Onstage This Week: World Ballet Day 2019, John Heginbotham Makes Ballet Debut, and Houston Ballet Comes to NYC!
Wonder what’s going on in ballet this week? We’ve rounded up some highlights.
World Ballet Day 2019 Is Here!
Like us, you might feel like every day is World Ballet Day, but that doesn’t mean we’re not excited for the all-day live stream event coming our way on Wednesday October 23. This year’s edition is co-hosted by three major international companies—The Royal Ballet, The Australian Ballet and The Bolshoi Ballet—but it also features streams from over 30 companies worldwide including Hong Kong Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet, English National Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Check out the Facebook pages for World Ballet Day, The Royal and Australian Ballet for up-to-date information, schedules and links to the streams.
John Heginbotham Breaks Into Ballet
The Washington Ballet opens its fall season with NEXTsteps, a program devoted to world premieres. October 23–27, the company performs works by a diverse pool of choreographers: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Jessica Lang and John Heginbotham.
While Ochoa and Lang are ballet-world veterans, Heginbotham is new to the scene. “John is one of the most creative, musical and theatrical choreographic voices today,” says TWB artistic director Julie Kent. A former member of the Mark Morris Dance Group, Heginbotham most recently choreographed the innovative Broadway revival of Oklahoma! His new ballet will be a palindrome in movement and in music, using a suite of high-energy and quick-moving percussion quartets composed by Jason Treuting of So Percussion and played live. —Cadence Neenan
Hosuton Ballet Onstage at New York City Center
Seldom seen on the East Coast, Houston Ballet heads to New York City Center this week with a triple-bill program. The October 24-26 run features two New York premieres: Mark Morris’ 2015 The Letter V and Justin Peck’s 2019 Reflections. Also on the docket is Aszure Barton’s all-male Come In.
ABT Fall Season Closes With Two Premieres and a Homecoming
American Ballet Theatre’s fall Lincoln Center season closes October 27, but not before throwing another two premieres our way. October 23 marks the world premiere of former ABT dancer Gemma Bond’s A Time There Was and the New York premiere of company principal James Whiteside’s The New Romantics.
On October 26, ABT honors Herman Cornejo, who is celebrating his 20th anniversary with the company this year, with a special performance including a pièce d’occasion. Cornejo will be joined by his sister, former ABT soloist and Boston Ballet principal Erica Cornejo, for a performance of Ana María Stekelman’s 1998 El Chamuyo.
Ballet Fantastique is Tutu Spooky
Ballet Fantastique co-directors Donna and Hannah Bontrager present the world premiere of Nevermore: Stories of Edgar Allan Poe October 25–27 in Eugene, Oregon. The ballet features some of Poe’s most macabre and best-loved stories and poems, with original music played live by local folk orchestra Mood Area 52.
Boston Ballet Provides a Platform for Company Choreographers
October 24-25
, Boston Ballet presents BB@home, an intimate black box theater performance that offers company members a chance to present their choreography. This year’s program, ChoreographHER, features new works by six female Boston Ballet dancers: Lia Cirio, Chyrstyn Fentroy, Lauren Herfindahl, Sage Humphries, Abigail Merlis and Joy Womack. Learn more about the ChoreograpHER initiative in the above video.
Cincinnati Ballet Presents Septime Webre’s “The Wizard of Oz”
Last year, Colorado Ballet, Kansas City Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet joined forces to produce Septime Webre’s new The Wizard of Oz. This week, the yellow brick road extends to Ohio; Cincinnati Ballet presents the full-length ballet for the first time October 25-November 3. Catch a glimpse of rehearsal above (and check out this video of the company’s wardrobe department bedazzling Dorothy’s shoes).
Sarasota Ballet Opens Its Season with a Tribute to Ricardo Graziano
The first program of Sarasota Ballet’s 2019-20 season runs October 25-27. Titled Graziano, Retrospective, it’s a tribute to principal dancer and resident choreographer Ricardo Graziano’s 10th anniversary with the company, and features three of his original works: Shostakovich Suite (2011), En las Calles de Murcia (2015) and In a State of Weightlessness (2015).
