Onstage This Week: Wendy Whelan in "THE DAY," Vail Dance Fest Week 2, World Premiere at American Contemporary Ballet and More!
Wonder what’s going on in ballet this week? We’ve rounded up some highlights.
Wendy Whelan Returns to the Stage
This week, New York City Ballet associate artistic director Wendy Whelan joins celebrated cellist Maya Beiser onstage at Jacob’s Pillow in THE DAY, choreographed by postmodern icon Lucinda Childs. Exploring memory and resilience, this multi-genre collaboration between Beiser and Childs features music by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer David Lang. After its July 31–August 4 run at Jacob’s Pillow, THE DAY is scheduled to tour to New York City and Washington, DC.
Stars Descend on the Vail Dance Festival
The second week of the Vail Dance Festival has arrived, and with it a deluge of stars and premieres. July 30 marks the the festival premiere of BalletX in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s new The Little Prince. On July 31, M.A.I. co-founders Lil Buck and Jon Boogz, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Hope Boykin and New York City Ballet principal Lauren Lovette join forces for UpClose: Just Dances, a rehearsal-style performance.
On August 2 and August 3, things get even more glamorous. The two International Evenings of Dance feature a seemingly endless list of stars from NYCB, American Ballet Theatre, the Mikhailovsky Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Pam Tanowitz Dance, Dorrance Dance and much more. A handful of the many ballet highlights include Catherine Hurlin and Julian MacKay in a pas de deux from Don Quixote, Unity Phelan and Calvin Royal III in excerpts from Apollo and Maria Kochetkova and Joseph Gordon in a pas de deux from La Sylphide.
World Premiere of “Death and the Maiden” at American Contemporary Ballet
American Contemporary Ballet artistic director Lincoln Jones presents the world premiere of Death and the Maiden August 1-11 at The Fashion Theater in Los Angeles. Jones’ newest ballet is set to Franz Schubert’s string quartet of the same name, which he wrote in 1824 as a testament to his own mortality. Check out ACB’s Instagram for beautiful rehearsal shots of this new work.
Stars of American Ballet Take Aspen
New York City Ballet principal Daniel Ulbricht‘s summer pickup company, Stars of American Ballet, takes the stage in Aspen on August 3. The troupe, which is being presented by Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, is bringing classic works including George Balanchine’s Tarantella, Jerome Robbins’ Andantino and Christopher Wheeldon’s This Bitter Earth.
Louisville Ballet Presents “Cleopatra: Queen of Kings” Outdoors
July 31-August 4
, Louisville Ballet presents Cleopatra: Queen of Kings as part of the company’s partnership with Kentucky Shakespeare’s Festival in Central Park. Choreographed by Louisville Ballet dancer Erica De La O, Cleopatra is set to an original score by Kentucky-based composer Scott Moore and features step dancers from Western Middle School. This week’s performances are all free and open to the public.
