American Ballet Theatre News

Casting for the fifth and sixth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2014 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

After collaborations in 2012 and 2013 with an all-male cast, Tina Croll and Jamie Cunningham's The Men Dancers: From the Horse's Mouth make their return to New York today, May 30 through June 1 in honor of ballet great Frederic Franklin (1914-2013) in what would have been his centenary year. This celebration will take place at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts (3 Spruce Street, between Park Row and Gold Street) and is presented by Pace University.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes the return of dance superstars Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in just four performances from July 25 - 27. The program, titled Solo for Two, includes a world premiere commissioned for them by the Center and two works new to their repertoires and never seen before in the United States. Osipova and Vasiliev have enthralled audiences with their incomparable talent and irresistible personalities, capturing the admiration and imaginations of dance audiences around the world. At the Center, they have appeared in Don Quixote with the Bolshoi Ballet in 2010, in the 2009 Tour de Force dance gala and Reflections in 2011. In 2012, Osipova returned to the Center, starring in the world premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's production of Firebird for American Ballet Theatre. In 2011, Vasiliev danced in the second Kings of the Dance.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, one of the world's premier dance organizations, together with event chair Richard L. Rodesand Meg Siegler Callahan, chair of Hubbard Street's board of directors, hosted the Season 36 Spotlight Ball on Monday, May 19 at theFairmont Chicago Millennium Park.

On Tuesday, June 3rd, Metropolitan Ballet Academy will begin its annual master class series, The Bridge. The series gives intermediate and advanced level students the opportunity to study with some of the region's most celebrated professional teachers and dancers. This year's series features ballet instruction led by three acclaimed dance artists and teachers: Abi Stafford, Olga Kostritzky, and John Selya.

Carmen de Lavallade's career as a dancer, choreographer, and stage and film actress spans more than six decades working with luminaries such as Lena Horne, Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte, Alvin Ailey, and many others. She already holds the distinction of the longest Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival performing career on record, having made her Pillow debut with Lester Horton Dance Theatre in 1953 and performing at the Festival as recently as 2004 (with Paradigm), and she now extends that record by another decade. In the world premiere of her new solo show, As I Remember It, de Lavallade combines powerful movement and poignant storytelling to weave a theatrical memoir about her venerable life on stage. This exclusive engagement opens the 2014 Festival in the Doris Duke Theatre with a limited three-show run, June 20-22.

Eight remarkable artists and philanthropists will be hooded and handed their degrees in person when The Juilliard School confers honorary doctorates during its 109th Commencement Ceremony today, May 23, 2014 at 11 AM in Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center (Broadway at 65th Street, NYC).

Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line), Jay Armstrong Johnson (New York Philharmonic's Sweeney Todd, Hands On A Hardbody, Hair), and Clyde Alves (Bullets Over Broadway, Nice Work If You Can Get It) will play the roles of 'Gabey,' 'Chip,' and 'Ozzie' - the sailors on 24-hour shore leave who take on the Big Apple in the critically-acclaimed Broadway revival of ON THE TOWN, directed by John Rando (Tony Award for Urinetown) and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse (Emmy Award winner for 'Smash'). Yazbeck, Johnson, and Alves will reprise their performances from last summer's acclaimed Barrington Stage production. Yazbeck first thrilled audiences with his portrayal of 'Gabey' in John Rando's presentation of ON THE TOWN at City Center Encores in 2008.

Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie (CLC) proudly presents Elvis and the Man in Black, a double bill featuring James Kudelka'sacclaimed The Man in Black and the world premiere of Looking for Elvis, choreographed by CLC Co-Artistic Director Laurence Lemieux. Elvis & The Man in Black runs at the Mimi Herrndorf Studio Theatre at The Citadel, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8pm from today, May 21-31.

Following the record-breaking attendance of Festival 2013, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival announces the full 2014 Festival free and ticketed event schedule. Jacob's Pillow is a National Historic Landmark, home to America's longest-running dance festival, and a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Noted dance writer Jennifer Dunning has called the Pillow "the dance center of the nation, possibly the world."

Parsons Dance, under the artistic direction of acclaimed choreographer David Parsons, will play a special one night only benefit engagement at Joe's Pub to launch the Company's new Generation NOW Choreographic Fellowship.

On the rain-soaked evening of May 16th 2014, ABT delivered a mood-boosting performance of 'Don Quixote' for a full house of grateful dancegoers at the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center. Dazzling Gallic-flavored dancing and full-throttle comedy to the music of Minkus helped to push dire flash flood warnings out of the minds of many in the audience. I heard plenty of comments during intermissions by people who said that driving in from the suburbs or sloshing through sidewalk puddles was more than worth the trouble. I agreed!

New York Theatre Ballet presented, by arrangement with The Estate of Antony Tudor and The Antony Tudor Trust, an A. Tudor Celebration. The night was a treasure trove of ballets by the great English choreographer Antony Tudor: three of his masterpieces from the 1930s, originally staged in London and an unearthed gem from 1952.

Parsons Dance, under the artistic direction of acclaimed choreographer David Parsons, will play a special one night only benefit engagement at Joe's Pub to launch the Company's new Generation NOW Choreographic Fellowship. Tickets, priced from $100 - $275, can be purchased by calling The Public Theater box office at 212-697-7555 or via the internet at www.joespub.com. Joe's Pub at the Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place) in the East Village. For more information, please visit http://www.parsonsdance.org.

ABTKids, a unique hour-long program designed for children and families, will present a performance of highlights from American Ballet Theatre's 2014 Spring Season today, May 17 at 11:30 A.M. at the Metropolitan Opera House.

It's easy to find big Broadway-type productions in gorgeous old theaters carrying hefty ticket prices. But what's harder to unearth are the off-Broadway gems, those rare performances that come through the city for a night or two every couple of months.

Oscar-nominated actor and founding Wooster Group member Willem Dafoe and legendary performer Mikhail Baryshnikov are a dapperly dressed odd couple, forced to deal with the most inconsiderate of corpses in this surreal melding of absurdism, pitch- black comedy, and vaudeville from iconic director Robert Wilson, THE OLD WOMAN.

Dance Against Cancer raised more than $200,000 for the American Cancer Society on Monday, May 5, 2014. Proceeds from the evening will benefit research initiatives and patient and family service programs. More than 500 guests attended the fourth annual Dance Against Cancer. VIP guests enjoyed cocktails, preferred seating, and a gift bag in addition to the performance and post-event reception. The performance featured new work by Brian Reeder created for American Ballet Theatre's Isabella Boylston with New York City Ballet's Chase Finlay and Amar Ramasar, Paul Taylor Dance Company in its first appearance at the benefit, Charles 'Lil Buck' Riley performed with students from National Dance Institute, and included the NYC premiere of Justin Peck's Sea Change. Scroll down for photos from the performances!

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance today unveiled the world-class dance performances of its 2014-2015 season-a sublime lineup of Chicago debuts and Harris Theater premieres from four national and international sensations, all presented as part of the acclaimed Harris Theater Presents series.

Hilda Morales was born in N.Y. City, and grew up in Puerto Rico. Her early training was with Ana Garcia of the Ballet San Juan. At 14 years of age, Ms. Morales received a Ford Foundation Scholarship to study at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet. She danced as a principal dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet, soloist with American Ballet Theatre, artist-in-residence with the Colorado Ballet and guest appearances with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Albuquerque Ballet and Jacksonville Ballet. During her dancing career, Ms. Morales performed in full-length classic ballets as well as works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Agnes de Mille, Antony Tudor, John Butler, Alvin Ailey, and Jose Limon. Ms. Morales was featured in the movie The Turning Point, in the role of Sandra, directed by Herbert Ross. She guest teaches and is on the faculty of the Central Pennsylvania summer programs, and joined The Hartt School faculty in 1998.