World Premiere by Edwaard Liang and
New York Premiere by Roger Van Fleteren

ABT II will present four performances in New York City as part of the 1.2.3. Festival at The Joyce Theater, April 13-25, 2010. The Festival’s opening night performance, which includes works by Ailey II and Taylor 2, will be highlighted by ABT II’s World Premiere of Ballo Per Sei, choreographed by Edwaard Liang. ABT II’s performances at the 1.2.3 Festival will also include the New York premiere of Pavlovsk, choreographed by Roger VanFleteren, Jerome Robbins’ Interplay, and excerpts from ballet classics Le Corsaire and Swan Lake.

The World Premiere of Ballo Per Sei, choreographed by former New York City Ballet soloist Edwaard Liang to the music of Antonio Vivaldi, with costumes by Holly Hynes, will be performed on Tuesday, April 13 during the shared Opening Night program of the 1.2.3 Festival. Ballo Per Sei is Liang’s first work for ABT II.

The New York premiere of Roger Van Fleteren’s Pavlovsk, set to music by Karen LeFrak, is scheduled for Thursday evening, April 15, at 8 p.m. Pavlovsk captures a tragic romance based on the true story of a Russian general assassinated in 1799 and his beloved wife. Pavlovsk received its World Premiere by ABT II on November 1, 2009 in Wickenburg, Arizona. Van Fleteren, a former ABT Soloist, has danced with the London City Ballet, Alabama Ballet, and with Sadler’s Wells Theatre as a principal dancer. Pavlovsk is Van Fleteren’s first work for ABT II.

ABT II is a classical company of twelve young professional dancers under the artistic direction of Wes Chapman. In its fifteenth season, ABT II prepares young dancers to enter American Ballet Theatre and other professional companies and provides opportunities for the emergence of new choreographers and composers. 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.

The mission of The Joyce Theater Foundation is to serve and support the art of dance and choreography, promote the richness and variety of the art form in its fullest expression, and enhance the public interest in, and appreciation of, dance and the allied arts of music, design, and theater. The Joyce is considered one of the premiere performance venues for dance and attracts an annual audience of more than 140,000. Since its inception, The Joyce has welcomed over 270 New York City-based, national and international dance companies to its stage. In addition, The Joyce oversees Joyce SoHo, a dance center in Lower Manhattan that is beautifully equipped with two dance studios for rehearsals and performances, and DANY (Dance Art New York) Studios, eleven affordable studios, located at 38th Street and Eighth Avenue, that are appropriate for rehearsals, auditions, classes and workshops.

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. is the Official Sponsor of ABT II. This program is supported, in part, by major funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Support for Ballo Per Sei is generously provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Pavlovsk is presented through The Wellik Series & The Flying E Residency Program and curated by the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts, with additional support generously provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. ABT II’s performances of Interplay have been made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius. ABT gratefully acknowledges The Arison Arts Foundation for its sponsorship of ABT’s Pre-professional Training Programs.

Tickets are $10 – $39 and are available online at www.joyce.org, in person at The Joyce Theater Box Office (175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street) between 12 noon and 6pm Monday through Sunday, or by phone at 212.242.0800. For more information about ABT II, please visit www.abt.org/education.

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