Wendy Whelan News

New York City Center's 2014-15 season features an exciting lineup of dance and musical theater that begins with the 11th season of City Center's acclaimed Fall for Dance Festival. The Festival features 24 acclaimed dance companies and artists from around the world, and will kick off in September with two free dance performances at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in association with The Public Theater, followed by five unique programs at City Center in October. The Band Wagon, an Encores! Special Event starring Brian Stokes Mitchell, follows in November, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, City Center's Principal Dance Company, returns for a month-long engagement in December.

New York City Center's 11th annual Fall for Dance Festival will feature free performances in Central Park and 24 acclaimed dance companies and artists from around the world, in six unique programs in September and October 2014.

The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), NYC's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, celebrates a milestone 30th anniversary this year. Today, the 36 nominees for the 2013-14 season were announced at a press conference by members of The Bessies Selection Committee. The nominations (listed below) were selected by an independent committee of 40 dance industry professionals. Produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, Bessie Award categories include Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Production, Outstanding Visual Design, Outstanding Music Composition or Sound Design and Outstanding Revival.

New York Live Arts today announced further programming details for the suite of all-new world premiere works created by 2012-2014 Resident Commissioned Artist(RCA) Kyle Abraham, including a fourth, previously unannounced ensemble work. Known for creating “voluptuous movement phrases with touches of dance-theater” (The New York Times) Abraham and his company, Abraham.In.Motion, will present four works-one evening-length, two ensemble works and one trio-over two programs titled The Watershed and When the Wolves Came In at New York Live Arts from September 23 through 27 and September 30 through October 4, 2014. Exploring two totemic triumphs in the international history of the civil rights, the 150 year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 20 year anniversary of the abolishment of apartheid in South Africa, the works feature visual design by acclaimed conceptual artist Glenn Ligon and original music performed live by world renowned jazz artist Robert Glasper, accompanied by two musicians and a vocalist.

Daniel Ulbricht/BALLET 2014 offers an exclusive opportunity for audiences to experience some of today's most remarkable ballet dancers in the intimate Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, July 16-20. New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Daniel Ulbricht directs and performs with a select ensemble of top stars including Tyler Angle, Craig Hall, Robert Fairchild, Russell Janzen, Emily Kikta, Rebecca Krohn, Tiler Peck, Georgina Pazcoguin, and Teresa Reichlen. The program is equally impressive, including Christopher Wheeldon's Liturgy, danced to Arvo Pärt's ”Fratres;” Two Hearts, a collaboration between Benjamin Millepied and composer Nico Muhly; Furiant, created by NYCB Soloist Justin Peck; Sunshine, a solo for Ulbricht by Larry Keigwin; the world premiere of Opus 19. Andante, a duet by critically acclaimed young choreographer Emery LeCrone; and the classic Fancy Free, the first ballet created by Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein in 1944, which subsequently inspired the full-length musical On the Town. Cast subject to change.

Ballet Academy East has announced that Wendy Whelan will join the Pre-Professional Division Faculty. Ms. Whalen's tenure will begin with Ballet Academy East's Summer Intensive from August 18-29 and will continue through the school year, which begins on September 16, 2014. Ms. Whalen will primarily teach the upper level students of the Pre-Professional Division.

Daniel Ulbricht/BALLET 2014 offers an exclusive opportunity for audiences to experience some of today's most remarkable ballet dancers in the intimate Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, July 16-20. New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Daniel Ulbricht directs and performs with a select ensemble of top stars including Tyler Angle, Craig Hall, Robert Fairchild, Russell Janzen, Emily Kikta, Rebecca Krohn, Tiler Peck, Georgina Pazcoguin, and Teresa Reichlen.

Daniel Ulbricht/BALLET 2014 offers an exclusive opportunity for audiences to experience some of today's most remarkable ballet dancers in the intimate Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, July 16-20. New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Daniel Ulbricht directs and performs with a select ensemble of top stars including Tyler Angle, Craig Hall, Robert Fairchild, Russell Janzen, Emily Kikta, Rebecca Krohn, Tiler Peck, Georgina Pazcoguin, and Teresa Reichlen. The program is equally impressive, including Christopher Wheeldon's Liturgy, danced to Arvo Pärt's ”Fratres;” Two Hearts, a collaboration between Benjamin Millepied and composer Nico Muhly; Furiant, created by NYCB Soloist Justin Peck; Sunshine, a solo for Ulbricht by Larry Keigwin; the world premiere of Opus 19. Andante, a duet by critically acclaimed young choreographer Emery LeCrone; and the classic Fancy Free, the first ballet created by Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein in 1944, which subsequently inspired the full-length musical On the Town. Cast subject to change.

Popular contemporary company Hubbard Street Dance Chicago returns to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival for the first time since 2010, bringing a sensational mixed-bill program. Directed by Glenn Edgerton, the 18-member company performs the dramatic Mediterranean-inspired Gnawa, choreographed by Nacho Duato, and Ji?í Kylián's vivid Falling Angels, a stark all-female work danced to “Drumming” by contemporary composer Steve Reich. The company's performance of Falling Angels earlier this year was called “a gorgeous combination of energetic and hypnotic, a celebration of what the body can do” by Lauren Whalen of Chicago Theater Beat. Hubbard Street Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo's latest work for the company, The Impossible, is a bold and theatrical work centered around themes of memory, mortality, and the human spirit.

The School of American Ballet's Workshop Performance Benefit 2014 on Tuesday, June 3, 2014 celebrated 50 years of these annual performances and raised nearly $860,000 for scholarships and school programs. The evening began with cocktails at 5:30pm in Juilliard's Morse Hall, followed by the presentation of the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Service to Dena Abergel, SAB faculty member and NYCB Children's Ballet Master, and Wien Awards for Outstanding Promise to Lyrica Blankfein, Christopher Grant, Baily Jones, and Addie Tapp. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic direction of Glenn Edgerton, presents its Summer Series program today, June 5-8, 2014 featuring the 13th world premiere for the company by Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo, with costumes by Branimira Ivanova, 'Jeff' Award-winning designer of numerous Hubbard Street premieres; and lighting by Michael Korsch, designer for both of Cerrudo's acclaimed works for Hubbard Street's main company in 2012: Little mortal jump and One Thousand Pieces.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic direction of Glenn Edgerton, presents its Summer Series program today, June 5-8, 2014 featuring the 13th world premiere for the company by Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo, with costumes by Branimira Ivanova, 'Jeff' Award-winning designer of numerous Hubbard Street premieres; and lighting by Michael Korsch, designer for both of Cerrudo's acclaimed works for Hubbard Street's main company in 2012: Little mortal jump and One Thousand Pieces.

The School of American Ballet announces the Workshop Performance Benefit 2014 on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, celebrating 50 years of these annual performances. The evening begins with cocktails at 5:30pm in Julliard's Morse Hall, followed by the performance at 7pm. A seated dinner at 9:15pm followed by dancing will conclude the evening. For more information, please contact the special events office at SAB at (212) 769-6610. Tickets and tables are available at http://sab.org/support/events/workshop_performance_benefit.php.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance today unveiled the world-class dance performances of its 2014-2015 season-a sublime lineup of Chicago debuts and Harris Theater premieres from four national and international sensations, all presented as part of the acclaimed Harris Theater Presents series.

New York City Ballet will open its 2014-15 season at Lincoln Center on Tuesday, September 23, 2014, which will continue through Sunday, June 7 with three repertory seasons - Fall (September 23 through October 19); Winter (January 20 through March 1); and Spring (April 28 through June 7); as well as the Company's annual holiday performances of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, which will be performed from Friday, November 28, 2014 through Saturday, January 3, 2015.

New York City Ballet will open its 2014-15 season at Lincoln Center on Tuesday, September 23, 2014, which will continue through Sunday, June 7 with three repertory seasons – Fall (September 23 through October 19); Winter (January 20 through March 1); and Spring (April 28 through June 7); as well as the Company's annual holiday performances of George Balanchine's The NutcrackerTM, which will be performed from Friday, November 28, 2014 through Saturday, January 3, 2015.

Tickets for Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts' new 2014-15 season will go on sale to the public on Saturday, May 3, at 10 a.m. Among the offerings are more than 50 live performances of dance, music, theater, comedy and more. Additional events will be announced at a later date.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton are pleased to announce the main company's 2014-15 season performances in Chicago, to include two weeks spotlighting a diverse trio of Princess Grace Award-winning choreographers, Hubbard Street's first performances of choreography by acclaimed artist Crystal Pite, and a celebration of Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo.

The Chicago Dancing Festival (CDF), co-produced by renowned choreographer and Chicago native Lar Lubovitch and highly esteemed Chicago dancer Jay Franke, returns for its 8th season of free dance performances and events, August 20 - 23, 2014, featuring top ballet, modern and hip-hop dancers from Chicago and across the country.

The Celebrity Series of Boston announced its 2014-2015 season today, marking 76 years of bringing the world's greatest performing artists to Boston. The season opens on Sunday, October 5, 2014 with Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini in recital. In total, the 2014-2015 season will include 46 music, dance and entertainment engagements. The 2014-15 season is sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger.