Mikhail Baryshnikov News

The Chicago Academy for the Arts, a Kennedy Center School of Distinction, launches its latest innovative program, The Prodigy Institute. Recognizing that The Academy is an incubator of incomparable artistic talent situated in the heart of one of the nation's most venerable arts communities, The Prodigy Institute facilitates students' access to professionals working in the field as well as the community's access to the some of the most promising young talent in the country. The Prodigy Institute continues to advance The Academy's position as a nationally recognized leader in arts education.

World's largest dance network and international student ballet scholarship audition - YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX - will celebrate its 15th Anniversary with three spectacular performances at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater on April 9-11, 2014.

The Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, will present Ballet du Grand Theatre de Geneve on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at 8:00 p.m., at the Byham Theater. Directed by Philippe Cohen, the Geneve Ballet is known around the world for its exquisite choreography and exciting artistic collaborations. The evening program will feature two works, Glory and Sed Lux Permanet.

Celebrity Series of Boston will present a duet performance of poetry and jazz by the Vijay Iyer Trio and former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky in POEMJAZZ on Friday, March 14, 2014, at 8:00pm at Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA. Sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger.

Celebrity Series of Boston will present jazz ensemble The Spring Quartet on Thursday, March 6, 2014, at 8:00pm at Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA. This performance is sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger and Tufts Health Plan.

Three world premieres by Maurice Causey, Charles Moulton and Artistic Director Charles Anderson headline the spring program of Company C Contemporary Ballet April 25-May 11 at ODC Theater in San Francisco and the Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek. The 12-year-old Company will close its 2014 season with a program featuring the world premiere of a new ballet by Maurice Causey (title to be announced), the world premiere of Charles Moulton's New Country and the world premiere of Charles Anderson's What's Behind Door #3 along with reprises of excerpts from Anderson'sAposiopesis and excerpts from Patrick Corbin's Partly Cloudy. [Editor note: the program has changed since originally announced in August, 2013]. Complete program details are listed below. For more information, visit www.companycballet.org .

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, beloved as one of the world's most popular dance companies, will travel coast to coast beginning in February on a 23-city North American tour hitting major markets such as Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Chicago (full schedule below). The 25th season since the passing of legendary founder Alvin Ailey is led by Artistic Director Robert Battle who continues to expand the Company's diverse repertory with a wide range of important choreographic voices. Exciting premieres and new productions give Ailey's 30 extraordinary dancers even more ways to inspire audiences. Highlights of the season, launching in New York in December, include: (tour programming will be announced by January):

Celebrity Series of Boston will present the vocal ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock on Sunday, March 2, 2014, at 5:00pm at Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA. Sponsored by Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC.

Celebrity Series of Boston is holding its first calls this weekend for Le Grand Continental, the most infectious, contemporary, community line dance ever imagined. Following on the success of Street Pianos Boston, Celebrity Series is looking for 150+ people of all ages to help them cap their 75th anniversary celebration with Le Grand Continental-a weekend of community dance performance that will be held May 16-18 in Copley Square Park.

Saladino Dance Productions' Rome Saladino and Marina Putane have assembled a superb eight-member ensemble to perform Singin' and Dancin' in the Rain, their tribute to Hollywood's legendary song and dance man, Gene Kelly. The show consistently received standing ovations when it played at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center and the Eissey Campus Theatre at Palm Beach State College.

Celebrity Series of Boston has announced its upcoming performances for March 2014. Check them out below!

Celebrating its 13th season, the Ensemble of the Romantic Century (ERC) presents Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart at The Fishman Space in the new BAM Fisher. A fully staged theatrical concert blending striking music, powerful language and biography, Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart delves into the unconventional 16-year long relationship between one of the great composers of the 19th century and his patroness, Madame von Meck. Written by Eve Wolf and directed by Donald T. Sanders, this evening-length production seamlessly interweaves a dramatic script performed by actor Simon Fortin (Tchaikovsky) and actress Ariel Bock (Madame von Meck) of Shakespeare & Company with live chamber and vocal music performed by violinist Rachel Lee Priday, cellist Adrian Daurov, pianist Eve Wolf and tenor Blake Friedman. Featuring some of Tchaikovsky's epic pieces including Piano Trio in A Minor, Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart represents some of the composer's balletic works through dance both choreographed and performed by American Ballet Theatre dancer Daniel Mantei.

Coming up on Friday, February 28 at 9:00PM EST, PBS will present the national, TV broadcast premiere of Jazz and the Philharmonic, a co-production by the National YoungArts Foundation-a national organization that identifies and supports the next generation of artists-the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, and JAZZ ROOTS Producer Larry Rosen. Jazz and the Philharmonic was presented and filmed at the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center on January 11, 2013 and is a unique and wholly American concert experience which highlights two of the greatest musical art forms, classical and jazz. Scroll down to see a trailer for the broadcast!

Ballet NY presents its 2014 Season, including In the Garden of Souls, the company premieres of Kinderszenen, Dreams, and excerpts from Urban Study, from April 15-17, 2014 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th Street, NYC (at Ninth Avenue). All performances are at 7:30pm. Tickets are $26 ($16 for students and seniors) and are available at www.smarttix.com or by phone at 212-868-4444.

Among the Directors Guild of America's nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television and Commercials for the year 2013 are NBC's THE SOUND OF MUSIC LIVE! and last year's TONY Awards. The winners will be announced at the 66th Annual DGA Awards Dinner tonight, January 25, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre welcomes legendary performer Mikhail Baryshnikov in his return to the Bay Area to star in Man in a Case, adding yet another electrifying show to its 2013-14 season.

(Boston) Celebrity Series of Boston will present Luciana Souza Trio tonight, January 25, 2014, at 8pm at Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge. Sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. will present the New York debut of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, performing a mixed bill of three works, from February 12-16. Under the artistic direction of former New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater principal dancer Ethan Stiefel, the company will present pieces by Benjamin Millepied, Javier De Frutos and Andrew Simmons. Tickets are $10-$75 (Joyce Members $26; $44) and can be purchased through JoyceCharge at www.Joyce.org or by calling 212.242.0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street, in Chelsea.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) announces the launch of a two-year, $1 million campaign to establish the Cage Cunningham Fund for artist fellowships, named after legendary artistic partners John Cage and Merce Cunningham.