American Ballet Theatre News

 On July 29, the Vail Dance Festival kicks off its 29th year (July 29- August 12) with a season of new collaborations, artist debuts, and world premieres.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim announces that Dior will design costumes for the World Premiere of Falls the Shadow, a new 30-minute work made in and for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum rotunda. Falls the Shadow is spearheaded by American Ballet Theatre (ABT) principal Daniil Simkin, with new choreography by Alejandro Cerrudo, and projection design by Dmitrij Simkin.   

The Orpheum Theatre Group has announced the hiring of a new Vice President of Education, Jennifer McGrath. McGrath comes to the Orpheum from American Ballet Theatre, where she serves as stage manager. She will begin her new role with the Orpheum Theatre Group in the fall of 2017.

I was fortunate to see the Cirio Collective on Monday, June 24, 2017, a part of the Joyce Theater's Ballet Festival, July 18 - 29. Drawn to see the company of extraordinary American Ballet Theatre principal dancer, Jeffrey Cirio, the artistic director of his own company, I was not disappointed. Cirio's associate artistic director is his sister, Lia Cirio, principal dancer of the Boston Ballet, also a remarkable dancer.

Former Orlando Ballet principal dancers Israel Rodriguez and Katia Garza have joined Skyra Studios as the Directors of the Dance Program. Skyra is a state-of-the-art performing arts academy, owned by local film producers Mary and Scott Poiley that is slated to open in Altamonte Springs late summer. The 7,000 sq ft studio features four oversized and uniquely themed dance rooms with 15' ceilings and sprung floors, a film recording studio, a digital lab for filmmakers and artists, a study lounge, large dressing room with changing pods, a cafe, a retail store, and a one-of-a-kind curriculum encompassing dance, acting, filmmaking and art. Rodriguez and Garza are principal dancers and highly sought after master teachers and coaches. Their former students include principal dancers, soloists and members of the Corps de Ballet in the Houston Ballet, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Orlando Ballet and others. The pair has developed a conservatory style program focused on discipline, technique, and artistry for classical and contemporary professional dancers.

On November 12, 2017, the Auditorium Theatre, The Theatre for the People, commemorates the 50th anniversary of its grand re-opening with a one-night-only mixed repertory program featuring dancers from the world's premier dance companies: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Dutch National Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, MOMIX, New York City Ballet, Parsons Dance, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and The Washington Ballet.

COCA is pleased to announce its 2017-2018 COCA Presents season, which will run from October 20 - July 28, 2018.

A bright summer sun shimmered across the Great South Bay as renowned dance companies, acclaimed choreographers and three standing-room-only audiences came together at this year's Fire Island Dance Festival on July 14-16, 2017. The 23rd edition of the fundraising and cultural event of the Fire Island summer raised a record $585,045 for Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

One word most wonderfully describes this extraordinary evening featuring two of the cabaret world's leading singers and songwriters: Divalicious. Segerstrom Center welcomes music divas Amanda McBroom and Ann Hampton Callaway as they help kick off the 2017-18 Cabaret Series celebrating classics from the Great American Songbook and also entertaining audiences with their own works. Pianist and acclaimed songwriter Michele Brourman accompanies the duo in these stunning nights of song and storytelling, October 5 - 7 in Samueli Theater.

Ballet Tech is a unique partnership between the Ballet Tech Foundation, Inc. and the New York City Department of Education. Here students beginning in grade 4 have the opportunity to combine professional tuition-free arts instruction with a public school education. With approximately 180 students enrolled, Ballet Tech is dedicated to introducing children of NYC to the beauty and rigor of classical dance, while producing a new generation of dancers whose diversity reflects the full-spectrum of the American community.

The Music Center On Location and the Ford Theatres today announced the line-up of a co-presentation featuring groundbreaking music and dance artists for three performances at the recently renovated Ford Theatres.  The program includes a dance performance of Awaa by acclaimed choreographer Aszure Barton on Friday, August 18, 2017; a double bill of contemporary dance by the innovative Jacob Jonas The Company and experimental electronic music from Tim Hecker with Kara-Lis Coverdale on Saturday, August 19, 2017; and a one-of-a-kind concert under the stars by singer, songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright on Sunday, August 20, 2017.  The three-night engagement at the outdoor amphitheatre is part of the IGNITE @ the FORD! Series.

Casting updates have been announced for The Joyce Theater Foundation's upcoming Ballet Festival, a two-week festival of ballet showcasing some of America's most exciting contemporary companies and choreographers with Joyce commissions on each program. Co-curated by Curatorial Associate John Selya, the Festival -- July 19-29 -- is designed to recognize dancers and choreographers who are creating work outside the traditional large company setting and, in many. 

]EMILY LOSCOCCO, former principal dancer of Festival Ballet Providence, PHILLIP BROOMHEAD, former principal dancer of the Houston Ballet and the Royal Ballet, and BETSY McBRIDE of American Ballet Theatre, and SIMON WEXLER former principal dancer of Texas Ballet Theatre will be members of the faculty for the Shreveport Dance Academy's Summer Intensive in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT) is thrilled to announce that the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) have contributed $10,000 to the company's endowment fund for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra.

To leave a permanent mark on the cultural landscape is a lifelong motivation for any artist. But for accomplished American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer James Whiteside, one medium simply can't contain his high-watt creativity. As a pop singer, choreographer, and storyteller, James seems to find inspiration wherever he goes.

James Whiteside, ballet's most daring principal artist known for his theatrical and technical versatility, will begin an extensive and varied summer tour, with seven appearances worldwide, after the close of the American Ballet Theatre's Metropolitan Opera House Season. Whiteside kicks off the summer at Fire Island Dance Festival, followed by an evening of self-choreographed work at Jacob's Pillow, performances at Joyce Theater with Gemma Bond, BALLETNOW, Vail Dance Festival and Ballet Sun Valley, and lastly a tour to Japan late summer to work with Tokyo Disney. Performances will showcase a variety of dance styles including classical ballet, contemporary ballet, modern, theater jazz and hip-hop.

The Ford Theatres today announced a spectacular season for Summer 2017 at the fully transformed John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. The 2017 season will open today, July 15 with a performance by famed tap dancer and choreographer Savion Glover and runs through Monday, October 16.

Final performances for American Ballet Theatre's New York Summer Intensive Program are scheduled for Friday, July 28, 2017 at 12:00 P.M. and 2:30 P.M. at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, New York. The performances mark the conclusion of ABT's 22nd annual New York Summer Intensive, a five-week training program for dancers ages 12 to 22.

Two internationally acclaimed dance companies, a celebrated choreographer and a Tony Award-winning host have just been added to the already stellar lineup of Fire Island Dance Festival, which takes the stage July 14-16, 2017, in Fire Island, NY.

The cast is set for the acclaimed Matthew Bourne / New Adventures production of "The Red Shoes." Presented by Center Theatre Group and Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, the American premiere of "The Red Shoes" runs September 15 through October 1, 2017, with the opening set for September 19.