Owen Belton News

The New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA) presents one of America's most prestigious companies, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC), for one performance only on Saturday, April 7 at 8 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts. An audience favorite back by popular demand and celebrating 40 years as a driving force of American contemporary dance, the company returns with a special anniversary program of master works from four decades of the company's illustrious history.

Juilliard Dance, led by acting artistic director Taryn Kaschock Russell, continues its season with Spring Dances, a repertory program featuring Merce Cunningham's Sounddance, set to Untitled 1975/1994 by David Tudor and staged by Jean Freebury; Crystal Pite's Grace Engine, set to music by Owen Belton and staged by Alexandra Damiani; and Twyla Tharp's Deuce Coupe, set to music by the Beach Boys and staged by Richard Colton.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage present Kidd Pivot and Electric Company Theatre: Betroffenheit choreographed and directed by Crystal Pite and written by Jonathon Young, for three performances only February 14 through 16. The Standard calls Pite, the most exciting choreographer in the world right now.

The repertory for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's 40th anniversary performance at Northrop on Jan 27, 7:30 pm, has been updated to feature celebrated choreographer Crystal Pite's A Picture of You Falling instead of The Golden Section by Twyla Tharp.

Diana Vishneva's CONTEXT Festival will celebrate contemporary choreography in Moscow from November 12 15 and in Saint Petersburg November 16 - 19. The festival features a wide range of choreographers, bringing international talents to share the stage with domestic artists. In its fifth year CONTEXT has grown from a three-day festival to an entire week dedicated to dance and movement, becoming a significant platform for gifted up-and-coming choreographers and dancers.

Juilliard Dance, entering its 66th season, opens its new season in December with New Dances: Edition 2017 featuring four world-premiere dances by up-and-coming choreographers Bryan Arias(first-year class), Gentian Doda (second-year class),Roy Assaf (third-year class), and Gustavo Ramirez Sansano (fourth-year class).

 Pi Theatre presents a refreshed remount of Peter Dickinson's otherworldly and resonant Long Division, April 26 - 30, 2017 at the Annex Theatre (823 Seymour Street). Directed by Richard Wolfe, with choreography by Lesley Telford and musical score by Owen Belton, the intellectually-charged, emotionally-gripping work combines multimedia and physical theatre to explore the mathematics of human connection. 

Nederlands Dans Theater 1, one of the world's most prolific and creative contemporary dance companies, will perform in Program 5 of the 2016 Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8 at 8 pm.

Nederlands Dans Theater 1, one of the world's most prolific and creative contemporary dance companies, will perform in Program 5 of the 2016 Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center today, October 7 and Saturday, October 8 at 8 pm.

Nederlands Dans Theater 1, one of the world's most prolific and creative contemporary dance companies, will perform in Program 5 of the 2016 Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8 at 8 pm.

Nederlands Dans Theater 1, one of the world's most prolific and creative contemporary dance companies, will perform in Program 5 of the 2016 Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8 at 8 pm.

Nederlands Dans Theater 1 returns to New York with a 2016 season that includes four U.S. premieres by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, Crystal Pite, and Marco Goecke, running November 16 – 19, 2016 at New York City Center.  Nederlands Dans Theater, under the Artistic Direction of choreographer Paul Lightfoot, is recognized as one of the world's most prolific and creative contemporary dance companies. 

Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet under the artistic direction of Peter Boal returned to New York City Center in February 2016 with an 'All Balanchine' program on the 24th and 25th followed by a triple bill, 'Contemporary Innovations', on the 26th and 27th. The latter, which I saw on the 26th, featured works by two choreographers who had at one time worked with William Forsythe as members of Ballett Frankfurt and a third piece by Forsythe himself. Forsythe's protegees created pieces that harked back to his own reinvention of classical ballet, yet went further in that direction with strikingly individual styles. The PNB dancers, superbly trained and impeccably rehearsed, gave world-class performances in all three of the evening's offerings. In particular, Angelica Generosa was a shining presence with superb technique. She is currently a member of the corps de ballet, but I see a promotion in her future.

Ballet Kelowna celebrates the New Year with the mixed repertory programme BOUNDLESS, at the Kelowna Community Theatre, February 5 and 6, 2016, at the Merritt Civic Centre, February 9, 2016 and at the Summerland Centre Stage Theatre, March 6, 2016.

Canadian Stage continues its 15.16 season this month with a series of boundary-stretching dance-theatre performances at the Bluma Appel Theatre including a pair of returning audience favourites and a newly commissioned North American premiere.

Ballet Kelowna celebrates the New Year with the mixed repertory programme BOUNDLESS, at the Kelowna Community Theatre, February 5 and 6, 2016, at the Merritt Civic Centre, February 9, 2016 and at the Summerland Centre Stage Theatre, March 6, 2016.

Canadian Stage continues its 15.16 season this February with a series of boundary-stretching dance-theatre performances at the Bluma Appel Theatre including a pair of returning audience favourites and a newly commissioned North American premiere.

SEATTLE, WA – For the second program of its 43rd season, Pacific Northwest Ballet provides a crystal-ball look at the next generation of dance makers with EMERGENCE, a program of four contemporary works. PNB audiences have been counting the days until they could see Crystal Pite's Emergence again, and PNB dancers have felt the same way. Kiyon Gaines' Sum Stravinsky was another immediate favorite when it debuted in PNB's 2012 ALL PREMIERE program. The Calling, a haunting work by choreographer Jessica Lang, artistic director of Jessica Lang Dance, receives its PNB season premiere, alongside a world premiere by PNB's own Price Suddarth. EMERGENCE runs for seven performances only, November 6 through 15 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $30. For more information, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org.

SEATTLE, WA – For the second program of its 43rd season, Pacific Northwest Ballet provides a crystal-ball look at the next generation of dance makers with EMERGENCE, a program of four contemporary works. PNB audiences have been counting the days until they could see Crystal Pite's Emergence again, and PNB dancers have felt the same way. Kiyon Gaines' Sum Stravinsky was another immediate favorite when it debuted in PNB's 2012 ALL PREMIERE program. The Calling, a haunting work by choreographer Jessica Lang, artistic director of Jessica Lang Dance, receives its PNB season premiere, alongside a world premiere by PNB's own Price Suddarth. EMERGENCE runs for seven performances only, November 6 through 15 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $30. For more information, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org.

43rd season to feature the return of audience favorites Emergence, Roméo et Juliette, and Coppélia. Other highlights include works by Christopher Wheeldon, Jerome Robbins, and Twyla Tharp, and PNB premieres by Alejandro Cerrudo, Jessica Lang and Justin Peck. The line-up also includes the PNB premiere of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, featuring new scenic and costume designs by Ian Falconer. September 2015 – June 2016 Marion Oliver McCaw Hall 321 Mercer Street, Seattle Center Seattle, Washington