George Balanchine News

Miami City Ballet (MCB) has announced its 50-member roster for the 2016-17 season, which opens on October 23 in Miami, including the promotions of Nathalia Arja to principal soloist and both Chase Swatosh and Shimon Ito to soloists, and the addition of four new dancers: Lauren Fadeley, formerly a principal with Pennsylvania Ballet (PAB) who is joining MCB as a soloist; Amir Yogev, another dancer from PAB who began his career with MCB; and Alaina Andersen and Luiz Silva, both recent graduates of Miami City Ballet School.

Pennsylvania Ballet and Artistic Director Angel Corella will enthrall audiences with passion, poetry, and human emotion in Balanchine and Beyond. This final program of the 2015/2016 Season features Hans Van Manen's Adagio Hammerklavier, Trisha Brown's O zlozony/ O composite, Jean-Pierre Frohlich's Varied Trio (in four), and George Balanchine's The Four Temperaments June 9-12 at The Merriam Theater.

New York City Ballet announced today that Taylor Stanley has been promoted to principal dancer, effective immediately.

Goodspeed Musicals is thrilled to announce that legendary performer Chita Rivera will be the latest recipient of The Goodspeed Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre.

ANAIS CHALENDARD will be a member of the faculty for the Allen Civic Ballet's Summer Intensive from June 6-8, 2016 in Allen, Texas.

Philadelphia, PA (April 12, 2016) – Pennsylvania Ballet and Artistic Director Angel Corella will take audiences on a classical yet modern journey with works by three choreographers in A Program of Firsts. George Balanchine's Serenade, Liam Scarlett's Asphodel Meadows, and a much anticipated World Premiere from Pennsylvania Ballet's Choreographer in Residence Matthew Neenan, May 12-15 at The Academy of Music, sponsored by Bank of America. 

Founder and Artistic Director of The Black Iris Project, Jeremy McQueen is an award-winning emerging choreographer. A 2013 recipient of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago's Choreographers of Color Award and two-time finalist of the Capezio Award for Choreographic Excellence, McQueen's work has appeared at Jacob's Pillow Dance's Inside/Out series (in 2012 & 2013), Dancers Responding to AIDS' Fire Island Dance Festival, the Young Choreographer's Festival, and more. McQueen has appeared in the Broadway National Tours of 'Wicked' and 'The Color Purple', in addition to the Metropolitan Opera's productions of 'Die Fledermaus', 'Aida', 'Les Contes d'Hoffmann', and 'Don Giovanni'. McQueen currently teaches ballet for ABT's and Ailey's educational outreach programs. A graduate of The Ailey School/Fordham University B.F.A Program, he's trained as a scholarship recipient with American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, and Alonzo King's LINES Ballet.

Columbia University will confer the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters on the legendary dance pioneer and social activist Arthur Mitchell this month, the Arthur Mitchell Project announced today.

New York City Ballet, home to George Balanchine's vision of dance in America, is well known for commissioning new work. This devotion to innovation can result in work that runs the gamut from zestful to appalling. Case in point, the '21st Century Choreographers II' program on May 7th, 2016, which presented a hodgepodge of brilliant, ill conceived, entertaining, and 'not suited to house style'.

Musicals Tonight will offer FIVE classic revivals in their 19th season - Funny Face, Hoi Polloi, Louisiana Purchase, Mr. Wonderful, and I Can Get It for You Wholesale. A subscription costs $146.25 and single tickets will go on sale after Labor Day. Performances are at the intimate Lion Theatre (88 seats) in the Theatre Row Studios complex at 410 West 42nd Street.

KANSAS CITY, MO (April 15, 2016) — The 58th season of Kansas City Ballet closes with a mixed–repertory program of four bold and electrifying works in one performance: Viktor Plotnikov's WORLD PREMIERE, Vesna, featuring the music of Antonín Dvorák, Yuri Possokhov's Diving into the Lilacs including music by Boris Tchaikovsky, Helen Pickett's Petal with music of Thomas Newman and Philip Glass and closing the program with Adam Hougland's Rite of Spring with the brilliant masterpiece score by Igor Stravinsky. The production will be accompanied by Kansas City Symphony conducted by Kansas City Ballet Music Director Ramona Pansegrau and runs May 6 through 15 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

May 4, 2016 (BOSTON, MA)—Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen is honored to announce a five-year partnership with internationally-renowned choreographer William Forsythe. The Company will add one new William Forsythe work to its repertoire each year, in addition to also presenting reprised works from the Company's current repertoire. Nissinen and Forsythe will work together to select the programming for Boston Ballet, and the legendary choreographer and his assistants and stagers will work directly with the Company. This partnership will result in Boston Ballet having the richest collection of William Forsythe ballets in the United States.

Choreographer Wayne McGregor. Obsidian Tear, inspired by renowned Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen's orchestral work Nyx, features an all-male cast. Salonen, who was recently named Composer in Residence with the New York Philharmonic, will make his Royal Ballet debut conducting the world premiere. The work will see its world premiere in London May 28, 2016, and its U.S. premiere in Boston Ballet's 2017–2018 season in Boston. In addition to the groundbreaking work Chroma—performed by Boston Ballet in 2013 and 2015 to critical acclaim with repeated standing ovations—Obsidian Tearwill be the second work of McGregor's in Boston Ballet's repertoire. After Boston Ballet's debut performance in Chroma, Thea Singer of the Boston Globe stated: “The Boston Ballet dancers astonish with their master of the choreography, contorting this way and that with remarkable intensity.” McGregor will reveal additional plans for the world premiere and co-production at The Royal Opera House's Insights event on May 11, 2016, 2:15 pm EDT / 7:15 pm BST. The event will be live-streamed for viewers around the world to enjoy on The Royal Opera House YouTube Channel.

The Steps Beyond Foundation, Steps on Broadway's non-profit arm committed to connecting artists and the community through dialogue, performance, and artistic collaboration, announces a 3-day weekend performance celebration May 6-8, 2016 at Ailey Citigroup Theater. The weekend will commence May 6 with the Steps Repertory and Guests Benefit, featuring performances by American Dance Machine, Jon Ole Olstad, choreography by Al Blackstone and the staging of a Swan Lake variation by Elena Kunikova to be danced by a student at Steps. Audiences will also enjoy performances by students of the Steps Conservatory Program and pre-professional students at The School at Steps, with staging by the legendary Leslie Browne. May 7-8, Steps Repertory Ensemble will present a full evening of works by Artistic Director Bradley Shelver and leading choreographers Lar Lubovitch, Sidra Bell, Julia Ehrstrand, and Jae Man Joo.

From May 26 - June 5, 2016, Houston Ballet offers up its Spring Mixed Repertory Program.

The Sixth Annual Dance Against Cancer was held on Monday, April 25, 2016.  The event had over 500 guests in attendance and raised more than $250,000 for the American Cancer Society, which will fund lifesaving cancer research and support patient and family service programs like Hope Lodge New York City.

April 12, 2016 (BOSTON, MA)—Boston Ballet's spring season kicks off with Mikko Nissinen's Swan Lake, back by popular demand after a record-breaking world premiere in October 2014. Described by Robert Greskovic of The Wall Street Journal as “artful” and “luminous,” the timeless classical masterpiece features choreography by Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and costumes and sets by award-winning designer Robert Perdziola. Boston Ballet welcomes Gonzalo Garcia, principal dancer with New York City Ballet (NYCB), as a guest artist. He will perform Prince Siegfried with Boston Ballet principal dancer Misa Kuranaga on April 29 and 30. Mikko Nissinen's Swan Lake runs April 29–May 26 at The Boston Opera House. Due to the high-ticket demand, an additional performance has been added on May 25 at 7:30 pm.

Boston Ballet's spring season kicks off with Mikko Nissinen's Swan Lake, back by popular demand after a record-breaking world premiere in October 2014.

Clinton Luckett, Ballet Master and former dancer at American Ballet Theatre, has been appointed Assistant Artistic Director of the Company.

Boston Ballet presents Mirrors: a diverse selection of thought-provoking works that reflect the many facets of contemporary ballet, featuring two eagerly anticipated world premieres by Karole Armitage and Yury Yanowsky.