ABT City Center season news
CathyS
THREE WORLD PREMIERES AND COMPANY PREMIERE OF
MARTHA GRAHAM'S DIVERSION OF ANGELS HIGHLIGHT
FALL SEASON AT CITY CENTER, OCTOBER 19 - 31, 1999
60th Anniversary Season To Feature Revivals of Eugene Loring's Billy the Kid
and Robert Joffrey's Pas des Déesses
World Premieres by Lar Lubovitch, John Neumeier and Robert Hill,
and the Company Premiere of Martha Graham's Diversion of Angels will
highlight American Ballet Theatre's Fall season at City Center, October 19 -
31, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. ABT's Fall
engagement at City Center will also feature the Revival Premieres of Eugene
Loring's Billy the Kid and Robert Joffrey's Pas des Déesses.
The opening night gala, on Tuesday evening, October 19, will
feature excerpts of the season's premieres and a specially choreographed
Pièce d'Occasion accompanied by international violinist Chee-Yun. The gala
performance will also feature last year's acclaimed premiere of Nacho
Duato's Without Words.
American Ballet Theatre's City Center season is sponsored by
Philip Morris Companies Inc. Movado Watch Corporation is a principal
benefactor of American Ballet Theatre. Major funding has been provided by
the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the
Arts, a State Agency.
Principal Dancers for the engagement are Victor Barbee, Julio
Bocca, Jose Manuel Carreño, Angel Corella, Alessandra Ferri, Guillaume
Graffin, Paloma Herrera, Robert Hill, Susan Jaffe, Julie Kent, Amanda
McKerrow, Keith Roberts, Ethan Stiefel and Ashley Tuttle.
Lar Lubovitch will create his first work for the Company since he
choreographed Othello in 1997. Set to music by Franz Schubert, Gavin Bryars
and Ferruccio Busoni, Mr. Lubovitch's as yet untitled work will have its
World Premiere on Friday evening, October 22, 1999. Mr. Lubovitch's new work
is being produced with assistance from the Hancher Auditorium/University of
Iowa.
The World Premiere of Getting Closer by John Neumeier, Artistic
Director of the Hamburg Ballet, will be given on Wednesday evening, October
27. Set to music by Ned Rorem, Getting Closer will feature costumes by Zack
Brown and lighting by Brad Fields.
Continuing its commitment to the development of new
choreographers, American Ballet Theatre will present the World Premiere of a
new work by Principal Dancer Robert Hill on Thursday evening, October 28.
Mr. Hill's new work is set to a commissioned score by Dmitry Polischuk and
has costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Brad Fields. Mr. Hill's
previous choreographic efforts include Post No Scriptum and Pulsar, both for
the ABT Studio Company.
The Company Premiere of Martha Graham's Diversion of Angels is set
for the Saturday Matinee, October 23. Created for the Martha Graham Dance
Company in 1948, Diversion of Angels is set to music by Norman Dello Joio
and features costume design by Miss Graham. ABT's production of Diversion of
Angels will be staged by Takako Asakawa and Ron Protas.
The Revival Premiere of Eugene Loring's Billy the Kid, staged by
Howard Sayette, is planned for Wednesday evening, October 20. Set to the
music of Aaron Copland with costumes and scenery by Jared French and
lighting by David K. H. Elliott, Billy the Kid was first performed by Ballet
Theatre during the Company's first season in 1940. ABT last performed the
ballet in 1983.
Pas des Déesses by Robert Joffrey will have its Revival Premiere
on Friday evening, October 22. Staged for ABT by Brunilda Ruiz and Paul
Sutherland, Pas des Déesses is set to music by John Field, with costumes by
Anver Bey Khan and lighting by Thomas Skelton. Pas des Déesses was given its
World Premiere by the Joffrey Ballet in 1954 and was first performed by
Ballet Theatre Workshop in 1956.
Additional repertory scheduled for American Ballet Theatre's 1999
City Center season includes Twyla Tharp's Known by Heart and Push Comes To
Shove, Jerome Robbins' Other Dances and Agnes de Mille's Fall River Legend.
In addition to supporting American Ballet Theatre since 1985,
Philip Morris Companies Inc. has been involved with numerous cultural
activities in New York City. Past and current sponsorships include Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dance Theater
Workshop, The Whitney Museum of American Art, El Museo del Barrio and The
Museum of Modern Art. The company's cultural program focuses on contemporary
and multi-cultural visual and performing arts, and is among the leading
coporate arts support programs in the world.
The Philip Morris family of companies is the world's largest
producer and marketer of consumer packaged goods. Among its brands are:
Marlboro, Kraft, L&M, Miller, Oscar Mayer, Jacobs, Maxwell House and Post.
The qualities that guide the successful growth of its businesses -
innovation, creativity and diversity - have also served as the cornerstone
of its cultural program for more than forty years.
The box office for American Ballet Theatre's City Center season
opens on August 23.
Wednesday, August 4, 1999
©1999 AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE