Los Angeles Ballet Announces 2017-2018 Season

Los Angeles Ballet (www.losangelesballet.org), the city's own and only professional classical ballet company, announces its 2017-2018 that includes both classic and contemporary programming.

LAB Co-Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary present Pushing Dance Boundaries, a mixed bill Directors' Choice program; the return of the critically acclaimed Swan Lake and the holiday tradition, The Nutcracker. Programs are performed at LAB's home theaters: UCLA's Royce Hall, Glendale's Alex Theatre, Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, and the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

"This season we offer a diverse repertoire as we both honor the masters and introduce our audience to a new generation of choreographers that will enthrall and delight," said Christensen and Neary. "From the romance of Swan Lake and the charm of The Nutcracker to the innovation and originality of our mixed bill program, our twelfth season highlights the versatility of our dancers."

Pushing Dance Boundaries will open the season (October 2017) and will feature Balanchine's The Four Temperaments, an LAB premiere from Alejandro Cerrudo, and a world premiere created specifically for Los Angeles Ballet by Menghan Lou. Cerrudo and Lou are two of today's captivating contemporary choreographers that bring intensely dramatic viewpoints to the stage.

It would not be the holidays in Los Angeles without LAB's popular The Nutcracker (December 2017), set in 1912 Los Angeles. After last season's sold-out performances, The Nutcracker returns with 15 performances and has extended the schedule through New Year's Eve. This season, all performances at the Dolby Theatre on Christmas weekend will feature live orchestra. As the home of the Academy Awards and major live musical events, the Dolby Theatre provides the proper pit for a full orchestra, as required to perform Tchaikovsky's memorable score live.

To close the season, Los Angeles Ballet presents Swan Lake with choreography by Artistic Directors Christensen and Neary.

Now in its second decade, Los Angeles Ballet continues to present world-class performances and provide diverse outreach opportunities throughout Southern California. At a time when the arts are underfunded and continue to be absent from public school curricula, it is Los Angeles Ballet's mission to share the gift of dance with the broadest possible audience and give back to the community that has so generously supported it. Los Angeles Ballet opens its doors with free classes for all ages with A Chance to Dance and provides thousands of free tickets with Power of Performance (POP!), to special needs children and adults, military families, veterans and seniors through collaboration with 56 community partners. To date, LAB has provided 166,000 free tickets to POP! participants.

About Los Angeles Ballet - Founded in 2004 by Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, and Executive Director Julie Whittaker, Los Angeles Ballet is known for its superb stagings of the Balanchine repertory, stylistically meticulous classical ballets, and its commitment to new works. LAB has become recognized as a world-class ballet company in twelve seasons, presenting 38 productions encompassing 56 works, including 16 commissioned world premieres. Los Angeles Ballet 'tours' throughout LA County, regularly appearing at four venues. Since its inception in 2006, LAB's Power of Performance (POP!) program has provided thousands of free tickets to underserved or disadvantaged children, seniors, veterans, and their families. LAB's A Chance to Dance Community Days outreach program was launched in October 2012.

About Thordal Christensen - Among Thordal Christensen's many credentials are an impressive performing career, successful leadership of one of the world's major ballet companies, critically applauded original choreography, and a proven commitment to dance education. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Christensen received his ballet training at The Royal Danish Ballet School and at the School of American Ballet in New York City before a performance career that included the Royal Danish Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Christensen then returned to Denmark where he was Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Ballet. This blend of Bournonville and Balanchine tradition is one of the defining themes of his career, and has shaped the unique artistic vision that Christensen, along with his wife Colleen Neary, bring to Los Angeles Ballet. In 2002, he was made Knight of the Dannebrog by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

About Colleen Neary - Colleen Neary brings to Los Angeles Ballet the benefits of her vast experience as one of George Balanchine's quintessential ballerinas. In her experience as a dancer, teacher, and ballet mistress, she also worked closely with other luminaries of 20th century dance, including Rudolf Nureyev, Maurice Béjart, and Ji?í Kylián. Born in Miami, Florida and trained at The School of American Ballet, Neary danced in New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine, then for Maurice Béjart's Ballet du XXième Siecle, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Neary was personally selected by Balanchine to teach his choreography to major companies all over the world as a répétiteur for The George Balanchine Trust.

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