George Balanchine News

MIDDLESEX and MERCER COUNTIES, NJ - This September, American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School will be participating in community events throughout Central Jersey: Cranbury Day in Cranbury, Septemberfest in Hamilton, the Hub City Sounds Festival in New Brunswick, and Highland Park's Arts in the Park. 

The Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season 2015/16 is the most ambitious to date. Six ballets and six operas, including five new productions, will be screened in over 1,000 cinemas across 45 countries allowing audiences in the US to experience more opera and ballet from the Royal Opera House than ever before.

With not a tutu or tiara in sight, the best dance of the 20th century and the freshest of the 21st combine in The Australian Ballet's 20:21, emerging in Melbourne next month. This electrifying triple bill plays at Arts Centre Melbourne from tonight 27 August to 5 September, before touring to Sydney Opera House from 5 to 21 November.

Pearl (www.PearlTheShow.com), a new American-Chinese dance-theatre spectacular, inspired by the life of Pearl S. Buck, the first woman to win both the Nobel and the Pulitzer Prizes, will have its world premiere at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for 4 performances only, August 27-30th. The story, focusing on the substantial influence Pearl had on both Chinese and Western cultures, will be brought to life through new choreography by Daniel Ezralow (Ezralow Dance Company, MOMIX, Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony, Academy Awards), a new score composed by Jun Miyake (collaborations with Robert Wilson, Pina Bausch, David Byrne and Oliver Stone) dazzling visuals and a company of 30 American and Chinese dancers.

From JOE INK and celebrated Vancouver Choreographer Joe Laughlin comes the world premiere 4OUR, on stage at the Scotiabank Dance Centre October 1 - 3, 2015 at 8pm, with a preview performance September 30. Brought to life by the exquisite talents of dance artists Gioconda Barbuto, Heather Dotto, Kevin Tookey, and Laughlin, this deeply personal and visually striking new creation will explore family dynamics, cross-generational relationships, and the singular moments that shape our lives.

Minneapolis, MN -- Kicking off its 2015//16 Dance Season, Northrop at the University of Minnesota presents Ballet West on Sat, Oct 3 at 8:00 pm. The company that starred in the reality television show 'Breaking Pointe' will present a sparkling repertoire accompanied by a full, live orchestra comprised of local musicians.

SEATTLE, WA – A new/old holiday tradition comes to Seattle! Pacific Northwest Ballet is excited to premiere the centerpiece of its 2015/2016 season, a sparkling new production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker featuring eye-popping colorful sets and costumes designed by author/illustrator Ian Falconer (Olivia the Pig). PNB's new production still features Tchaikovsky's timeless score performed live by the mighty PNB Orchestra, and the beloved story of Clara, her Nutcracker prince, and a magical journey to delight audiences both young and old. “As a ten-year-old boy, I stepped onto the stage for the first time as a member of the cast of George Balanchine's Nutcracker,” said PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal. “The magic of this production was evident from that moment on, and now to have the opportunity to bring it to Seattle audiences wrapped in the brilliance of Ian Falconer's designs is a dream come true.”

American Repertory Ballet's performance season will open at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ with a week of events, presentations, and performances celebrating 5 years of Artistic Director Douglas Martin's artistic leadership.

The Chicago Dancing Festival, the nation's largest dance festival, presents its 9th annual series with George Balanchine's Allegro Brilliante (performed by Miami City Ballet in its Chicago Dancing Festival debut), Mark Morris' Sandpaper Ballet (Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, 2015 Festival debut), Justin Peck's In Creases (Chicago's The Joffrey Ballet), Gustavo Ramírez Sansano's El Beso (Ballet Hispanico, 2015 Festival debut) and Twyla Tharp's Sweet Fields (Miami City Ballet) among program highlights. This year's event will take place at Chicago's top downtown venues - the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park - this week, August 25-29, 2015.

Los Angeles is in for a treat next month! Tony and Grammy-winner Audra McDonald comes to the Hollywood Bowl to sing classics from Broadway and the American Songbook with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Bramwell Tovey, Tuesday and Thursday, September 1 and 3, at 8 pm. Audiences on both nights will be entertained by McDonald singing famous tunes by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Mancini and Mercer, and others. The evenings also feature gifted American Ballet Theatre dancers on stage to bring Bernstein's Fancy Free to life performing Jerome Robbins' 1944 choreography.

Ashley Wheater, Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, is pleased to announce the addition of ten dancers to the Joffrey's international roster for the 2015-2016 season: Nicole Ciapponi (Canada), Valeriia Chaykina (Russia), Camila Ferrera (Hoboken, New Jersey), Anna Gerberich (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania), Stefan Goncalvez (Brazil), Luis Eduardo Gonzalez (Colombia), Hansol Jeong (Korea), Gayeon Jung (Korea), Paulo Rodrigues (Brazil) and Joan Sebastian Zamora (Colombia). With these new company members, The Joffrey Ballet is currently comprised of 41 dancers.  

Ashley Wheater, Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, is pleased to announce the addition of ten dancers to the Joffrey's international roster for the 2015-2016 season: Nicole Ciapponi (Canada), Valeriia Chaykina (Russia), Camila Ferrera (Hoboken, New Jersey), Anna Gerberich (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania), Stefan Goncalvez (Brazil), Luis Eduardo Gonzalez (Colombia), Hansol Jeong (Korea), Gayeon Jung (Korea), Paulo Rodrigues (Brazil) and Joan Sebastian Zamora (Colombia). With these new company members, The Joffrey Ballet is currently comprised of 41 dancers.

New York City Center today announced three diverse dance engagements which complete programming for the 2015-16 season.

Among them, the company can claim 18 Tony Awards, 4 Pulitzer Prizes, 6 Pulitzer finalist distinctions, 3 Emmy Awards, and 2 Academy Awards; to list all their honors would take several pages.

American Repertory Ballet, New Jersey's preeminent classical and contemporary ballet company, will perform throughout New Jersey - in Princeton, New Brunswick, Lawrenceville, Branchburg, Rahway, Manasquan, South Orange, and Trenton - and at the Joyce Theater in New York City from September 2015 through April 2016. The performance season will open on September 24 at Rider University Bart Luedeke Center with an open rehearsal and State of the Art Address, celebrating 5 years of Artistic Director Douglas Martin's artistic leadership.

The Sarasota Ballet, acclaimed for their vitality, versatility, and elegance kicks off its 25th anniversary season with an exclusive seven-show Jacob's Pillow debut in the Ted Shawn Theatre, this weekend, August 12–16, including an added Thursday matinee at 2pm. The dynamic company performs Christopher Wheeldon's fluid, joyous ballet The American, set to the Dvorák quartet of the same name; Sir Frederick Ashton's celebrated, artful trios Monotones I and Monotones II; and a world premiere by resident choreographer and principal dancer Ricardo Graziano, set to music by Philip Glass.

SEATTLE, WA – Pacific Northwest Ballet opens its 2015-2016 season with SEE THE MUSIC, a terrific triple-bill of repertory works. After an eight-year hiatus, PNB welcomes the return of George Balanchine's Prodigal Son, choreographed by the ballet master at the age of 25 for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Another relative youngster, Christopher Wheeldon (recent Tony Award-winner for An American in Paris), shares the bill with Mr. B., represented by his dramatic Tide Harmonic, created for PNB in 2013. The program comes to a comic close with Jerome Robbins' hilarious The Concert (or, The Perils of Everybody). SEE THE MUSIC runs for seven performances only, September 25 through October 4 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $30 and may be purchased by calling 206.441.2424, in person at the PNB Box Office at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org.

Boston, MA—Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen has announced the 2015-2016 season roster, featuring 11 new dancers and six promotions from within the Company. The Company will be comprised of 68 dancers—including 10 dancers in Boston Ballet II (BBII)—representing 20 nationalities. The full company has returned to its 19 Clarendon Street studios in preparation for the 2015-2016 season.

The Sarasota Ballet, acclaimed for their vitality, versatility, and elegance kicks off its 25th anniversary season with an exclusive seven-show Jacob's Pillow debut in the Ted Shawn Theatre, August 12–16, including an added Thursday matinee at 2pm. The dynamic company performs Christopher Wheeldon's fluid, joyous ballet The American, set to the Dvorák quartet of the same name; Sir Frederick Ashton's celebrated, artful trios Monotones I and Monotones II; and a world premiere by resident choreographer and principal dancer Ricardo Graziano, set to music by Philip Glass.

LAS VEGAS (August 3, 2015) – Nevada Ballet Theatre (NBT) celebrates its 44th performance season and 4th year as Resident Ballet Company of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts by announcing the release of single tickets for the first half of its 2015-2016 season of grace, strength, artistry and celebration: A Choreographer's Showcase, A Balanchine Celebration, and The Nutcracker. Full season subscriptions are also on sale, and single tickets for the remainder of the company's 2015-2016 season will go on sale at a later date.