March 5, 2009
ABT II TO PERFORM AT
THE GERALD W. LYNCH THEATER,
JOHN JAY COLLEGE,
FRIDAY, APRIL 3 & SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 8:00 P.M.
ABT II will present two performances at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College on Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4 at 8:00 P.M. The program will include the World Premiere of A Taste of Sweet Velvet by Jodie Gates, Altria/ABT Choreography Fellow, and the ABT II premiere of Jerome Robbins’ Interplay.
A Taste of Sweet Velvet by Jodie Gates is set to the second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor with costumes by Melanie Watnick. Gates was named the Altria/ABT Choreography Fellow for 2009 as part of Voices and Visions: The Altria/ABT Women’s Choreography Project, launched in 2008 in an effort to identify and nurture female choreographers. Additional support is provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Jerome Robbins’ Interplay, staged by Jean-Pierre Frolich and set to the music of Morton Gould’s American Concertette, will receive its ABT II New York premiere at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater. Interplay is performed by permission of The Robbins Rights Trust.
Additional highlights for the New York performances of ABT II include Aszure Barton’s Barbara, set to a medley of songs by the French singer and songwriter Barbara, and pas de deux from Swan Lake, Act II with choreography after Lev Ivanov, and from Act III of Don Quixote with choreography after Marius Petipa, both staged by Wes Chapman.
ABT II is a classical company of thirteen young professional dancers. Directed by Wes Chapman, ABT II prepares dancers to enter American Ballet Theatre and provides opportunities for the emergence of new choreographers. Reaching more than 25,000 students each year through national performances, lecture-demonstrations and academic residencies, ABT II’s goal is to serve as a cultural ambassador to communities around the nation.
ABT II’s New York performances are supported, in part, by funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Education and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Tickets are $38 and $28. For more information about ABT II or to purchase tickets, please visit www.abt.org or contact Elizabeth Aymong at 212.477.3030, ext. 1168, or at eaymong@abt.org. The Gerald W. Lynch Theater is located at John Jay College, 899 10th Avenue between 58th and 59th Streets. For directions and information about the Lynch Theater, please visit http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/Theater.php.