Pennsylvania Ballet Announces 2018-2019 Season

By: Feb. 20, 2018
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Pennsylvania Ballet Announces 2018-2019 Season

Pennsylvania Ballet Artistic Director Angel Corella announced the programming for the 2018-2019 Season. The Company's 55th Season will feature 13 ballets with five world premieres and three company premieres including two classic love stories; Romeo and Juliet and Giselle. With the 2018-2019 Season, Corella continues to honor Pennsylvania Ballet's roots while igniting excitement and committing to new levels of excellence on stage.

"Next Season we will continue to bring new choreographers to Pennsylvania Ballet to excite our audience. We will also bring to life two full-length ballets, Romeo & Juliet and Giselle, and are proud to continue to honor our Balanchine roots with Apollo, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and of course, our annual presentation of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker," said Angel Corella. "By sharing such a diverse repertoire of performances displaying art, athleticism, beauty, and music, we hope to provide something for everyone to enjoy."

The 2018-2019 Season will include world premieres by many talented choreographers such as Andrea Miller, international choreographer and artistic director and founder of Gallim Dance; Jorma Elo, one of the most sought-after choreographers in the world and Choreographer in Residence at Boston Ballet; Philadelphia favorite and Choreographer in Residence Matthew Neenan; Pennsylvania Ballet Company Member and award-winning choreographer Russell Ducker; and Corella's re-staging of Giselle. In addition, Pennsylvania Ballet will present the company premieres of Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo & Juliet as well as Jerome Robbins' Glass Pieces and The Cage. Rounding out the season are company favorites George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, Apollo, and Stravinsky Violin Concerto; Jirí Kylián's Petite Mort; and Christopher Wheeldon's DGV: Danse a Grande Vitesse.

Pennsylvania Ballet's 2018-2019 Season

Romeo & Juliet (Company Premiere)

October 11-21, 2018

The Academy of Music

Choreography: Sir Kenneth MacMillan

Music: Sergei Prokofiev

Pennsylvania Ballet's 55th Season opens with one of the most beautiful full-length ballets that only the greatest companies in the world can perform. The choreography embraces Shakespeare's passionate love story by visually showcasing the beauty of love and the devastation of death. Monumental designs from set designer Paul Andrews paired with the romantic and timeless Prokofiev score make Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet stand out as an expressive and emotionally moving piece.

Mixed Repertoire

November 8-11, 2018

Merriam Theater

  • Petite Mort by Jirí Kylián, music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Russell Ducker World Premiere
  • Andrea Miller World Premiere

In Petite Mort, Jirí Kylián's choreography symbolizes aggression, sexuality, energy, silence, and vulnerability danced to some of Mozart's most popular piano concertos. Known for her recognizable artistic language of extreme physicality and unprejudiced emotionality, Andrea Miller, founder and artistic director of Gallim Dance, will create a world premiere for Pennsylvania Ballet. The recipient of multiple awards, including being named a Guggenheim Fellow, Miller is currently serving as the artist in residence for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Company is excited to debut a work by Corps de Ballet Member Russell Ducker, who received three Royal Ballet School choreographic awards; Dame Ninette De Valois, Sir Kenneth MacMillan and The Ursula Moreton, which were also awarded to now well-known choreographers Christopher Wheeldon and Liam Scarlett.

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker

December 7-31, 2018

The Academy of Music

Choreography: George Balanchine

Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The holiday magic returns to the Academy of Music's stage with Philadelphia's most celebrated holiday classic, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. Follow Marie and her Prince as they battle the evil Mouse King, travel through a forest of dancing snowflakes, and celebrate in the Land of the Sweets. Dazzling costumes, opulent sets, and Tchaikovsky's cherished score performed live by the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra with accompaniment by the Philadelphia Boys Choir make George Balanchine's The Nutcracker an experience not to be missed. Pennsylvania Ballet is proud to offer a specially adjusted sensory-friendly performance for the third year on the stage of the Academy of Music.

Giselle (World Premiere)

March 7-17, 2019

The Academy of Music

Staged by: Angel Corella

Music: Adolphe Adam

Ballet's iconic story of love, betrayal, and redemption comes to life at the Academy of Music as Angel Corella presents his re-staging of Giselle. Gorgeous costumes and a beautiful score by Adolphe Adam illuminate one of ballet's most passionate love stories. This classic story ballet has remained popular (and continuously presented) since its debut in 1841.

All Stravinsky Program

April 4-7, 2019

Merriam Theater

The April program is a tribute to one of the greatest ballet composers of all time, Igor Stravinsky. A 24-year-old George Balanchine achieved international recognition for his first major collaboration with Igor Stravinsky, the sublime and powerful Apollo. Jerome Robbins' The Cage, a company premiere, uses its Stravinsky score and dramatic choreography to bring to life a community of female creatures. Created in 1972 for New York City Ballet's Stravinsky Festival, Balanchine's Stravinsky Violin Concerto is an impeccable example of the famed collaborations between Balanchine and Stravinsky. Critically acclaimed Choreographer in Residence Matthew Neenan will create his 18th world premiere for Pennsylvania Ballet after his very successful premiere of It Goes that Way in 2017.

Mixed Repertoire

May 9-12, 2019

The Academy of Music

Pennsylvania brings back the audience favorite, Christopher Wheeldon's DGV: Danse a Grande Vitesse that conveys the timeless romance of travel alongside the wonder of modern technology through dynamic rhythms and shifting sound landscapes by Michael Nyman. Boston Ballet's Choreographer in Residence Jorma Elo is one of the most sought-after choreographers in the world and has created works for companies including American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, New York City Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, among others. Jerome Robbins' Glass Pieces, a company premiere, incorporates concepts from postmodern dance into the traditional ballet vocabulary and portrays a distinctly urban energy. The recurrent rhythms, driving momentum and labyrinth of shifting patterns of the ensemble combine to create a physical architecture for Philip Glass's music.

Photo: Artists of Pennsylvania Ballet in Giselle

Photo Credit: Alexander Iziliaev



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