Mikhail Baryshnikov News

MARK MY WORDS 2014: A WICKED COOL EVENING, on Tuesday, October 21 at 8:00 p.m., is a once-in-a-lifetime event - a conversation between the creators of the book and Broadway smash Wicked. Gregory Maguire wrote the original novel Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Stephen Schwartz, legendary composer and lyricist of Pippin and Godspell, adapted Maguire's twisted take on L. Frank Baum's universe into one of the most successful musicals in history. Moderated by Connecticut theater legend Frank Rizzo, this is a unique opportunity to hear these creators talk about writing, music, theatre and, of course, the Wonderful World of Oz.

Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent and Xiomara Reyes, Principal Dancers with American Ballet Theatre, have announced their retirements from the Company at the conclusion of the 2015 Metropolitan Opera House season in New York City. “These three unique ballerinas have each made such distinctive contributions to ABT throughout the years,” Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie stated. “With them, an era of our history resides. Their remarkable careers will be three more reasons to celebrate our 75th Anniversary Season.”

Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent and Xiomara Reyes, Principal Dancers with American Ballet Theatre, have announced their retirements from the Company at the conclusion of the 2015 Metropolitan Opera House season in New York City. 'These three unique ballerinas have each made such distinctive contributions to ABT throughout the years,' Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie stated. 'With them, an era of our history resides. Their remarkable careers will be three more reasons to celebrate our 75th Anniversary season.'

During the first week of November, the Mariinsky Theatre returns to the UK for an operatic showcase of Wagner's Ring in Birmingham at the historic Hippodrome and three operas originally written for the Mariinsky including the most recent Levsha (The Left-hander) by Rodion Shchedrin. With a 300-strong troop of musicians, soloists and chorus starting the tour in Cardiff with Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery, Valery Gergiev proceeds to London to present Russia's national epic Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov followed by the UK premiere of The Lefthander, both in concert versions at the Barbican.

Queens Theatre (QT) is pleased to announce that their 2014-2015 Season Dance Series will begin with performances by the world-renowned Martha Graham Dance Company on Saturday, October 11 at 2pm & 8pmand Sunday, October 12 at 3pm at Queens Theatre (14 United Nations Avenue South, Flushing Meadows Corona Park). Tickets are available at queenstheatre.org and range from $25-$42. (Photos for Queens Theatre events are available here:http://bit.ly/QT_Photos)

The AG!D Intensive Professional Project -- YOU & GONE! -- offers emerging and professional dancers and dance instructors an opportunity to investigate and experience the creative process and choreography of renowned choreographer Karole Armitage.

Nevada Ballet Theatre (NBT) will launch its 43nd (2014-2015) main stage performance season and its third year as Resident Ballet Company of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts with A Midsummer Night's Dream Act I and Seasons tonight, September 20 at 7:30 pm andSunday, September 21 at 2 pm.

The next edition of their three-time Emmy-nominated HBO Family Documentary Special will be Joshua Bell: A YoungArts MasterClass. Filmed in New York City and London, the program features internationally acclaimed, Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell as he mentors, travels, and performs alongside nine talented young string musicians.

Celebrity Series of Boston will present Regina Carter's Southern Comfort on Friday, October 17, 2014, at 8:00pm at Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge. This performance is sponsored by Donna and Mike Egan. Additional support is provided by the Expeditions program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the six New England start art agencies.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) will introduce New York audiences to a leading voice in Russia's contemporary theater scene with the American Premiere of award-winning playwright Ivan Viripaev's Illusions. The U.S.-born artist Cazimir Liske, who graduated from the Moscow Art Theatre School and has been based in Moscow for the past decade, translated the text to English and, with significant residency and technical support from BAC, has developed a new staging of the work, a darkly comedic examination of true love.

The Ruth Page Civic Ballet, the official youth performance company and an Artist In-Residence of the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, performs at Ravinia's Bennett Gordon Hall, 418 Sheridan Rd., Highland Park, today, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m., as part of the Ruth Page Festival of Dance and Ravinia's 'Kids Concerts' programming series. This family friendly concert will include choreography by Victor Alexander, Marius Petipa and Dolores and Larry Long.

Watch out! Richard Schechner returns, armed with another series of shocks and surprises: the world premiere of 'Imagining O' at Peak Performances, today, September 10, through September 13.

(LOS ANGELES – SEPTEMBER 8, 2014) — Break The Floor Productions is pleased to announce that North America's hottest new dance show -- SHAPING SOUND -- will perform two nights only at The Montalbán Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, October 11-12 at 8pm. Tickets are now on sale at www.ShapingSoundCo.com. Experience the exhilarating collaboration of North America's newest dance visionaries as they mash-up music genres and dance styles in an explosive dance theater experience perfect for all ages.

MIAMI, Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts), the non-profit organization that contributes to the cultural vitality of the nation by supporting the artistic development of talented young artists, is celebrating YoungArts Awareness Day, a nationwide initiative to 'keep arts alive' today, Monday, September 8, 2014. Encouraging everyone who has a creative instinct to take part, YoungArts Awareness Day will feature pop-up performances and events in Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and New York City, and invites artists across the country to create and share their own work or their artistic experiences via social media with the tags #keepartsalive, #youngarts and #youngartsawarenessday.

Susan Galbraith, director and adapter of the upcoming Alliance for New-Music Theatre production of 'Kafka's Metamorphosis,' shares a little bit about an exciting new look at an iconic story.

Jack Everly will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in its first SuperPops concert of the 2014-2015 season on Thursday, October 9 at 8 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore, and Friday, October 10 at 8 p.m., Saturday, October 11 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, October 12 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) is proud to announce that Dick Van Dyke will accept their prestigious Prince Rainier III Award. Mr. Van Dyke will be honored at PGF-USA's annual Gala in Los Angeles on October 8(th), 2014 along with this year's 20 Princess Grace Award winners who are emerging artists in theater, dance and film, hailing from cities and states across America.

For his first directing project since winning the 2014 Tony Award, Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak will helm Shakespeare's masterpiece, Hamlet, playing only four weeks, from October 16 to November 16, at Hartford Stage. Hamlet follows three popular Shakespearean productions in the last two years by Tresnjak: The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and last season's Macbeth.