Arlene Shuler, New York City Center President and CEO, today announced programming for Balanchine: The City Center Years, the centerpiece of the 75th Anniversary Season. Beginning on October 31 (through Nov 4), an international roster of eight prestigious companies-American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, The Mariinsky Ballet, Miami City Ballet, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet-perform thirteen works over six programs.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts launches its 2018-2019 Chamber Series with the acclaimed Escher String Quartet on November 1, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. in Samueli Theater. Since its founding in 2005, the quartet has quickly garnered the reputation as one of the finest young string ensembles performing today. Their instrumental interplay, which combines technical precision with warmth and vitality, has reaped accolades nationally and abroad, and elicited invitations from Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman to be the quartet-in-residence at their respective summer festivals. In a review, The Strad wrote, "…a level of individual technical precision and a collective musical purpose that is endlessly compelling … Sheer brilliance." Quartet members include Adam Barnett-Hart and Danbi Um, violins; Pierre Lapointe, viola; and Brook Speltz, cello.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents the Kenny Barron Quintet for two performances on November 3, 2018 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, the Los Angeles Times calls Barron "one of the top jazz pianists in the world" and Jazz Weekly calls him "The most lyrical piano player of our time." For his return to the Center's Jazz Series, Barron brings his quintet, which includes Mike Rodriguez, trumpet; Dayna Stephens, tenor saxophone; Kiyoshi Kitagawa, bass; and Jonathan Blake, drums.
In a time when so much feels shallow and temporary, it's a joy to come back to something warm and familiar. In this case, that sweet nostalgia came from the 15th anniversary of the celebrated Fall for Dance Festival at the New York's historic City Center. With five different programs featuring a variety of choreographers and dancers, Fall for Dance is the best representation of dance we have in the modern world; not only does each piece reveal something new, but it shows us the parts of ourselves we don't often show to the world.
Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez, known for bringing traditional and folkloric Mexican dance to audiences around the world, returns to Chicago and the Auditorium Theatre on November 10 and 11, 2018. The company performs a vibrant program that highlights Mexican cultural traditions from regions across the country, including Mexico City, Jalisco, and Veracruz.
New York Theatre Ballet announces the company's 2018-19 performances of their critically acclaimed Once Upon a Ballet series geared to audiences ages 3 and up and running time of one hour for young attention spans. This season's offerings include: Keith Michael's The Nutcracker from December 14-15, 2018 and Cinderella February 9 & 10, 2019 at Florence Gould Hall, 55 E 59th St, New York, NY 10022. Single tickets: $27 adults $15 children, for both Nutcracker and Cinderella: $20 adults $12 children, http://nytb.org/calendar-and-tickets.
Between 1884, when it was formed as part of the newly-established Hungarian State Opera House, and November, 2018 when it makes its American debut at the David H. Koch Theater, the Hungarian National Ballet will have performed in almost every cultural capital and on every continent in the world, except North America.
Newly anointed EGOT winner and critically acclaimed, multi-platinum singer-songwriter John Legend has announced his first Christmas album, A LEGENDARY CHRISTMAS. The album is executive produced by Raphael Saadiq and will be released on October 26 via Columbia Records. To accompany the album, John will embark on a 25-date A LEGENDARY CHRISTMAS Tour, which includes a return engagement at Segerstrom Center for the Arts on Saturday, December 29 at 7:30 p.m. The tour kicks off on November 15 in Clearwater, FL and wraps up on December 30 in San Diego.
Annenberg Center Live presents genre-defying composer/musician Max Richter, joined by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), on Sunday, October 7, 2018, at 7:00 PM. Inspired equally by The Beatles and Bach, punk rock and ambient electronica, electro-acoustic composer-pianist Max Richter blends baroque beauty with minimalist methodology and classical orchestration with modern technology. His seductively beautiful works, ubiquitous in dance, film, and television, are broadening the audience for contemporary compositions. Richter makes his Philadelphia debut with this performance. Tickets are available at AnnenbergCenter.org or 215.898.3900.
The Washington Ballet opened their 2018.19 Season at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theatre last night to a full house of delighted fans and patrons. TWB Welcomes included acclaimed highlights from choreographer George Balanchine as well as iconic masterworks by Alexei Ratmansky and Marius Petipa. The company also played host to four internationally recognized stars of the dance world who shared the stage as special guest artist alongside TWB dancers.
Ashley Wheater, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, is pleased to announce the addition of seven dancers to the Joffrey roster for the 2018-2019 season:
Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents the Ahmad Jamal Quartet for one performance only on October 19 at 8:00pm. The extraordinary night of music features jazz legend and celebrated pianist-composer Ahmad Jamal who returns to the center with his quartet which includes James Cammack, bass; Herlin Riley, drums; and Manolo Badrena, percussion.
Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presents American Ballet Theatre: Jessica Lang & Sarah Crowner on Sunday and Monday, October 7 and 8, 2018 at 7:30pm.
The album for the new dance musical The Beast in the Jungle is not your typical cast recording. Actually, it's not a cast recording at all, but a score recording that's purely instrumental. Even though the lack of dialogue and character voices makes it a more challenging score to listen to out of context (as opposed to a typical "cast album"), it's a truly masterful and moving score in its own right.
K'Arts Ballet of Korea will present the American premiere of Song of the Mermaid, a fantasy ballet choreographed by SunHee Kim, running October 20 and 21 at New York City Center. Song of the Mermaid, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's beloved tale "The Little Mermaid," will star Kimin Kim,principal dancer of Mariinsky Ballet, and feature 40 dancers and an original score composed by Hana Ryou
Zhong-Jing Fang was promoted to soloist at the American Ballet Theatre in 2018, the first Chinese ballerina to be promoted to soloist since Yan Chen in 1993. Almost ten years ago, she tore her posterior tibial tendon in her right foot during a rehearsal. Doctors told her that the chances of her returning to the stage were extremely slim.
Smuin launches its 25th anniversary season with Dance Series 01, a fall program that expands the boundaries of contemporary ballet, pays tribute to Smuin's founder, and celebrates the company's quarter century mark. Acclaimed dancemaker Trey McIntyre returns to Smuin with Blue Until June, a thrilling tribute to Etta James. Continuing Smuin's long-time dedication to fostering new talent within the company is a trio of groundbreaking works first developed in Smuin's Choreography Showcase: Merely Players by Smuin dancer Nicole Haskins, Echo (formerly titled Reflection) by Smuin dancer Ben Needham-Wood, and Sinfonietta by former Smuin dancer Rex Wheeler. Dance Series 01 will also include two works by founder Michael Smuin: Schubert Scherzo, an effervescent dance set to Schubert's sprightly C-Major Symphony, and Eternal Idol, a romantic pas de deux inspired by Auguste Rodin sculptures. Dance Series 01 will be presented September 21-22 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek and September 28-October 6 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. For subscriptions and further information the public may call (415) 912-1899. Single tickets ($25-$81) are available by calling the individual venues or by visiting www.smuinballet.org. (This program will also be presented in February 2019 in Mountain View and Carmel.)
