The Music Center to Launch 2016-17 Dance Season with CELEBRATE FORSYTHE

The Music Center, L.A.'s performing arts destination, launches its 2016-17 dance season on Friday, October 21, 2016, with Celebrate Forsythe, a "dance first" and special salute to the acclaimed choreographer, William Forsythe.

Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center (Dance at The Music Center) provides the stage for three of the nation's top ballet companies, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Houston Ballet, each of which will perform one of the famed choreographer's significant works in a combined program from October 21 - 23, 2016 at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. This distinctive engagement caps off a month-long salute to the choreographer by three venerable Los Angeles institutions, The Music Center, USC Kaufman School of Dance, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Considered one of the most prolific and influential choreographers of this era, Forsythe is recognized as revolutionizing the practice of ballet by pairing both classical and contemporary movement with contemporary music, transforming traditional ballet into a dynamic 21st century art form. His three works, Pas/Parts 2016, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude and Artifact Suite, will be performed together for the first time as part of the dance engagement and by ballet companies that were personally selected by Forsythe for The Music Center presentation.

"As a visionary choreographer, William Forsythe is often recognized as one of the great innovators in dance, integrating ballet and the visual arts in ways unprecedented since the era of The Ballet Russe," said Rachel Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. "With Celebrate Forsythe, The Music Center sets the tone for a dance season that will showcase both talent and creativity that break boundaries, offering audiences new and exciting ways to experience a dance performance," she added.

"William Forsythe knocked traditional ballet off center by expanding ballet vocabulary to include movement that can be sharp, angular, side to side or multiple tempo," said Michael Solomon, associate vice president of programming for The Music Center. "His work is thrilling, and his pairing of both classical and contemporary movement with very contemporary music has redefined ballet for a new generation. Dance at The Music Center is excited to present three of Forsythe's works and to have the opportunity to host the return of both San Francisco Ballet and Houston Ballet, along with The Music Center debut of Pacific Northwest Ballet," he explained.

Celebrate Forsythe will feature alumni of The Music Center's Spotlight program, the performing arts center's free, nationally-recognized scholarship and arts training program for teens. Elle Macy (2007, 2008, 2009 Spotlight participant) will perform with the Pacific Northwest Ballet; Katharine Precourt (2002 Spotlight participant), Tyler Donatelli (2012 Spotlight participant) and Alyssa Springer (2007, 2009 Spotlight participant) with the Houston Ballet; and Jennifer Stahl (2003 Spotlight participant), Jordan Hammond (2007 Spotlight participant), Steven Morse (2008 Spotlight participant), Norika Matsuyama (2009, 2010, 2011 Spotlight participant), and John-Paul Simoens (2011 Spotlight participant) with the San Francisco Ballet.

Active in the field of choreography for more than 45 years, Forsythe's interest in the principles of organization led him to produce a wide range of projects, including installations, films and web-based knowledge creation. He was appointed associate choreographer of the Paris Opera Ballet in 2015 and is also professor of dance and artistic advisor to the Choreographic Institute at the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at the University of Southern California.

The Music Center's Celebrate Forsythe is part of the month-long salute to the choreographer known as Fall for Forsythe, which features a number of free and paid ticketed events and performances. The Music Center is joining with LACMA and the University of Southern California's Glorya Kaufman School of Dance to present a number of events and performances that showcase the multidimensional nature of Forsythe's work.

Fall for Forsythe launches on September 29, 2016 with Focus Forsythe: The Choreographer's Process, co-presented by USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and USC Visions and Voices. This two-part presentation includes a showing of Forsythe's work danced by students from USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and a conversation with USC Kaufman Vice Dean and Director Jodie Gates (VisionsandVoices.usc.edu). The Music Center will present Forsythe Designed: A Costume Exhibition on The Music Center campus from October 1-23, 2016, featuring costumes from a number of Forsythe's dance works and curated by Stephen Galloway (musiccenter.org/forsythe). The USC Choreographic Institute will present Futures in Motion on October 14, 2016, a free discussion with Norah Zuniga Shaw, who has been Forsythe's key collaborator for the past decade (kaufman.usc.edu/the-choreographic-institute). On October 15-16, LACMA will present Site-Specific Forsythe, two site-specific interactive experiences by Forsythe, Stellenstellen (2016) and Acquisition, featuring student performers from the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance (lacma.org).

Celebrate Forsythe will feature:

San Francisco Ballet

Returning to The Music Center, San Francisco Ballet will perform Forsythe's Pas/Parts 2016, which was originally choreographed for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1999 and re-choreographed for the San Francisco Ballet. In Pas/Parts 2016, Forsythe uses stylistic differences - visible in the steps, but also in the ballet's structure - to enhance the counterpoint. The ballet's name suggests a series of parts that are evident in the flow of solos, duets, trios and other groupings that appear in sections tailored to showcase each dancer. The San Francisco Chronicle said, "[Pas/Parts 2016 is]...airy in effect, classical in its language, pointe work and épaulement, yet resolutely contemporary in its sensibility and exploratory in the Forsythe manner." Founded in 1933, the San Francisco Ballet is America's oldest professional ballet company and one of the three largest in the nation. The company performed the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker. Led by Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson, the San Francisco Ballet is considered one of the pre-eminent ballet companies in the world.

Pas/Parts 2016
Choreography: William Forsythe
Music: Thom Willems
Scenic and Lighting Design: William Forsythe
Costume Design: Stephen Galloway

Pacific Northwest Ballet (*The Music Center Debut)

Making its Music Center debut, Pacific Northwest Ballet will perform Forsythe's The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude set to the final movement from Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 9. The piece, which displays all of the traditional accoutrements of classical dance, including tutus, point shoes, virtuosity, lyricism and a friendly display of formal manners between the sexes, premiered in a 1996 performance by the Ballet Frankfurt and was first performed by Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2015. In The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Forsythe showcases a breathtaking display of classical technique that illustrates how he sees the ballet vocabulary as part of a range of choreographic possibilities. The ballet is an overt celebration of the dancers' ability to make technical difficulty into a triumph of physical mastery. The Seattle PI proclaimed, "Vertiginous looks every bit as fresh and innovative today as it must have at its world premiere." Founded in 1972, Pacific Northwest Ballet is one of the largest and most highly regarded ballet companies in the United States. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Peter Boal, the company of nearly 50 dancers presents more than 100 performances each year of full-length and mixed repertory ballets. Boal also leads PNB School, which is recognized as one of the top three ballet training institutions in the United States.

The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
Choreography: William Forsythe
Music: Franz Schubert (Allegro molto vivace from Symphony No. 9 in C Major)
Scenic and Lighting Design: William Forsythe
Costume Design: Stephen Galloway

Houston Ballet

Houston Ballet will perform Forsythe's Artifact Suite, an edited version of an evening-length ballet, Artifact, created in 1984 for Ballet Frankfurt. Forsythe has shortened the ballet into a stunning piece that preserves all of the original choreography's striving innovation and power. Artifact Suite deconstructs and reconstructs the rules of traditional ballet without denying its traditional technique. Rules are both extended and broken in this work whose powerful images perturb theatrical imagery and push the play of optional illusions to their limits. The San Francisco Chronicle said, "...Forsythe's skewed classicism, the abrupt transitions, the constantly evolving patterns for the 30-member corps and the omnipresent tension simmering under the surface suggest a vision of ballet for the 21st century." From its roots of a troupe of 15 young dancers in 1969 to a company of 59 dancers, Houston Ballet is the fifth largest ballet company (by number of dancers) in the United States. Led by Australian choreographer Stanton Welch, Houston Ballet has toured extensively both nationally and internationally. The company is complemented by Houston Ballet Orchestra, which consists of 61 professional musicians who play all ballet performances at the company's home at Wortham Theater Center.

Artifact Suite
Choreography: William Forsythe
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach, Eva Crossman-Hecht
Lighting Design: William Forsythe
Costume Design: William Forsythe

Tickets start at $34 and are available online at musiccenter.org/forsythe; at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Box Office, 135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90012; or by calling (213) 972-0711. For groups of 10 or more, call (213) 972-8555 or email mcgroupsales@musiccenter.org.

Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center is one of the leading presenters of dance on the West Coast. The celebrated series offers significant works by prestigious ballet and contemporary dance artists from around the world. Entering its second decade, Dance at The Music Center continues to be a powerful commissioning force through the support of new works and artists-in-residence projects by today's most influential companies and choreographers. Performances take place throughout The Music Center, including the historic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the distinctive Ahmanson Theatre, and the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall, providing the ideal setting for inspiring dance experiences.

The Music Center is L.A.'s home to the world's greatest artistic programs and events. With four iconic theaters and four renowned resident companies - Center Theatre Group, the LA Master Chorale, the LA Opera and the LA Philharmonic - and recognized for its illustrious dance programming, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, The Music Center is a destination where audiences find inspiration in the very best of live performance, as well as nationally recognized arts education and participatory arts experiences. The Music Center also programs and manages Grand Park, a 12-acre adjacent greenspace, with year-round free programming. For more information, visit musiccenter.org Follow The Music Center on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@MusicCenterLA).

Pictured: Pacifc Northwest Ballet's Benjamin Griffiths and Carrie Imler. Photo © Angela Sterling

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