Onstage This Week: Ballet Across America, Joffrey World Premiere, Tharp Trio at ABT, and More!

Dance Theatre of Harlem and Miami City Ballet Join Forces at the Kennedy Center for Ballet Across America

The Kennedy Center’s fifth annual Ballet Across America festival runs from May 28-June 2, and it shines a spotlight on women’s creativity and leadership by presenting two female-led companies: Dance Theatre of Harlem and Miami City Ballet. May 28-30, audiences can see DTH in George Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie, Dianne McIntyre’s Change, Claudia Schreier’s Passage and Geoffrey Holder’s Dougla. June 1-2, MCB presents Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht Ballet, Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Carousel Pas de Deux, the jointly choreographed Brahms/Handel by Jerome Robbins and Twyla Tharp, and Justin Peck’s Heatscape. On May 31 the companies come together for a shared program; dancers from both ensembles present the world premiere of Pam Tanowitz’s Gustave Le Grey No. 1 to a score by Caroline Shaw.

The Joffrey Ballet’s Collaboration With the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Includes a World Premiere

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pBh72X5Ml64

May 30-June 1
, The Joffrey Ballet collaborates with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on a program titled Stravinsky & The Joffrey Ballet. The dancers will perform two works to music by Igor Stravinsky: Christopher Wheeldon’s Commedia to his Pulcinella Suite and the world premiere of Stephanie Martinez’s Bliss!, set to Dumbarton Oaks Concerto. The Symphony will also play works by Gioachino Rossini and Maurice Ravel. Above, CSO conductor Matthias Pintscher and Joffrey artistic director Ashley Wheater discuss Stravinsky’s role in the ballet canon.

ABT’s Twyla Tharp Trio Features the Company Premiere of “Deuce Coupe” 

After three weeks dedicated to Alexei Ratmansky’s oeuvre, American Ballet Theatre’s Metropolitan Opera House season changes course with Tharp Trio. This program, running May 30-June 3, features three diverse Twyla Tharp ballets: The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Deuce Coupe and In The Upper Room. Deuce Coupe, set to music by The Beach Boys, will be a company premiere; it debuted in 1973 with dancers from the Joffrey Ballet and Twyla Tharp Dance. Above, Tharp shares what it’s been like to work with three generations of ABT dancers.

National Ballet of Canada’s All Forsythe Program Includes Two Company Premieres 

June 1-8
marks National Ballet of Canada’s Physical Thinking program, celebrating the work of William Forsythe. The lineup includes The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude and Approximate Sonata 2016 (both company premieres), and The Second Detail. The above trailer, featuring second soloist Kathryn Hosier, is a fresh reminder of Forsythe’s boundary-stretching style.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Takes the Stage at NYCB and Milwaukee Ballet

William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has long been a source of creative fodder for artists of all mediums. This week, two Midsummer ballets, both to Felix Mendelssohn’s beloved score, hit the stage.

• New York City Ballet closes out its spring season with a run of George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream May 28-June 2. Above, Tiler Peck discusses dancing the ballet’s Divertissement pas de deux.
• May 30-June 2
  , Milwaukee Ballet closes out its 2018/19 season with its version, choreographed by Bruce Wells.

“The Merry Widow” Returns to Houston Ballet

May 31-June 9
, Houston Ballet brings back British choreographer Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow. This luscious ballet, set to a score by Franz Lehár, is based on Lehár’s famous 1905 operetta about a secret romance taking place in the upper echelons of society. Above, Houston Ballet dancers talk about why they love this production.

PNB’s Presents a Mixed Bill of Audience Favorites 

Pacific Northwest Ballet presents its final mixed bill of the season May 31-June 9. The program includes a a trio of classics—George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations and Tarantella and Jose Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane—as well as a new favorite, company dancer Price Suddarth’s Signature. PNB’s Kyle Davis and Angelica Generosa discuss Tarantella in the above video.