Washington Ballet Features Balanchine, Ratmansky, Tharp

The Washington Ballet (TWB) presents a program that combines three works by masters of dance from the 20th century to the present: George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, Alexei Ratmansky's Seven Sonatas and Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs.

Allegro Brillante

Choreography George Balanchine

Music Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovksy, Piano Concerto No. 3, Opus 75

"Everything I know about classical ballet in thirteen minutes." -George Balanchine

"This work comes at you like a locomotive. Once the dancers get started, they just keep going, it's like a mini marathon. Balanchine was known for making us able to see music because his choreography was so musical in the first place. You don't need to read program notes to understand it or enjoy it. You see the music, you see the dancers flying and they're so beautiful!"

-Darla Hoover, Répétiteur*

* Répétiteurs are dancers who know a work intimately and teach and rehearse repertoire with dancers while also offering unique insight into the intent of the choreographer.

Seven Sonatas (Company Premiere)

Choregraphy Alexei Ratmansky

Music Domenico Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonatas: K.30, 39, 198, 450, 474, 481 and 547

Performed by Ryo Yanagitani

A spellbinding work choreographed by the former Bolshoi Ballet Artistic Director and current Artist in Residence at American Ballet Theatre performed to live piano accompaniment.

Nine Sinatra Songs

Choreography Twyla Tharp

Music Frank Sinatra
A glamorous portrait of seven couples as they swing, swirl, tango and cha-cha through the arc of romantic relationships.

Staged by TWB Ballet Master Elaine Kudo, retired soloist with American Ballet Theatre, former dancer with the Tharp Dance Co. and one of the primary stagers of Tharp repertory. Twyla Tharp partnered Kudo with famed dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov for the 1985 PBS Great Performances special Baryshnikov on Tharp, which incorporated several dances from Nine Sinatra Songs.

"For Nine Sinatra Songs, the dancers have to move as if they were people from the street in a way, but still using their ballet technique, so it's a really different kind of mental approach and stylistic approach to the movement. Also, there's a lot of weight sharing in this piece, where the women are more proactive in the partnering than they are in a classical ballet. They share weight and they pull and push on each other. It's a very, very different experience for them. I've often told the dancers, "forget what you know and let's investigate a new way of relating to each other and moving together."

-Elaine Kudo

To learn more about this performance, visit The Washington Ballet washingtonballet.org.

ABOUT RYO YANAGITANI: Hailed by The Washington Post as "a pianist's pianist," Ryo Yanagitani has established himself as one of Canada's shining artists. His success includes winning the gold medal at the 10th San Antonio International Piano Competition and grand prize of the Hugo Kauder International Music Competition.

Ryo has made concerto appearances with orchestras around the world including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Metropolitan Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and the Moroccan Symphony Orchestra.

A recipient of many scholarships and awards, Ryo has been endowed twice by the Canadian Arts Council with a grant as an Emerging Artist and is a recipient of the Arthur Foote Scholarship from the Harvard Musical Association. He was also awarded the Sony Foundation of America Career Grant through the Salon de Virtuosi of New York and a Washington Award by the S&R Foundation of Washington, D.C.

Ryo Yanagitani received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music under Boris Berman and an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music under Sergei Babayan. He held the post of principle artist-in-residence at S&R Foundation for the past three years and was recently appointed artistic director of the Ryuji Ueno Foundation in Washington, D.C.

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON BALLET: The Washington Ballet (TWB) was originally founded as The Washington School of Ballet in 1944 by legendary ballet pioneer Mary Day and incorporated as a professional company in 1976. The Washington Ballet is one of the pre-eminent ballet organizations in the United States. TWB built an international reputation presenting bold works by choreographers from around the world, including Choo San Goh, Christopher Wheeldon, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Hans van Manen and Ji?í Kylián, as well as neoclassical masterworks and fresh staging of 19th century classics. Under the leadership of Interim Executive Director Shakira Segundo and Artistic Director Julie Kent, TWB continues to serve its three-part mission: ensuring excellence in its professional performance company; growing the next generation of dancers through its Washington School of Ballet; and serving the community in which it resides through robust community engagement programs.

Plan Your Visit

Donate to The Washington Ballet with a purchase at Boss Shepherd's.

Boss Shepherd's is pleased to offer to Balanchine, Ratmansky, Tharp ticket holders the Theatre Menu from April 26 - April 30, 2017. $5.00 of each purchase from the Theatre Menu will be donated to The Washington Ballet to support community engagement and education programs.

Boss Shepherd's is located at the corner of 13th & E Street NW at the Warner Theatre building.

Address: 513 13th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004. Contact: 202.347.2677