Onstage This Week: Houston Ballet Tours to Dubai, San Francisco Ballet at the Kennedy Center, World Premieres in Memphis and More!
Wonder what’s going on in ballet this week? We’ve pulled together some highlights.
Houston Ballet Tours to Dubai
This week Houston Ballet heads a little farther afield than usual. October 24-27 the company tours to Dubai, making them the first American ballet company to perform at the Dubai Opera House. The company is bringing a classic to the Middle Eastern city: artistic director Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake. Catch principals Yuriko Kajiya and Chun Wai Chan in this clip from the Black Swan Pas De Deux.
Jerome Robbins’ Experimental Full-Length Ballet Returns to the Stage
Jerome Robbins’ centennial year has included performances of some of the famed choreographer’s most seminal works at companies around the world. October 24-27, the Brooklyn Academy of Music digs deeper into Robbins’ oeuvre by presenting Watermill, a full-length experimental ballet inspired by Japanese Noh theater that hasn’t been staged in nearly half a century. Watermill stars former New York City Ballet principal Joaquin De Luz, who retired from the company just two weeks ago.
San Francisco Ballet Brings 6 East Coast Premieres to the Kennedy Center
Last spring, San Francisco Ballet wowed Bay Area audiences with Unbound: A Festival of New Works. Now SFB is bringing six of the festival’s ballets to The Kennedy Center October 23-28, marking their East Coast premieres. Program A includes ballets by Trey McIntyre, Christopher Wheeldon and David Dawson, and Program B features pieces by Edwaard Liang, Cathy Marston and Justin Peck.
Ballet Memphis Collaborates with Local Musicians to Present 2 World Premieres
October 26-November 4 marks Ballet Memphis’ inaugural Memphis Project, a brand new collaboration between the company and local musicians that honors the city’s musical legacy. This program includes Trey McIntyre’s reworked Memphis Suite to a score by a variety of artists, as well as two premieres: former Alvin Ailey dancer Alia Kache’s new work to an original score by Julien Baker, and associate artistic director Steven McMahon’s new collaboration with the record label Unapologetic.
Sarasota Ballet Presents the Company Premiere of Martha Graham’s ”Appalachian Spring”
Sarasota Ballet opens their 2019 season October 26-28 with a diverse triple bill. The program features the company premiere of Martha Graham’s iconic 1944 collaboration with composer Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring. Also on deck are Ricardo Graziano’s Symphony of Sorrows and Galina Samsova’s production of Paquita. Be transported into dance history with this early clip of the Martha Graham Dance Company performing Appalachian Spring, which stars Graham herself as The Bride.
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Bids Farewell to Principal Julia Erickson with All Mozart Program
Longtime Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre principal Julia Erickson retires from PBT this weekend during the company’s Mozart in Motion program October 26-28. The program features three works spanning past to present, all to Mozart: George Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15 and Jiří Kylián’s Sechs Tänze and Petite Mort. In the above video, Erickson discusses why these works are meaningful to her.
BalletMet Presents Short Ballets by Three New York-Based Choreographers
BalletMet’s Lineage: A Collection of Short Ballets program runs October 26-November 3 and features three short works by New York choreographers originally created for New York City Ballet: George Balanchine’s Square Dance, Christopher Wheeldon’s romantic After the Rain pas de deux and Justin Peck’s In Creases. Above, artistic director Edwaard Liang discusses After the Rain.
