George Balanchine News

The Joyce Theater Foundation presented the long-awaited Lincoln Center debut of the internationally lauded Miami City Ballet under the artistic direction of former New York City Ballet principal dancer Lourdes Lopez, from April 13-17 at the David H. Koch Theater. BroadwayWorld has photos from the engagement below!

Presented by the Pennsylvania Ballet, The Jungle Book is a completely original children's ballet production, from the choreography, to the music, to the sets and costumes. PA Ballet II's director Francis Veyette has brought together a truly unique group of talented individuals. Choreographer and creator Colby Damon works closely with composer John B. Hedges and set designer Sebastienne Mundheim to bring to life a one-of-a-kind story in which a young boy learns about life and morality from the world and creatures around him.

Palm Beach Dramaworks closes out its sixteenth season with Terry Teachout's funny and moving Satchmo at the Waldorf, in which the legendary Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong reminisces about and ruminates on his extraordinary life and career just months before his death in 1971. This production marks Teachout's debut as a director. Satchmo at the Waldorf opens at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre on May 13 and continues through June 12, with specially priced previews on May 11 and 12.  

Presented by the Pennsylvania Ballet, The Jungle Book is a completely original children's ballet production, from the choreography, to the music, to the sets and costumes. PA Ballet II's director Francis Veyette has brought together a truly unique group of talented individuals. Choreographer and creator Colby Damon works closely with composer John B. Hedges and set designer Sebastienne Mundheim to bring to life a one-of-a-kind story in which a young boy learns about life and morality from the world and creatures around him.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Ballet (TWB) presents Carmina Burana with Balanchine's Theme and Variations- a theatrical tour-de-force performance that includes 100 voices of the Cathedral Choral Society under the direction of J. Reilly Lewis at the Kennedy Center this weekend, April 13-17.

Distinguished American choreographer William Forsythe has selected Houston Ballet to perform in Los Angeles at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Oct. 21-23, as part of "Celebrate Forsythe", a program with a never-before-seen approach that salutes his works.  Houston Ballet will perform Artifact Suite, after its September premiere in Houston, a piece that both deconstructs and reconstructs the rules of traditional ballet. As the third Forsythe piece added to Houston Ballet's diverse repertoire, the visit to Los Angeles adds exciting momentum to a growing relationship with Mr. Forsythe's iconic works.

Reinforcing the role of The Music Center as a major hub for dance in Los Angeles, The Music Center's powerful new dance season will engage both dance lovers and those new to the art form by challenging preconceived notions of classical ballet and exploring the realm of contemporary expression. The 2016-2017 season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center (Dance at The Music Center) will provide the platform for some of the finest U.S. dance companies and artists along with internationally renowned companies who are among the most requested by Music Center audiences. This coming season opens with Celebrate Forsythe (October 21-23, 2016) as three American ballet companies - San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Houston Ballet - perform in one program in a never-before-seen approach to salute one of America's top choreographers, William Forsythe. The season continues with the distinctive contemporary work of Jessica Lang Dance (February 17-19, 2017); the return of the much-in-demand Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (March 8-12, 2017); the west coast premiere of Scottish Ballet's A Streetcar Named Desire (May 19-21, 2017); Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg's exploration of the passions of Tchaikovsky (June 23-25, 2017); and an original program curated by New York City principal ballerina Tiler Peck with the return of The Music Center's BalletNow (July 28-30, 2017). A number of the engagements will be integrated with arts education programs including high school performances and teacher workshops. Center Dance Arts is the founding supporter of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center.

THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, PURCHASE COLLEGE is pleased to present STATE STREET BALLET'S CARMEN, choreography by William Soleau, music by George Bizet, and musical arrangement by Rodion Shchedrin. The performance will be Today, April 9, 2016 at 8:00pm in the Concert Hall at The PAC, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY 10577.  

Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal and corps de ballet dancer Jessika Anspach have announced that Ms. Anspach will retire at the end of PNB's 2015-2016 season. A true “PNB baby,” Ms. Anspach literally grew up dancing at PNB over 26 years, first in classes at PNB School and then with the Company. She took her first PNB School Creative Movement dance class at the age of five in 1990, joined the company as an apprentice in 2004 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2005.

?Charlotte Ballet board of trustees selected Hope Muir, currently the assistant artistic director of Scottish Ballet, as Charlotte Ballet's new artistic director. Muir's appointment is effective July 2017. Over the next year she will work closely with the board of trustees and staff in preparation for the 2017/2018 Season, her first as artistic director.

LILLIANA HAGERMAN and LAMIN PEREIA DOS SANTOS of the Kansas City Ballet will appear as guest artists with the Allen Civic Ballet and Allen Philharmonic at the Performing Arts Center at Allen High School in Allen, Texas on May 19, 2016. This will be a joint performance of the Allen Civic Ballet and the Allen Philharmonic featuring Ms. Hagerman and Mr. Pereia in Act II of Cinderella. Ms. Hagerman and Mr. Pereia will also be teaching master classes as part of this engagement.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) is thrilled to present São Paulo Dance Company, one of Latin America's major dance companies,in its debut engagement at The Joyce Theater from May 3 – 8. Tickets range in price from $35-$50 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

The New Jersey Ballet will perform Ginger Thatcher's Saturday Night as part of the company's annual gala performance on April 9, 2016 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey. Ms. Thatcher's work is choreographed to the music of jazz singer Etta James, and has been in the company's repertoire for over a decade.

Today at Lincoln Center, New York City Ballet begins its Spring Season rehearsal period with the Company's 90 plus roster of dancers preparing 24 different works from its unparalleled repertory for six weeks of performances, April 19 through May 29, at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.

? Columbia Ballet Collaborative (CBC) is pleased to present a program of six original and restaged works for its upcoming spring performances. Founded in 2007 by five professional ballet dancers enrolled at Columbia University, CBC is comprised of students from all of the University's undergraduate colleges and affiliates.

Miami City Ballet's landmark 30th Anniversary Season culminates with an unprecedented reimagining of George Balanchine's magical full-evening ballet, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Balanchine's classic choreography is the vehicle for Shakespeare's timeless tale of love, magic and illusion, with ravishing music by Felix Mendelssohn (including the famous 'Wedding March'). This reimagining includes all-new sets and costumes by artist Michele Oka Doner, and dramatic direction by playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. BroadwayWorld has photos of Doner's stunning costumes in action below!