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Join ABT for a week of enchanting one-act ballets including Alexei Ratmansky’s The Seasons, a New York Times Critic’s Pick “born from joy and bursting at the seams;” Frederick Ashton’s The Dream, a humorous production inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Children’s Songs Dance, a new work by Jessica Lang set to the music of jazz legend Chick Corea; Sinfonietta, Jiří Kylián’s exuberant ballet, a milestone in contemporary choreography; and Lifted, a ground-breaking World Premiere by Christopher Rudd celebrating Blackness and created on an all-Black cast of ABT dancers.
A work for seven dancers, Children’s Songs Dance by Jessica Lang takes its name from the music. Set to selections from Children’s Songs by the late American jazz composer Chick Corea, the ballet was created on ABT Studio Company in January 2020 during a residency at The Pocantico Center in Tarrytown, New York. According to Lang, Children’s Songs Dance “draws its inspiration from the transition in life between being a child and becoming an adult, with the goal of never losing the spirit of play.”
This ground-breaking World Premiere by Christopher Rudd, created on an all-Black cast of ABT dancers, aims to highlight, amplify, and celebrate Black creative voices. Set to music from Carlos Simon, with costumes by Carly Cushnie, Lifted will inspire, captivate, and mesmerize audiences.
Fiercely inventive, choreographer Jiří Kylián achieved his international breakthrough with Sinfonietta – an exuberant paean to Mother Earth. Brace yourself as the life cycle is affirmed with eruptions of running jumps, and breathtaking turns to the stirring trumpet calls of Leoš Janáček’s high-spirited score.
Join us for a post-performance panel discussion on Christopher Rudd’s World Premiere work Lifted, created with an all-Black cast and creative team. Free for all audience members, the discussion will follow the 2:00pm matinee performance on Saturday, October 29.
Moderated by author and professor Aimee Meredith Cox, the discussion will feature Lifted creators as panelists: Choreographer Christopher Rudd, ABT Dancers Calvin Royal III and Courtney Lavine, Fashion Designer Carly Cushnie, Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon, and Conductor Roderick Cox.
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