James Whiteside News

American Ballet Theatre's 2017 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 15-July 8, will feature the New York Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's Whipped Cream and the Company Premiere of Ratmansky's Souvenir d'un lieu cher, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.  

Casting for American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker, co-presented by Segerstrom Center for the Arts and ABT, was announced today by Kevin McKenzie, ABT Artistic Director and Terry Dwyer, Segerstrom Center President. Choreographed by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, The Nutcracker will be given 12 performances at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, December 9-18, 2016. The Nutcracker, set to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, features choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, scenery and costumes by award-winning designer Richard Hudson and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. The Pacific Symphony performs the beloved holiday score. In the Los Angeles Times review from last year's inaugural Center performance, it declared, "Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky has made his own Christmas miracle: a joyful 'Nutcracker' ballet that is ravishing and clever enough to inspire multiple viewings."

Programming for American Ballet Theatre's 2016 Fall Season, October 19-30, at the David H. Koch Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.  The season will feature a World Premiere by Jessica Lang, the Company Premiere of Daphnis and Chloe by Benjamin Millepied and revivals of George Balanchine's Prodigal Son and Frederick Ashton's Symphonic Variations.

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

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.

Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing full-service self-publishing and book marketing company and a proud sponsor of the 25th annual Colorado Book Awards, announced that the 2016 finalists have been selected. This annual event is run by The Colorado Center for the Book, the program department of the Colorado Humanities, which is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of Colorado's outstanding authors, editors, illustrators and photographers.

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

American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Studio Company opened their three-day performance schedule on the evening of April 15, 2016, at The Joyce Theater. The troupe offered a  program of five balletic acts that included one world premiere and two New York City premieres. With a full house, numerous supporters of the ABT attended. I recognized a few corps de ballet members of the company, principal dancer of ABT Gillian Murphy, and the extraordinary ballerina Alessandra Ferri in the audience. It was a lovely gesture for them and for many other guests to see the upcoming dancers who could someday be part of the ABT main company.

The World Premiere of a new work by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky will highlight American Ballet Theatre's 2016 Spring Gala benefit on Monday, May 16 at 6:30 P.M. at the Metropolitan Opera House.

American Ballet Theatre's 2016 Spring season will be highlighted by a World Premiere work by Alexei Ratmansky, the American Premiere of Ratmansky's The Golden Cockerel and a revival of Frederick Ashton's La Fille mal gardee. Tickets for ABT's Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House go on sale at the box office on Sunday, March 20 at 12 Noon.

This July everyone's favourite furry monster roars back into the West End in celebration of his 15th anniversary on stage! Tall Stories' smash hit production of The Gruffalo, which first opened on the 12 May 2001, 18 months after the book was first published, returns to the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue by popular demand from 6 July until 4 September 2016, forming a huge part of this summer's West End calendar.

KidsFest 2016 in Manila, which features the acclaimed stage adaptation of THE GRUFFALO, based on Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's beloved picture book, plays Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, in Makati City from tomorrow, January 27, to Sunday, January 31. Tickets can be purchased at TicketWorld.com.ph.

The Vail International Dance Festival announces its 2016 season (July 30- August 13) and celebrates the10th Anniversary of its Artistic Director, former New York City Ballet star Damian Woetzel. In celebration of his 10th year, the season will feature Isabella Boylston as Artist-in-Residence, Company-in-Residence BalletX, and other companies appearing will include Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dorrance Dance, and Paul Taylor's American Modern Dance. Under Woetzel's direction the Festival has presented over 45 new works, and 2016 will add at least ten world premieres to that list with new pieces by choreographers Jodie Gates, Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener, Matthew Neenan, Claudia Schreier, Shantala Shivalingappa, Jodi Melnick and more. This year's special UpClose performance (Aug. 3) will feature artists who regularly make Vail their creative summer home under Woetzel's direction, including Carla Körbes, Tiler Peck, Lil Buck, and Robert Fairchild.

The Joyce Theater held the premiere of Daniil SImkin's INTENSIO. The downtown venue was the intimate setting for this well-received production. The personal side of Daniil Simkin, American Ballet Theatre's principal dancer, was one of the highlights which expressed to us his ballet training and his passion of this beloved dance style.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) is proud to present the New York premiere of Daniil Simkin's INTENSIO, a program of works featuring an exceptional company of dancers, including Simkiin's fellow American Ballet Theatre members Isabella Boylston, Alexandre Hammoudi, Blaine Hoven, Calvin Royal III, Hee Seo, Cassandra Trenary and James Whiteside and guest artist Céline Cassone. Featuring works by acclaimed choreographers Gregory Dolbashian, Alexander Ekman, Jorma Elo and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, this must-see event will take place from January 5-10 at The Joyce Theater. Tickets range in price from $10-$75 and can be purchased through JoyceCharge at www.Joyce.org, or by calling 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.

Misty Copeland gave her first performance as principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre on November 24, 2015. I felt fortunate to be in attendance, as she began to weave her ballerina magic on yet another mesmerized full house.

American Ballet Theatre's 2016 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. A World Premiere work by Alexei Ratmansky and the American Premiere of Ratmansky's THE GOLDEN COCKEREL will highlight the season, which includes six additional full-length ballets.

A tiny mouse and a giant Gruffalo with 'knobbly knees, and turned-out toes, and a poisonous wart at the end of his nose' will take New York by storm when London's Tall Stories (The Snail and the Whale, New Vic 2014) brings its adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's beloved award-winning picture book The Gruffalo out of the deep dark wood and into the big city. Created for ages four through seven, The Gruffalo runs at The New Victory Theater, New York City's premier performing arts venue for kids and families, from October 17-25, 2015.

Los Angeles is in for a treat next month! Tony and Grammy-winner Audra McDonald comes to the Hollywood Bowl to sing classics from Broadway and the American Songbook with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Bramwell Tovey, Tuesday and Thursday, September 1 and 3, at 8 pm. Audiences on both nights will be entertained by McDonald singing famous tunes by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Mancini and Mercer, and others. The evenings also feature gifted American Ballet Theatre dancers on stage to bring Bernstein's Fancy Free to life performing Jerome Robbins' 1944 choreography.