David Michalek News

Wendy Whelan, whom The New York Times has called 'America's greatest contemporary ballerina,' has danced with New York City Ballet for 29 years. With the company, she has mastered Balanchine's neo-classical repertory, dance classics such as Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake and created works with many of today's leading choreographers. Having reached the height of her field, Whelan, now 46, is embarking on a groundbreaking journey at an age when most ballerinas simply retire from the stage. She has launched Wendy Whelan New Works Initiative, which begins with Restless Creature, a suite of four duets, each with its own distinct style and artistry, created by and danced with Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Brian Brooks and Alejandro Cerrudo. The work will tour to nine cities this spring including New York, London and Boston from March 18-July 26.

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) continues its season-long initiative, coLABoratory: Playing It UNsafe, the first and only professional research and development lab to support the creation of cutting-edge new American orchestral music through no-holds-barred experimentation, encouraging composers to do anything but 'play it safe.' Audiences will have the opportunity to see and hear the composers' works-in-progress at free lab workshops today, March 5, 2013 at 10am at Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY), and Today, April 2, 2013 at 2pm at The DiMenna Center (450 W. 37th St., NYC). coLABoratory culminates on Friday, April 5, 2013 at 7:30pm with a concert featuring all of the new works at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, conducted by ACO Music Director George Manahan.

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) continues its season-long initiative, coLABoratory: Playing It UNsafe, the first and only professional research and development lab to support the creation of cutting-edge new American orchestral music through no-holds-barred experimentation, encouraging composers to do anything but 'play it safe.' Audiences will have the opportunity to see and hear the composers' works-in-progress at free lab workshops on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 10am at Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY), and Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 2pm at The DiMenna Center (450 W. 37th St., NYC). coLABoratory culminates on Friday, April 5, 2013 at 7:30pm with a concert featuring all of the new works at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, conducted by ACO Music Director George Manahan.

New York City Opera opens its spring 2013 season with a new production of Powder Her Face (1995), composed by Thomas Ades (b.1971) to a libretto by Philip Hensher (b. 1965).

New York City Opera opens its spring 2013 season with a new production of Powder Her Face (1995), composed by Thomas Adès (b.1971) to a libretto by Philip Hensher (b. 1965).

Diavolo Dance Theater, the Los Angeles based internationally renowned dance company led by artistic director Jacques Heim, will have a residency with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center as part of the 2011-2012 season, to create 'Transit Space,' a new work inspired by skateboard culture -- a sport and an art form invented in Southern California in the 1950s.

Diavolo Dance Theater, the Los Angeles based internationally renowned dance company led by artistic director Jacques Heim, will have a residency with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center as part of the 2011-2012 season, to create 'Transit Space,' a new work inspired by skateboard culture -- a sport and an art form invented in Southern California in the 1950s.

As previously announced, Lincoln Center Festival 2011, which runs from July 5-August 14, will offer 116 performances by ensembles and artists from some 20 countries, and will include 6 World, North American, U.S., and New York premieres unfolding in seven venues on and off the Lincoln Center campus.

Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center announces the ninth season of its international dance series. Six companies representing the United States, Scotland, France, Switzerland and Russia will participate in 22 performances at the Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Ahmanson Theatre, in a season that is not only culturally diverse, but also boasts a residency by Diavolo Dance Theater, a Music Center co-commission with Penn State and a part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, an initiative of the Getty in collaboration with more than 60 cultural institutions across Southern California.

The Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet joins the previously-announced Royal Shakespeare Company and The Cleveland Orchestra, completing the trio of leading performing ensembles coming to New York this summer as part of Lincoln Center Festival 2011. Nigel Redden, Festival Director, today announced the complete Festival schedule, which runs from July 5 through August 14. In a co-presentation with the Metropolitan Opera, the renowned Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet returns to the Festival for eight performances at the Met Opera House, dancing three programs. Highlighting the company's appearance are the U.S. premieres of Anna Karenina and The Little Humpbacked Horse, evening-length ballets by critically-acclaimed choreographer Alexei Ratmansky set to music by leading Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin. A third program pairs Alberto Alonso's Carmen Suite, to Shchedrin's arrangement of Bizet's score, and George Balanchine's neo-classical masterwork Symphony in C, also with music by Bizet. Artistic Director of the Mariinsky, Valery Gergiev will conduct the Mariinsky Orchestra.

The complete schedule for Lincoln Center Festival 2007, which will run July 10-29 and include 93 performances and events by artists and ensembles from 14 countries, has been announced.