Melbourne Ballet Company Set for Residency at the Alex Theatre

The Melbourne Ballet Company (MBC) and the Alex Theatre St Kilda are proud to announce a 2016 residency where the vibrant ballet company will develop and perform several works at one of Melbourne's most exciting new theatres.

The residency begins with visceral new work The Veil of Maya on 11-12 March 2016. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketek.

General Manager and Artistic Director of the Alex Theatre St Kilda, Richard Fitzgerald, is thrilled to be working with the Melbourne Ballet Company on their first full residency program.

"The opportunity to stage Melbourne Ballet's exhilarating works is the perfect fit for our first residency. It's exceedingly rare for a commercial theatre to offer a residency, there are no taxpayer funds here, just the Alex St Kilda supporting talented artists, ensuring they are exposed to our audiences," says Mr. Fitzgerald.

"Melbourne Ballet's dancers and choreographers are internationally acclaimed and the work they do is stunning - perfect for our audiences who expect exciting entertainment at the Alex."

The Veil of Maya is choreographed by MBC Director and Resident Choreographer Simon Hoy (Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet New York, Carolina Ballet, Ballet Mainz Germany) and performed by some of Melbourne's most accomplished ballet dancers.

New MBC company member Kristy Lee Denovan (The Australian Ballet) will take centre stage as the lead dancer in the production. Other cast include Alexander Baden Bryce (MBC company member since 2009), Francesca Giangrasso (Teatro Massimo Bellini, Italy), Johanna Lee (Sydney Dance Company), Masha Peker (Ukraine and American trained), Michael Braun (Queensland Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet), Chloe Henderson (West Australian Ballet, Ajkun Ballet Theatre NYC) and Samuel Harnett-Welk (Australian Ballet School, Daniel Jaber and Dancers).

Since it's birth in 2007, Melbourne Ballet Company has employed over 40 professional dancers annually and has established itself in Melbourne and around Australia as a vibrant and unique arts organisation. Led by Simon Hoy and Alisa Finney, The Company has produced over 30 original works of Contemporary and Classical Ballet and now consists of a team of 10 highly experienced classical dancers who have trained and performed with some of world's most renowned companies and schools.

In the past nine years, MBC has presented over 300 performances and has toured extensively to major capital cities and remote regions, making ballet accessible to communities throughout Australia and beyond. In 2016 the Company will present 35 performances and 51 community workshops across Australia and New Zealand.

This year's Intention and Desire program, created by Simon Hoy, will feature no less than seven new works from some of Australia's foremost choreographers. Timothy Harbour (The Australian Ballet - Resident Choreographer), Lucas Jervies (Australian Ballet, Scapino Ballet, Sydney Dance Company), Rani Luther (Netherland Dans Theatre, The Australian Ballet), Timothy Podesta (Internationally acclaimed dance maker), MBC dancer Alexander Baden Bryce (MBC), as well as the work of Hoy, come together to present what promises to be a stellar season. Intention and Desire takes inspiration from Pablo Picasso's masterwork, Guernica.

The Alex Theatre St. Kilda will provide Melbourne Ballet Company with a professional rehearsal space with a fully sprung floor for dance work, smaller performances and workshops. The Alex also provides an infrastructure to support the company with marketing, networking and publicity.

Melbourne Ballet Company will perform all 2016 productions at the Alex in their largest theatre, Theatre 1 (499 seats). Productions include The Veil of Maya (March), Empyrean (June) and Archè (July).

The Alex Theatre St Kilda is committed to bringing the best work to their audiences and providing support for performance companies in a commercial environment.

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