Margot Fonteyn News

On Saturday, August 27, Jacob's Pillow Dance announced plans to build a new dance studio on the historic Jacob's Pillow campus. The announcement was made by Director Pamela Tatge at the Pillow's 2016 Festival Finale, with the official ground-breaking ceremony to take place at the Pillow on Friday, October 14 at 5pm.

 In what promises to be the theatrical event of 2017, Arts Centre Melbourne is bringing Matthew Bourne's production of Lord of the Flies to the State Theatre stage from 5 - 9 April.

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2016 presents the second artistic collaboration of Wendy Whelan and Brian Brooks with live music by string quartet Brooklyn Rider in Some of a Thousand Words, July 27-31.

Hubbard Street 2, the young second company of the world-renowned Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, will present Mariko's Magical Mix: A Dance Adventure for their Jacob's Pillow debut, in the Doris Duke Theatre, tonight, July 13-17.

Hubbard Street 2, the young second company of the world-renowned Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, will present Mariko's Magical Mix: A Dance Adventure for their Jacob's Pillow debut, in the Doris Duke Theatre, July 13-17.

DANCING WITH THE DEVIL, a dynamic visual performance about an imaginary meeting between dying Russian superstar ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev and Dame Margot Fonteyn in the last years of Nureyev's life, will get its world premiere in five performances at the Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells, from Sunday 26 June - Wednesday 29 June. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at Theatre Lab Company's cast below!

New York Theatre Ballet will perform two works at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in the Doris Duke Theatre from August 3- 7, 2016. Jacob's Pillow, a National Historic Landmark, National Medal of Arts recipient, and home to America's longest-running dance festival, is located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts at 358 George Carter Road in Becket.

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2016 opens its 84th annual season with exciting contemporary dance company Aspen Santa Fe Ballet presenting a diverse program, June 22-26 in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is dually-based in New Mexico and Colorado and led by Artistic Director Tom Mossbrucker and Executive Director Jean-Philippe Malaty. Exhibiting masterful technique and powerful performances, the company brings stirring works by a roster of esteemed choreographers including Alejandro Cerrudo's Silent Ghost, Fernando Melo's Re:play, and Cayetano Soto's Huma Rojo.

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.

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.

The 2016 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award, a prestigious honor that carries a $25,000 cash prize, will be presented to contemporary choreographer, dancer, and artistic director Camille A. Brown in acknowledgement of her vision and outstanding contributions to the dance field. Regularly garnering acclaim for her 'vividness and versatility' (Alastair Macaulay, The New York Times), Brown holds a New York Dance and Performance ('Bessie') Award, two Princess Grace Awards, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, and her work has toured nationally and internationally. The Jacob's Pillow Dance Award was established in 2007 and, in honor of its 10th anniversary, the Pillow has broadened the scope of this honor with a commitment to the artist's growth and future work. In addition to the unrestricted cash prize, this Award also includes a committed engagement for the 2017 Festival and a Creative Development Residency at Jacob's Pillow. Previous recipients of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Award include the legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham; MacArthur Fellows Michelle Dorrance and Kyle Abraham; and John Heginbotham of Dance Heginbotham, among others.

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.

?From February 25 - March 6, 2016, in celebration of Artistic Director Emeritus Ben Stevenson's 80th birthday, Houston Ballet will revive his spectacular staging of The Sleeping Beauty. The ballet is a flagship work for the company and a piece that is recognized as one of the supreme achievements of classical ballet. The Sleeping Beauty is based on the classic French fairy tale by Charles Perrault: a beautiful princess is cursed by an evil fairy and doomed to sleep for 100 years - only to be awakened by the kiss of the handsome prince who loves her. Desmond Heeley's spectacular designs beautifully evoke the magic, drama and whimsy of this great work. Houston Ballet will give nine performances of The Sleeping Beauty at Wortham Theater Center in downtown Houston. Tickets may be purchased by calling 713 227 2787 or by visiting www.houstonballet.org.

Darcey Bussell CBE, Tom Daley and David Walliams are today, 1 December 2015, announced as patrons of Matthew Bourne's charity Re:Bourne.

The Ridgefield Playhouse and AAA Northeast Live in HD Series present an encore screening of the Bolshoi Ballet's Lady of Camellias, John Neumeier's dramatic masterpiece, on Sunday, December 6, at 7:00 p.m. 

Ballet Memphis, under the artistic direction of Dorothy Gunther Pugh, will return to New York City's Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Avenue) for the first time since 2007 for a limited run this October. Performances begin Tuesday,October27th and run through Sunday, November 1st.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) announces the award of a $3 million gift from the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation to create the Rudolf Nureyev Endowment and to name the Rudolf Nureyev Studio. This is the first endowment gift to Baryshnikov Arts Center, made as it celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year. It is specifically designated to support dance activity at BAC and to name BAC's Studio 4A the Rudolf Nureyev Studio in perpetuity. The gift was announced by Barry L. Weinstein, the Chairman of the Board of the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation at BAC's 10th Anniversary Fall Fete on September 28, held at the Center.

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.

Marius Petipa first staged Don Quixote for the Imperial Bolshoi Theater in 1869 to great acclaim, and it immediately entered the ballet canon.  Almost every ballet enthusiast has seen a version of this work--new productions run the risk of seeming stale and mundane.  This general familiarity made The Royal Ballet's decision to open its American tour with the U.S. premiere of Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote daring.  The gambit paid off, however, as this production proved to be a fresh take on an old warhorse.

Vienna Festival Ballet is currently in the midst of its 35th Anniversary Gala UK tour which celebrates their extensive repertoire and wonderful performers. I had the privilege of speaking to the company's principal female dancer, Emily-Joy Smith, who is presently enjoying performing some of her favourite characters all in one show!