American Ballet Theatre News

Set inside the sensationalized female murderess craze that swept 1920s Chicago, CHICAGO draws its audience into a world of crime and glitz against the vivid backdrop of the jazz age. A first time production for Pittsburgh CLO, CHICAGO is sure to be 'all that jazz' and more!

Casting for the seventh and eighth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2016 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

In honor of the 400th Anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, Jessica Lang Dance will present the NY premiere of Sweet Silent Thought, inspired by five of the Master's sonnets.  The work  features readings of Sonnets 30, 40, 64, 71 and 105, by actors Chris Myers (Obie Award, Octoroon),  Chukwudi Iwuji (Shakespeare Festival's King Lear) and Nilanjana Bose-Ciupinska,  as part of the company's week-long season at The Joyce, running June 14 – 19, 2016.

No other film saga is as inspiring and treasured by multiple generations as Rocky which, 40 years later, remains the indisputable champ in the hearts of millions. Now, fans have the opportunity to share a LIVE evening with Sylvester Stallone himself, the creator and star of it all on Sunday, August 7 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the original Rocky film, Sly himself will take to the stage in this exciting live show to share stories you've never heard before, giving an inside glimpse behind the classic scenes, from the most heartbreaking to the most triumphant.

Orange County, Calif.—June 1, 2016—Cynthia Ellis designed “The Inextinguishable Project” as an opportunity for concert listeners to discover some of the masterful music written in spite of the conflict and oppression of World War II. Ellis, Pacific Symphony's flute and piccolo player, and a resident of Brea, won one of four “Musician Innovation Grants” awarded by the Symphony's board of directors in the 2015-16 season for her project's creativity and potential for creating deeper interest in classical music. Her concert explores the music of two composers who overcame political and geographical circumstances to bring their music into the world. Theo Smit Sibinga walked out of prison camp carrying a suitcase in one hand and the broken remains of his cello in the other. Bohuslav Martinu, blacklisted by the Nazis, fled Paris, sleeping on train platforms while trying to get to America. Both survived to write beautiful music—music that has become “inextinguishable.”

?Metropolitan Ballet Academy & Company (MBA/MBC), recognized by Pointe magazine as one of “seven local studios in America cultivating top talent” (Oct/Nov 2011), will celebrate its 20th Anniversary year with a Gala Performance on Saturday, June 4, 2016 at 4:00 pm. Alumni from Metropolitan's two decades of training will return from their professional engagements with dance companies across America to perform in the Gala, which also features pre-professional Metropolitan Ballet Company dancers in classical and contemporary works. The Gala Performance will be held at the Josephine Muller Auditorium of Abington Friends School, 575 Washington Lane, Jenkintown, PA 19046. Tickets are $50 each and available at 215-663-1665 or online at www.metropolitanballetcompany.org.

At its best, classical ballet has the ability to utterly transfix, bending the boundaries of what we as human beings think is possible. With every gravity-defying grand jete and blossoming developpe, dancers transform into otherworldly beings, physicalizing that which can't be believed. At the 2016 Spring Season premiere of American Ballet Theatre's Le Corsaire, the company did just this, mesmerizing the audience and showcasing their ability to create a unique world of beauty, unto its own.

Four venerable American dance companies are joining forces with Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts (www.usdan.org), just in time for the 2016 summer camp season. Announced today, the troupes -The Ailey Organization, American Ballet Theatre (ABT), Martha Graham, and Pilobolus-- are officially on the Camp's proverbial dance card, further strengthening Usdan's notable offerings for campers from ages four through 18.

The School Of American Ballet (SAB) is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the school of George Balanchine's New York City Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the age of six, with professional vocational ballet training for students aged 11-18.

'La Fille mal gardee', Frederick Ashton has given us folksy innocence, clever games, and sunny smiles. That smile was perfectly embodied by soloist Jeffrey Cirio, making a splendid debut as Colas in the opening performance of this life affirming ballet. He is more than ably assisted by a cast of tremendous artists who give of themselves completely to making these simple country characters sparkle. And what characters! With an opening danced by five chickens -- four hens and one manic rooster -- how could it be otherwise?

With over fifty presenters, conference attendees engaged in a vibrant discourse on ballet structure, technique(s), and form; race; gender; and, sustainability at New York University's Center for Ballet and the Arts and Barnard College, Columbia University.

Casting for the fifth and sixth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2016 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet, announces its Placement Class schedule in order to determine fall classes.

On the evening of May 16th 2016 at the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center, the beloved troupe that was recognized as 'America's National Ballet Company' in 2006 by the United States Congress proved once again that the American Ballet Theatre is indeed a treasure. Dancegoers in dazzling formal attire were treated to a Spring Gala that eschewed traditional staples and showcased instead an appetite-whetting smorgasbord of excerpts from the spring season as well as a world premiere and the one-act Firebird.

A review of ABT's performance of 'Sylvia' at the Met Opera House.

Titled LIFE IN MOTION: AN UNLIKELY BALLERINA, the project is based on Copeland's biography of the same name. REMEMBER THE TITAN's Gregory Allen Howard will pen the film's script.

The Music Center named 14 outstanding Southern California high school students as Grand Prize Finalists in the 28th annual The Music Center's Spotlight (Spotlight), a free nationally recognized scholarship and arts training program for teens.

Casting for the third and fourth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2016 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Founder and Artistic Director of The Black Iris Project, Jeremy McQueen is an award-winning emerging choreographer. A 2013 recipient of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago's Choreographers of Color Award and two-time finalist of the Capezio Award for Choreographic Excellence, McQueen's work has appeared at Jacob's Pillow Dance's Inside/Out series (in 2012 & 2013), Dancers Responding to AIDS' Fire Island Dance Festival, the Young Choreographer's Festival, and more. McQueen has appeared in the Broadway National Tours of 'Wicked' and 'The Color Purple', in addition to the Metropolitan Opera's productions of 'Die Fledermaus', 'Aida', 'Les Contes d'Hoffmann', and 'Don Giovanni'. McQueen currently teaches ballet for ABT's and Ailey's educational outreach programs. A graduate of The Ailey School/Fordham University B.F.A Program, he's trained as a scholarship recipient with American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, and Alonzo King's LINES Ballet.

Now here's one headline you WON'T want to miss! As Disney's NEWSIES continues to carry the banner on its National Tour, cast member Nico DeJesus (Romeo) is seizing the day by offering a unique opportunity for dancers and musical theatre performers during the cast's Southern California stop.