American Ballet Theatre News

The Festival Ballet Theatre will present Don Quixote at Irvine Barclay, Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 2:00 PM.

Youth America Grand Prix presents 'Creating the Dance with Marcelo Gomes' on Monday February 4 at 6:30pm. The evening will begin with a panel discussion, followed by a rare and fascinating peak into the collaborative process essential to create a dance that is set to music, and conclude with an informal reception, all at New York City Center Studios, Studio 4 (130 West 56th Street, NYC).

A delightful midwinter night's dream, ALMOST, MAINE by John Cariani will play TheaterWorks in downtown Hartford. The sweet and poignant comedy runs January 25 - March 3, 2013, directed by Amy Saltz.

DONNA ROSS, former soloist of the Joffrey Ballet, will be on the faculty for Motion 41 Dance's Summer Intensive from June 10-15, 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Founded by dance superstar Rasta Thomas (Dance Theater of Harlem, Kirov Ballet), the Bad Boys of Dance are a fresh, new dance company that has performed in Carnegie Hall with Sir Elton John and have toured 150 cities performing for 500,000 fans. Talented, young, versatile, and male-mostly-the Bad Boys will bring to Three Stages a night of extraordinary athleticism and endearing individuality.

On Saturday, January 12, 2013, the National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) raised in excess of $1 million in support of YoungArts programs in Miami, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles at An Affair of the Arts Performance and Gala. Held in Downtown Miami, the evening honored director and choreographer Debbie Allen (Leadership Award), violinist Joshua Bell (Arison Award), and actor and alumnus Adrian Grenier (Alumni Award) and brought together prominent artists, community leaders, philanthropists and celebrities. In addition to the honorees, notable attendees included Lin Arison, Sarah S. Arison, Elizabeth and Facundo Bacardi, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Charles Bronfman, Chick Corea, Jacques d'Amboise, Bill T. Jones, Jeannine and Paul T. Lehr, Marile and Jorge Luis Lopez, Esq., Debi Mazar, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jorge M. Pérez, Desmond Richardson, City of Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, Andrew Rannells, Max Schneider, Zuzanna Szadkowski, and Marisa Tomei. Select images of the gala are available upon request.

The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) will honor director and choreographer Debbie Allen, violinist Joshua Bell and actor and alumnus Adrian Grenier at An Affair of the Arts Performance and Gala tonight, January 12, 2013, held in Downtown Miami at the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts and the Historic Alfred I. DuPont Building. The evening will bring together prominent artists, community leaders, philanthropists and celebrities to applaud the participants in the 2013 edition of YoungArts' signature program, YoungArts Week, which provides 150 of the nation's most outstanding young talents in the visual, literary and performing arts with life-changing experiences, including master classes, workshops, inter-disciplinary activities, performances and exhibitions.

The 11th Annual DanceFest 2013 takes place from tonight, January 12th - January 20th at the Palace Theatre in Stamford. DanceFest is an annual dance festival designed for intermediate and advanced dance students ages 10-18 who train at area dance schools from Westchester and Fairfield Counties. Students participate in master classes taught by outstanding professionals in the dance world in seven different disciplines. School directors, teachers and parents are invited to observe the classes. The festival culminates with the Student Festival Performance of original choreography performed on the HARMAN stage of the Palace Theatre on Sunday, January 20th at 6:00 PM.

Marking the 25th anniversary of the John Waters' original film, Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly brings together an all-star cast of Broadway, film and TV stars for the full symphonic production of the Broadway musical, Hairspray. Hairspray: In Concert! will premiere with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra tonight, Jan. 11-13, 2013, and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Jan. 24-27, 2013.

Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford today announced the DGA's nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television and Commercials for the year 2012.

Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA) collaborates with Symphony Pro Musica in a concert performance of Prokofiev's Cinderella Suite. The ballet excerpt, choreographed by Clyde Nantais, is part of Symphony Pro Musica's "Musical Matinee: A Family Concert." Performances are at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 26 at Hudson High School and on Sunday, January 27 at Westborough High School. Under the direction of founder and Music Director Mark Churchill, the premier MetroWest community symphony orchestra will present a family-friendly program that also includes Poulenc's The Story of Babar with narration and Saint-Saen's The Elephant and Fossils with student musicians from Hudson and Westborough.

The 11th Annual DanceFest 2013 takes place from January 12th - January 20th at the Palace Theatre in Stamford. DanceFest is an annual dance festival designed for intermediate and advanced dance students ages 10-18 who train at area dance schools from Westchester and Fairfield Counties. Students participate in master classes taught by outstanding professionals in the dance world in seven different disciplines. School directors, teachers and parents are invited to observe the classes. The festival culminates with the Student Festival Performance of original choreography performed on the HARMAN stage of the Palace Theatre on Sunday, January 20th at 6:00 PM.

American Ballet Theatre has announced an exchange program that will bring Steven McRae, a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet and Alban Lendorf, a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet, to perform as exchange artists during ABT's 2013 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House. The exchange program was announced today by Kevin McKenzie, ABT Artistic Director. McRae will dance the role of Lankendem in Le Corsaire at the June 5 matinee and June 8 evening performances. Lendorf will dance the role of Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty at the Saturday, July 6 matinee.

For nearly four decades (1957-1994), Martha Swope was America's pre-eminent photographer of theater and dance, her discerning eye chronicling hundreds of classical ballets, modern dance, and Broadway performances and performers. But she also went behind-the-scenes, documenting what audiences never get to experience-the creative collaborations that make the magic on stage possible: rehearsals.

American Ballet Theatre has announced an exchange program that will bring Steven McRae, a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet and Alban Lendorf, a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet, to perform as exchange artists during ABT's 2013 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House. The exchange program was announced today by Kevin McKenzie, ABT Artistic Director. McRae will dance the role of Lankendem in Le Corsaire at the June 5 matinee and June 8 evening performances. Lendorf will dance the role of Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty at the Saturday, July 6 matinee.

Dance from the Heart returns to New York City' this month on Monday, January 28 and Tuesday, January 29, 2013 with shows at 6:30pm & 8:30pm each night at Cedar Lake Theater, 547 W. 26th Street in Manhattan's West Chelsea Historic District. The exciting benefit will feature performances by more than a dozen of the most diverse dancers, dance companies and choreographers working today. Dance from the Heart will present a different program of performances for each night (see schedule below), a poignant anti-bullying number danced by teenagers and the world premiere of a piece choreographed by American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Marcelo Gomes.

Hi! My name is Cody Williams and I am so excited to be working on Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella. Over the next month I'll be blogging about my rehearsal experience for this INCREDIBLE production. We rehearse at the historic 890 Broadway building, home to the American Ballet Theatre, Gibney Dance Center, and some of the nicest elevators in all of New York! My time with R+H's Cinderella started this summer with a month long workshop, continued with a reading in October and although we hadn't yet started actual rehearsals, we performed in the Macy's Day Parade this Thanksgiving (check that sucker of the bucket list!) We started rehearsal for the Broadway production the first week of December.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim has announced its spring 2013 season. Since 1984, the performing-arts series has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators and performers. Each intimate, 80-minute performance uniquely combines artistic creation and stimulating conversation and takes place in the Guggenheim's Frank Lloyd Wright-designed, 285-seat Peter B. Lewis Theater, where new reserved seating is now offered. A reception for the audience and artists follows most programs. Described by the New York Times as "a popular series devoted to shedding light on the creative process," Works & Process is produced by founder Mary Sharp Cronson. Past performance highlights can be viewed at youtube.com/worksandprocess.

The Festival Ballet Theatre in Fountain Valley, Calif., is the premiere ballet company in the Orange County Area. The ballet will present a handful of upcoming Nutcracker performances from tonight, December 14th to the 24th at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

Last weekend, Connecticut Concert Ballet welcomed professional dancer and Hartford resident Eddy Tovar to the Bailey Auditorium. Eddy is performing as a Guest Artist in the title role of Connecticut Concert Ballet's 2012 production, The Nutcracker. There are three more performances this week in Manchester.