Onstage This Week: Joyce Ballet Fest Brings in Major Stars, Vail 2019 Wraps Up and More!
Wonder what’s going on in ballet this week? We’ve rounded up some highlights.
The Joyce Ballet Festival Brings Together a Standout Cast of International Stars
This year’s Joyce Theater Ballet Festival, running August 6-18 in New York, features an overwhelming number of star dancers from around the world. The season is split into four programs, curated by artists associated with The Royal Ballet.
The opening program is organized by Royal Ballet artistic director Kevin O’Hare, and features nine dancers from the company in works by British choreographers Frederick Ashton, Liam Scarlett, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor, Kenneth MacMillan and Charlotte Edmonds.
Program B, opening August 10, is curated by principal Lauren Cuthbertson. It will showcase the talents of a more diverse group of dancers including National Ballet of Canada’s Skylar Campbell, Hannah Fischer, Spencer Hack and Xiao Nan Yu, and American Ballet Theatre’s Aran Bell and Devon Teuscher, alongside Cuthbertson and a collection of her colleagues. The program is primarily made up of world premieres: Bell and Teuscher dance a new work by Gemma Bond, Cuthbertson performs new solos by Jonathan Watkins and Stina Quagebeur, and audiences will see the world premiere of Robert Binet’s Dialogue Dances. Think that’s too much star power? Just stay tuned for what next week holds.
The Vail Dance Fest Enters Its Final Week
The final week of the Vail Dance Festival is upon us. Artists from different spheres come together again on August 6 for Dance for $20.19, an evening where fans can sit on the lawn and enjoy a picnic August 7 brings Dancing in the Park, a free, family friendly performance by Colorado Ballet and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Martha Graham Dance Company takes the stage on August 9, and on August 10, Ballet Hispánico closes out the 2019 festival.
Alonzo King LINES Ballet Onstage in Aspen, CO
Following their Vail performances, Alonzo King LINES Ballet makes its way to Aspen on August 10, for a performance presented by Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. The company will present two works by artistic director Alonzo King: Handel, an exploration of Baroque expression, and his 2018 Common Ground, which features a collaboration with the Kronos Quartet.
The NYC Department of Transportation’s First Dance Fest Features Ballets With a Twist
On August 10, New York-based company Ballets With a Twist brings dance to the streets as part of the New York City Department of Transportation’s annual Summer Streets event. Ballets With a Twist will perform their signature work Cocktail Hour: The Show as part of the first ever Summer Streets-affiliated dance festival. The performance will feature live music by Brooklyn’s L Train Brass Band. The festival also features the neoclassical company XAOC Contemporary Ballet.
