Wendy Whelan News

The International Festival of Arts & Ideas (IFAI) today announced highlights of its much-anticipated 2016 season, June 10-25, featuring the U.S. premiere of 'Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour,' a critically and audience-acclaimed production from theNational Theatre of Scotland.

Professional Children's School alumni Arlene Shuler and Robert Fairchild will be on hand to receive the PCS LEGACIES AWARD at a gala benefit featuring a cabaret performance by some of the school's most talented current students.

? The world-renowned Hamburg Ballet is making its highly anticipated and long awaited return to Chicago bringing two works; Othello on February 23 & 24 at 7:30PM as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago and Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler, considered John Neumeier's masterwork, on February 26 & 27 at 7:30PM. Plus, get an exclusive look at what it takes for a world renowned ballet company to put on two full productions in this never-before-seen interview with Hamburg's Technical Director, Frank Zollner, HERE.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic direction of Glenn Edgerton, announces today its third mainstage engagement of the 2015-16 dance season. March 17-20, 2016 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Season 38 Spring Series features a world premiere by choreographer and Hubbard Street Rehearsal Director Lucas Crandall, creator of numerous acclaimed works including Atelier, Gimme, and The Set.

While pre-professional dancers have been integrated into professional productions ever since the early days of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, it is unusual for ballet students to have ballets especially choreographed for them.

In the summer of 2016, The School at Jacob's Pillow, a world renowned center for professional dance training with diversely experienced and international artists will present Professional Advancement Programs in Ballet, Contemporary, Musical Theatre Dance, and a new program titled Improv Traditions & Innovations: From Ring Shout to Blues to Jazz. These programs will take place during the 84th annual Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, led by a highly-distinguished artist faculty, and offer an incomparable combination of studio, performance, and Festival experiences.

The Sixth Annual Clive Barnes Awards for Theatre and Dance will be held this afternoon, January 11, at 3 p.m. at The Walter Reade Theatre, Lincoln Center. One recipient from each category will be chosen and the winners announced today. All finalists will receive a cash prize, with the winners in each category receiving an award of $5,000.

Following the critical acclaim and record-breaking ticket sales and attendance of Festival 2015, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival announces a new season of exciting programming featuring international artists, world premieres, and an impressive number of live music engagements. This season signals an exciting new era in Pillow history, as the Board of Directors plans to name a new Jacob's Pillow Director in early 2016. Former Executive and Artistic Director Ella Baff stepped down from her role in September of 2015, following a successful 17-year tenure.

As part of the eleventh edition of the COIL festival, Performance Space 122 and The Chocolate Factory present I Understand Everything Better, by recent Bessie Award Winner David Neumann. I Understand Everything Better is a deeply personal reflection on the consciousness of dying and interrupted narratives within the context of a cataclysmic storm. Combining personal narratives, traditional Japanese Noh theater and Neumann's virtuosic movement and humor, collaborators Tei Blow and Sibyl Kempson unite with Neumann to reveal the shimmer of attention to realms unseen, the concurrence of unrelated events and the body as evidence of a will having to let go.

Juilliard Dance, under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes, opens its 2015-16 season this month with 'New Dances: Edition 2015' featuring four world-premiere dances by innovative choreographers Helen Simoneau (First-Year Dancers); Aszure Barton (Second-Year Dancers); Zvi Gotheiner (Third-Year Dancers); and Kyle Abraham(Fourth-Year Dancers).

Sandra Mae Frank and Katie Boeck share a nomination for their performance as Wendla.

Rich in history and antiquated opulence, the BAM Harvey served as the ideal theater for David Michalek's imaginative Hagoromo, the world premiere of a multi-medium artistic portrait of self-proclaimed "Sky, Earth, World, Flesh". A venue rooted to its past with an aesthetic that looks toward the future, Hagoromo served the space by exploring the physical and tonal differences between Heaven and Earth.

Sylvia Milo's award-winning THE OTHER MOZART, directed by Isaac James Byrne, is the true, untold story of Nannerl Mozart, the sister of Amadeus -- a prodigy, keyboard virtuoso and composer, who performed throughout Europe with her brother to equal acclaim, but her work and her story faded away, lost to history. Due to popular demand, THE OTHER MOZART will continue its limited engagement, with the rotating cast of Sylvia Milo and Samantha Hoefer, at Off-Broadway's The Players Theatre (115 MacDougal Street, NYC -- Third floor - no elevator) through Monday, January 18.

Today, October 24th, Samantha Hoefer will premiere in the role of Nannerl Mozart, then continue, alternating performances with Sylva Milo.

Sylvia Milo's award-winning THE OTHER MOZART, directed by Isaac James Byrne, is the true, untold story of Nannerl Mozart, the sister of Amadeus -- a prodigy, keyboard virtuoso and composer, who performed throughout Europe with her brother to equal acclaim, but her work and her story faded away, lost to history. On Saturday, October 24th, Samantha Hoefer will premiere in the role of Nannerl Mozart, then continue, alternating performances with Sylva Milo.

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announce the lineup of special guests for the 2015 ceremony. Acclaimed former New York City Ballet principal Jock Soto and performance artist and playwright Carmelita Tropicana will host the event. The 31st Annual Bessie Awards will be held on Monday, October 19, at 7:30pm, at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York City. Doors open at 6:30pm for red carpet and pre-show celebrations.

New York City Center today announced three diverse dance engagements which complete programming for the 2015-16 season.

Fire Island Dance Festival returned for its 21st edition July 17-19, 2015, with some of the most talked-about world-class dance companies, raising a record-breaking $544,555 for Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The festival, performed outdoors on the picture-perfect shores of the Great South Bay in Fire Island Pines, included the world premieres of five works. Scroll down for photos from the performances!

Fans of the arts and luxury travel will not want to miss the 27th season of the Vail International Dance Festival this summer, which will take place from July 27-August 10.