Sacramento Ballet's Emergence Wraps 2022-23 Season With Stravinsky And Balanchine's Iconic AGON

Capping an exciting run of hit performances, Sacramento Ballet will end its 2022-23 season at a technical pinnacle with the Emergence series, May 19-21, at The Sofia Theater in Sacramento. Performances will feature the breathtaking, influential neo-classical/modern collaborative ballet titled Agon by composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer George Balanchine.

Also featured are three world premiere commissions from acclaimed dancemakers including by Caili Quan and Stephanie Martinez, made with support from Dance/USA's BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Female Choreographers in Ballet Initiative and generously supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Adam Hougland, named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" and winner of the Princess Grace Award for Choreography will also debut a newly commissioned work on Sacramento Ballet's stage.

"We titled this program 'Emergence' because Sacramento Ballet has indeed emerged from the pandemic past into our current world-class stage worthy status," said Anthony Krutzkamp, SacBallet's Artistic/Executive Director. "Ballet companies risk becoming a living museum if they only favor traditional repertoire, so we have intentionally ramped up our dancers' skills these past two years, delivering increasingly difficult and exciting choreographic works. Our dancers appreciate the challenge as do our audiences who have been showing up in force supporting this fresh approach. Sacramento Ballet is stronger than ever, and we look forward to pushing our craft further in 2023-24!"

Composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer George Balanchine's game-changing neo-classical/modern 1957 collaboration Agon is created for 12 dancers, presented in 12 parts, written using 12-tone scale musical composition techniques and is renowned for its athleticism and technical brilliance. Balanchine's minimalist black and white costume designs mimic the keys of Stravinsky's piano. While the title is a Greek word for "contest," the plotless ballet's movements are named after French court dances.

Caili Quan is a sought-after New York-based choreographer/dancer who will create a new SacBallet-commissioned showpiece. Quan will be on-site working with the company dancers and crafting her work to their strengths. Quan has created works for many respected companies including BalletX, Owen/Cox Dance Group, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, and Ballet Academy East. Quan has served as an Artistic Partnership Initiative Fellow and a Toulmin Creator at The Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU.

Stephanie Martinez is a prolific choreographer, Artistic Director and founder of PARA.MAR Dance Theater of Chicago. She has created more than 60 original, critically acclaimed ballets with companies and collegiate programs across the country including Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, and Kansas City Ballet. Her new commission, a contemporary pas de deux (which is a piece for two dancers), promises dramatic mood, tension, plot, and spectacle. It will feature costumes designed by SacBallet's own Kaori Higashiyama. Martinez has been awarded Joffrey Ballet's "Winning Works: Choreographers of Color" commission and the Chicago 3Arts Award in recognition for her work as a female artist of color.

Adam Hougland is a celebrated international dance creator who hails from Texas, presently lives in England and along the way has created works for companies around the globe. He has won The Princess Grace Award for Choreography, The Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography, was one of Pointe Magazine's "10 VIP's" of 2006 and on Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" for 2011. He is presently the Principal Choreographer for Louisville Ballet. His world premiere commission for SacBallet will incorporate 10 dancers in total (five men, five women).

May 19 - 21, 2023

The Sofia, 2700 Capitol Ave, Sacramento, CA.
For more information: https://bstreettheatre.org/

Individual tickets for Emergence are available. Get tickets early for best seating opportunities.
For more information, please call the box office at 916-552-5810 or visit:
https://sacballet.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/events/a0S8X00000T0c86UAB

Sacramento Ballet delivers high-quality, world stage-worthy ballet, dance, education, and outreach initiatives. A modern, forward-leaning organization which respects its past while welcoming the future, Sacramento Ballet aims to unite, include and inspire its diverse audiences. Connecting cultures with the positive power of live dance performance, it expands its reach to audiences via regional programming, community outreach and educational activities. Guided by Artistic/Executive Director Anthony Krutzkamp - an innovative choreographer who raised the image and reputation of the Kansas City Dance Festival, Moving Arts Kansas City and Moving Arts Cincinnati - Sacramento Ballet's 68th season is unforgettable.

A highly regarded cultural asset renowned for artistic quality, Sacramento Ballet attracts approximately 80,000 people to performances annually. Deeply committed to the Capitol region for nearly 70 years, it conducts extensive outreach, educational and public engagement projects. It is the only local arts organization to maintain a residency of artists as well as maintaining a respected conservatory of dance - School of Sacramento Ballet - enabling it to deliver world class programming for the community. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, it is funded by individual donations, corporate, foundation and government support. For more information visit www.sacballet.org.

Under the direction of acclaimed dancer and respected instructor Jill Krutzkamp, Sacramento Ballet's newly formed Second Company launches this season. Second Company is the umbrella company for Trainee Project and its select group of six featured dancers: SB2. A proving ground for pre-professional training, distinctive programming and repertoire will be specially selected and choreographed for them. Twenty classically trained, aspiring artists who auditioned to join Second Company will regularly perform with the company, while they train and hone their skills for careers with major dance companies. Sacramento Ballet's respected reputation for professional career development is attracting young dancers from across the U.S. and California. Second Company aims to inspire expanded audiences with the passion and drive of these young dancers as they grow and gain the skills and confidence necessary for a life career in dance.

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