George Balanchine News

On Monday, June 29, ballet students from around the world started their first day of training at Princeton Ballet School, the official school of NJ's premiere professional ballet company American Repertory Ballet, at the school's studios in the Princeton Shopping Center. This is Princeton Ballet School's 33rd year of offering their Summer Intensive course, making it one of the oldest programs in the United States.

Terry Teachout, drama critic for The Wall Street Journal, playwright, librettist, and biographer, will add another title to his impressive list of accomplishments when he makes his directorial debut next season with Palm Beach Dramaworks' production of his acclaimed play, Satchmo at the Waldorf. The piece, in which Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong reminisces about his life and career just months before his death, closes out PBD's 2015 - 2016 season.

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announces dates and subscription tickets for the 2015 - 2016 Season Artistic Advisor master classes and events -- Suzanne Farrell, former Principal Dancer in George Balanchine's New York City Ballet and founder of Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center (January 24, 2016); Judith Jamison, dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director Emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (April 5, 2016); Patti LuPone, Grammy, Olivier and Tony Award-winning actor and singer (March 31, 2016); Arturo Sandoval, Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter, pianist, composer and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (October 27, 2015); and Denzel Washington, Academy, Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning actor (September 17, 2015). 

Heightening its role as a powerful commissioning force, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center - The Music Center's acclaimed dance series - is introducing an exciting new chapter in dance with the world premiere of BalletNow, an original three-performance program for which American Ballet Theatre Principals Roberto Bolle and Herman Cornejo are serving as artistic directors. Bolle and Cornejo have formed an international ensemble of 18 major dancers from 12 foreign countries for three distinctive performances, with many of the dancers performing at The Music Center and in Southern California for the first time.

July 1 through July 31, American Repertory Ballet will be celebrating 'Nutcracker in July,' offering discounted tickets for Nutcracker performances at Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway and McCarter Theatre in Princeton. Additionally, ARB is celebrating the July kick-off of ticket sales for this holiday classic with community partners in downtown Princeton, who will be involved in ARB's social media contest. The contest winner will receive 4 complimentary tickets to Nutcracker at McCarter Theatre.

Remember history class in high school? The teacher presented a lecture and told us how exciting a certain historical period had been, going on to incessantly bore us because we had no recourse other than to take indecipherable notes we couldn't understand later, finally coming to the conclusion that history was, and always would be, a painstaking bore, better consigned to the college professors we were bound to meet sooner or later on our educational journey to adulthood and, hopefully, a job. That's very much what I thought about the American Ballet Theater's new production of Alexei Ratmansky's 'Sleeping Beauty.' I hate to sound churlish, but so much ink, not to mention so many dollars, have been lavished on this production, that, beyond some more extra performances and, probably, a showing on Great Performances, it will disappear within two years. At least it will be in the archives for future generations to watch.

(May 28, 2015) Joffrey Ballet Artistic Director Ashley Wheater will be awarded the prestigious University of Chicago Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal at UChicago's 523rd Convocation, tonight, June 13.

Today, June 12, 2015 from 12:00pm to 3:00pm at the Cherry Valley Country Club in Skillman, NJ, Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet, will host its second annual fashion show: 'Turn Out for Fashion.'

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced the faculty for its American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School that begins its full 36-week school year on September 14, 2015 and runs through June 11, 2016. The Center has added classes to accommodate the growing enrollment.

New York City Ballet announced today the promotion of three of the Company's dancers. Soloists Lauren Lovette and Anthony Huxley have been promoted to the rank of principal dancer, and corps de ballet member Ashly Isaacs has been promoted to soloist.

The School of American Ballet's Workshop Performance Benefit 2015 on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 raised more than $890,000 for scholarships and school programs. The evening began with cocktails at 5:30pm in Juilliard's Morse Hall, followed by the performance at 7pm in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center, and concluded with a seated dinner at 9pm at the Mandarin Oriental. The evening celebrated the legendary Rudolf Nureyev and commemorated the 20th Anniversary of the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Scholarship.

On Sunday, June 31, 2015, New York City Ballet offered the sweet, the mundane, and the historical. If I were a lyricist I could write a song about this, but since my iambic pentameter is almost non-existent, and my Stephen Sondheim thesaurus nowhere to be found, I guess I'll have to push forward in everyday prose.

Philadelphia, PA (June 1, 2015) – Pennsylvania Ballet and Artistic Director Angel Corella are pleased to announce that Soloist Alexander Peters has been promoted to Principal Dancer, the highest rank in the Company, for the 2015-2016 Season. 

The School of American Ballet announces the Workshop Performance Benefit 2015 tonight, June 2, 2015.

SAB's annual Workshop performances have been a treasured staple on NYC dance lovers' calendars ever since 1965 when the legendary Alexandra Danilova, then a faculty member, initiated the iconic spring ritual. The event is not a graduation ceremony, but rather a tantalizing glimpse of what the future of dance may hold. This year, not only the school's most promising advanced students but also a group of prodigiously talented nine to 14-year-olds took the stage in fully costumed performances of excerpts from the New York City Ballet repertory, danced to live orchestral accompaniment.

(May 28, 2015) Joffrey Ballet Artistic Director Ashley Wheater will be awarded the prestigious University of Chicago Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal at UChicago's 523rd Convocation, Saturday, June 13.

The curtain comes down on Pacific Northwest Ballet's 42nd season with its annual Season Encore Performance, a crowd-pleasing reprise of some of PNB's greatest hits.  An evening of thrilling selections and inspired performances, the program will feature PNB's entire Company, along with the mighty PNB Orchestra (now celebrating its 25th Anniversary) under the baton of Music Director/Principal Conductor Emil de Cou.  The evening also celebrates the extraordinary careers of PNB's departing dancers with George Balanchine's Serenade and selections from his Jewels, the local premiere of a work by former PNB Company member Andrew Bartee, a sneak preview of Jessica Lang's The Calling(to be presented as part of PNB's 2015-2016 season) and others.  The Season Encore Performance will be presented one night only, Sunday, June 7 at 6:30 pm at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street at Seattle Center.

Manhattan Youth Ballet presents WITH REGARD... In Practice & Performance this weekend, May 29 - 30, 2015 and A Gala Benefit honoring Marina Stavitskaya on Sunday, May 31, 2015 at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center.