 11 years prior.

Original Choreography: Marius Petipa

Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky