Boston Ballet School Presents Next Generation, June 6

Boston Ballet School (BBS) proudly presents its ninth annual Next Generation performance featuring Christopher Wheeldon's The American, Act III of Raymonda by Marius Petipa with additional choreography by Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen, and a new work by BBS faculty member Igor Burlak. The program opens with Les Passages, which features dancers of all levels of the Pre-Professional program in pieces choreographed by BBS faculty members. This one-night-only performance takes place June 6 at the Boston Opera House.

"Next Generation shines a spotlight on the incredible young talent that we have the pleasure of developing," said Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. "Boston Ballet School is dedicated to providing the highest quality of training of dancers to ensure the success of our students who will contribute their many gifts to this living art form."

Boston Ballet School's Pre-Professional program is committed to training top talent who aspire to professional careers with Boston Ballet and other major companies. Currently, over 20 percent of Boston Ballet's dancers are graduates of the Pre-Professional program, and 95 percent of Trainee graduates secure jobs with professional ballet companies, a percentage that has increased annually.

"This program showcases the next generation of talented and dedicated dancers. Each piece was specifically selected to highlight the individual strengths of our students and emphasize our rigorous curriculum," said Boston Ballet School Director Margaret Tracey. "It is incredible to witness these dancers' personal and professional growth that has led to this defining moment and performance."

Next Generation features Boston Ballet II, Boston Ballet's second company, members of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and 98 Pre-Professional program students, ages 13-19, from across the United States and around the world. The program opens with an orchestral performance of Beethoven's Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus. Then, the entire Pre-Professional program performs Les Passages, a piece set to the music of Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi and choreographed by BBS faculty.

Following Les Passages is The American with music by Antonín Dvo?ák and choreography by Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, known for his work with New York City Ballet and his Broadway adaptation of the film An American in Paris.

The evening continues with a new work choreographed by BBS faculty member Igor Burlak titled Double Concerto and set to music by Bohuslav Martin?. Burlak danced with Miami City Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and Minnesota Ballet before joining the faculty at BBS in 2011. Burlak has been instrumental in cultivating the BBS Student Choreographic Initiative, which premiered in February of 2018.

The program closes with Act III of Raymonda by ballet master and choreographer Marius Petipa set to music by Alexander Glazunov with additional choreography by Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. The Pas classique hongrois (or Raymonda Pas de Dix) from the final act of the ballet is one of Petipa's most celebrated and enduring excerpts, and widely considered the ultimate test of the classical ballerina.

Performance Details:

Wednesday, June 6 at 7 pm

Boston Opera House

539 Washington Street

Boston, MA 20111

Conducted by Beatrice Jona Affron

Tickets start at $29. For more information, visit bostonballet.org/school/next-generation or call 617.695.6955.

Photo: Boston Ballet School by Rosalie O'Connor