American Ballet Theatre News

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Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, July 5, 2015 - Sunday, July 5, 2015.

On the heels of being named the first female African-American principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, The New York Times is reporting that Misty Copeland will be joining the cast of Broadway's ON THE TOWN next month. After New York City Ballet principal dancer Megan Fairchild departs the show, Copeland will take over the role of Ivy for two weeks, beginning August 25th. 

When the Sadler's Wells (now the Royal Ballet) first performed "Cinderella" on its triumphant 1949 debut performance at the old Metropolitan Opera, John Martin, the eminent New York Times dance critic, was not engrossed. He wrote that it was difficult to be enthusiastic about it, but "if it were stripped of all its dead wood, both musical and choreographic, it would run considerably less than the two and a half hours it now undertakes to fill."

The Hartt School Community Division (HCD) Dance Department presents Giselle, a ballet by Adolphe Adam, on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Millard Auditorium at the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford. Guest choreographer and artistic director of the production is Xiomara Reyes, a world-renowned dancer who retired from the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in May after 12 years as one of its principal dancers. Tickets are $10, and can be purchased online at hartford.edu/hcd or by calling 860.768.4228.

At the matinee performance of Swan Lake on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, Misty Copeland spread her wings, giving her first New York City performance of Odette-Odile in ABT's Swan Lake, choreography by Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, to the glorious music of Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. Costumes and extraordinary sets by Zach Brown and lighting by Duane Schuler embellished the ambiance.

A glamorous dose of the legendary Lypsinka, John Epperson's iconic creation, will once again be doled out this summer when the acclaimed LYPSINKA! THE BOXED SET returns for a limited Off-Broadway engagement.  LYPSINKA! THE BOXED SET will be performed Wednesday, July 22nd through Saturday, September 12th at the ravishing jewel-box Connelly Theater, located at 220 East 4th Street (between Avenues A and B) in Manhattan's East Village. The Opening is Saturday, July 25th at 8 PM.  Tickets ($35 - $65) will go on sale on Monday, April 27th at 10 am online at www.lypsinka.com and www.tweedtheater.org/lypsinka, or by calling 866-811-4111.

Stella Abrera and Misty Copeland have been promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre and Skylar Brandt, Thomas Forster, Arron Scott and Cassandra Trenary have been promoted to Soloist effective August 1, 2015.   In addition, Maria Kochetkova, a principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet and Alban Lendorf, a principal dancer with Royal Danish Ballet will join the Company as Principal Dancers and Jeffrey Cirio, a principal dancer with Boston Ballet, will join ABT as a Soloist, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

On Monday, June 29, ballet students from around the world started their first day of training at Princeton Ballet School, the official school of NJ's premiere professional ballet company American Repertory Ballet, at the school's studios in the Princeton Shopping Center. This is Princeton Ballet School's 33rd year of offering their Summer Intensive course, making it one of the oldest programs in the United States.

The DRI Foundation, the charity arm of the world's foremost business continuity certification and education nonprofit Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) International, in partnership with 39 Steps and Red Rope Productions, will be hosting an exclusive, one-night benefit titled Dance for Nepal tonight, June 30 at 7pm, at the Union Square Theatre (100 E. 17th St.) in Manhattan.

For more than 50 years, The National Circus and Acrobats of The People's Republic of China has been entertaining and mesmerizing generations of audiences around the world with incredible feats. Segerstrom Center welcomes, direct from Beijing, The National Circus and Acrobats of The People's Republic of China in the program 'Peking Dreams' on Saturday, September 26 with two performances at 2 and 8 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

For more than fifty years, works by José Limón have been performed by companies around the world, including the Royal Danish Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballet, and more. Now, approaching the Company's 70th Anniversary, the José Limón Dance Foundation will bring to New York professional companies and important schools from abroad and the U.S. for a Grand Celebration of the works of the legendary choreographer, for two weeks, October 13 - 25, 2015 at the Joyce Theater.

On June 16, 2015, I was privileged to be in attendance at the Metropolitan Opera House for Misty Copeland's debut performance of Juliet in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet, set to Sergei Prokofiev's exciting score. This ballet has been in ABT's repertory since 1985, with scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. It was first performed by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House in London in 1965.

Festival Ballet Theatre's annually sold-out 8th Annual Gala of the Stars showcases internationally revered guest artists from the world's most prestigious dance companies, along with FBT's accomplished resident company. This year's event will take place on Friday, August 14, 2015 at 6 p.m. as part of Orange County's International Ballet Festival.

Returning to Jacob's Pillow after back-to-back appearances in the Inside/Out performance series in 2007 and 2008, New York Theatre Ballet performs the quintessential, family-friendly story ballet Cinderella in the Doris Duke Theatre this week, June 24-28.

In the wake of Julie Kent's Saturday retirement performance of 'Romeo and Juliet' emerges American Ballet Theatre's week-long run of 'Swan Lake' - their first production without the talents of their three recently retired superstars: Kent, Paloma Herrera, and Xiomara Reyes. Now one of only two American principal ballerinas, Gillian Murphy led the Monday night production as Odette/Odile, bringing new subtlety to the role.

Russia's Mariinsky Ballet, one of the world's most influential and historically rich dance companies, returns to Segerstrom Center for the Arts September 24 - 27, 2015 opening the Center's 30th Season with Raymonda. Performing with the Mariinsky Orchestra, this will be the company's eighth visit to the Center and the first time this masterpiece from the Golden Age of Russian classical ballet will be performed in Southern California. Following the Segerstrom Center engagement, the company will perform Cinderella at The Music Center in Los Angeles October 8-11, 2015.

Heightening its role as a powerful commissioning force, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center - The Music Center's acclaimed dance series - is introducing an exciting new chapter in dance with the world premiere of BalletNow, an original three-performance program for which American Ballet Theatre Principals Roberto Bolle and Herman Cornejo are serving as artistic directors. Bolle and Cornejo have formed an international ensemble of 18 major dancers from 12 foreign countries for three distinctive performances, with many of the dancers performing at The Music Center and in Southern California for the first time.

HOUSTON, TEXAS – Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch promoted Jared Matthews to the rank of principal dancer after a well-received performance as Lucentio in John Cranko's production of The Taming of the Shrew on Saturday, June 20. 

American Ballet Theatre's 75th anniversary spring season honored the legacy of the company's seasoned dancers and showcased its younger ranks. Mixed bills displaying a range of classic and neo-classic roles segued into ABT's strongest realm: the story ballet. Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie offered his artists as heroes and heroines. From 'Othello' to 'Giselle' to 'La Bayadere' to Ratmansky's 'The Sleeping Beauty' to Monday, June 15th's 'Romeo and Juliet' at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House, his dancers remained in a stratosphere of romanticism.