Les Ballets De Monte Carlo To Return To New Orleans With A LAC – SWAN LAKE, A Reimagining Of The Classic Fairy Tale

The New Orleans Ballet Association will continue its 2023-24 Main Stage Season of dance on March 2, 2024, with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo in LAC (Swan Lake) at the Mahalia Jackson Theater.

"This version of [Swan] Lake is a turning point in the history of dance, a soaring feat of almost lyrical proportions, with room still for restraint and nuance. It will undoubtedly remain a dazzling memory for all," states Le Figaro (France). NOBA's curation of vibrant, culturally significant, captivating and awe-inspiring dance offerings represent the best and brightest of what the dance world has to offer today.

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo makes its triumphant return with LAC, Artistic Director Jean-Christophe Maillot's visually stunning retelling of Swan Lake-the only scheduled performance of the masterpiece in the nation! "Jean-Christophe Maillot's LAC (Swan Lake) for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo is a top recommendation for this year's dance viewing ... you will be intrigued, stimulated and invigorated" (Dance Australia Magazine). Within a labyrinth of dramatic twists and turns, this ravishing stage production is a psychological thriller of epic proportions that upends our expectations and brings "Swan Lake into the 21st century without losing the essence of the fairy tale at its heart" (Orange County Register). Offering audiences a thrilling interpretation of Tchaikovsky's immortal score, Maillot collaborated with esteemed French writer Jean Rouaud, Winter Olympics and award-winning Cirque de Soleil costume designer Philippe Guillotel, and, for grand, expressionistic sets, cutting-edge visual artist Ernest Pignon-Ernest to realize his provocative vision.

The official national company of the Principality of Monaco, the company is a classical ballet company established in 1985 by the Princess of Hanover in accordance with the wishes of her mother, Princess Grace, who wished to perpetuate the long tradition of dance in Monaco and its famous Ballets Russes. "Les Ballets de Monte Carlo is one of the most dynamic ballet companies around, widely acclaimed for its superb dancers, vivid, original productions and determination to make ballet more accessible" (The Telegraph).

In addition to Les Ballets de Monte Carlo's performance on March 2, NOBA will host an exclusive, intimate presentation of LAC (Swan Lake) on March 1 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in a rare behind-the-scenes experience, the third of three exclusive events titled The Triple Crown. Ticketholders of this special event will be captivated like never before as NOBA takes the audience behind the curtain for the first time in its history with a mesmerizing presentation of Les Ballets de Monte's Carlo's LAC, witnessing the artistry that goes into each performance as the curtain opens at 7 p.m. before the 7:30 p.m. show and through intermission to final bows, revealing the enchanting world of stagecraft - changing of the sets, dancers warming up, stagehands at work, and more. Dressed in black and white (feathers encouraged!), patrons will enjoy an open bar and hors d'oeuvres, and, following the performance, champagne, delectable desserts, music, and more with the company artists. For more information or to purchase the Triple Crown event package, visit the event's webpage here.

Following this production, NOBA concludes the 2023-24 Main Stage Season with Parsons Dance with The Allen Toussaint Orchestra, a gravity-defying, joyous celebration of the music of Allen Toussaint.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo's Saturday, March 2 performance range from $52 to $222 (fees already included in price) and are available for purchase at www.nobadance.com. Discounts for seniors (65 and over) and students are also available.

Groups of 10-19 patrons receive 10% off the regular ticket price, and groups of 20 or more receive 15% off the regular ticket price. Please call NOBA at 504.522.0996, ext. 201 to book your group today.

NOBA'S REMAINING 2023-24 MAIN STAGE SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

· Les Ballets de Monte Carlo in LAC (Swan Lake): Saturday, March 2, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater (New Orleans, LA)

· Parsons Dance with The Allen Toussaint Orchestra: Saturday, April 20, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater (New Orleans, LA)

ABOUT LES BALLETS DE Monte Carlo

The year 1909 marked the beginning of a strong presence of choreographic art in Monaco. Serge de Diaghilev presented his Russian Ballet in Paris for the first time, and they set up in Monte-Carlo, which became their creative workshop for the next two decades. From the Principality, Diaghilev reformed ballet in all its forms in his time. Upon his death in 1929, the company was dissolved. Following, several personalities and choreographers revived it under various names, but it disappeared completely in 1951.

In 1985, thanks to the vision of H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover, the Ballets de Monte-Carlo Company was born first under the leadership of Ghislaine Thesmar and Pierre Lacotte, and later by Jean-Yves Esquerre. In 1993, H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover nominated Jean-Christophe Maillot as the head of the Monte- Carlo Ballets. Building on his experience as a dancer from Rosella Hightower and John Neumeier and as choreographer-director of the National Choreographic Centre of Tours, Maillot has created iconic works for the Company and several that have entered the repertoire of large international companies. Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo is now in demand throughout the world with Maillot's works such as Vers un pays sage (1995), Roméo et Juliette (1996), Cendrillon (1999), La Belle (2001), Le Songe (2005), Altro Canto (2006), Faust (2007), LAC (2011), CHORE (2013), Casse-Noisette Compagnie (2013), Aleatorio (2016), Abstract Life (2018), Core meu (2019), and Coppél-i.A. (2019). He also enriches the company's repertoire by inviting major choreographers of our time as well as emerging choreographers to work with the 50 dancers of the company. Among these guest choreographers are Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Shen Wei, Alonzo King, Emio Greco, Chris Haring, Marco Goecke, Lucinda Childs, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Karole Armitage, Maurice Béjart, Marie Chouinard and more.

In 2000, Maillot created the Monaco Dance Forum, an international window to dance that presents an eclectic fusion of spectacles, exhibitions, workshops and conferences, in which the company regularly participates, and the Académie Princess Grace. In 2011, under the presidency of H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover, the Ballets de Monte-Carlo now incorporates the Company, Monaco Dance Forum and Princess Grace Academy under a single organization under the direction of Maillot with a mission of providing the excellence of an international company, the assets of a diverse festival and the potential for a school of a high level. Creation, training and production are currently reunited in Monaco to serve choreography in an unprecedented manner in the world of dance.

ABOUT JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAILLOT, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Born in 1960, Jean-Christophe Maillot studied dance and piano at the Conservatoire National de Région de Tours, before joining the Rosella Hightower International School of Dance in Cannes until winning the Prix de Lausanne in 1977. He was then hired by John Neumeier at the Hamburg Ballet, where he danced in principal roles as a soloist for five years. An accident brought his dancing career to an abrupt end.

In 1983, he was appointed choreographer and director of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Tours, which he made a National Choreographic Center in 1989. He created around twenty ballets for this company, and in 1985, founded the Dance Festival, Le Chorégraphique. Following his successful 1987 creation Le Mandarin Merveilleux for the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, he became the company's artistic advisor for the 1992-1993 season and was then appointed director-choreographer by H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover in September 1993.  His arrival set the company on a new path that quickly developed the level of maturity and excellence for which this company of 50 dancers has been renowned for decades.

In 2007, he produced his first stage opera, Faust for the Hessisches Staatstheater and in 2009 Norma for the Monte-Carlo Opera. In 2007, he created his first choreographic film with Cinderella then Le Songe in 2008. In 2009, he developed the content and coordinated the Centenary of the Ballets Russes in Monaco, which would see over 50 companies and choreographers pass through the Principality in one year, providing entertainment for 60,000 audience members.

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