Revivals of Agnes de Mille's Rodeo, George Balanchine's Apollo, Twyla Tharp's In The Upper Room and Antony Tudor's Dark Elegies Also Planned

The Company Premieres of Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun and Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table will highlight American Ballet Theatre’s 2005 City Center season, October 19-November 6. A World Premiere by choreographer Peter Quanz and the revivals of Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, George Balanchine’s Apollo, Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room and Antony Tudor’s Dark Elegies are also scheduled. The season was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Principal Dancers for the City Center engagement include Maxim Beloserkovsky, Jose Manuel Carreño, Angel Corella, Herman Cornejo, Irina Dvorovenko, Marcelo Gomes, Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent, Gillian Murphy, Xiomara Reyes, Ethan Stiefel and Michele Wiles.

American Ballet Theatre’s 2005 Fall season at City Center will kick off with an Opening Night Gala at 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday evening, October 19 featuring ABT’s Principal Dancers performing selections of the season’s works. ABT’s Opening Night Gala is generously sponsored by Malo.

Countrywide Financial is the National Sponsor of American Ballet Theatre and Cole Haan is a Leading Benefactor. Graff is the 2005 City Center Season Sponsor. ABT’s 2005 City Center season is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

World Premiere

A new work by choreographer Peter Quanz will receive its World Premiere on Thursday evening, October 20. Quanz’s new work is set to Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major by Charles Camille Saint-Saƒóns and features costumes by Holly Hynes, scenery by Robert Perdziola and lighting by Brad Fields. This new ballet will be Quanz’s first work for American Ballet Theatre. He previously choreographed SpringScape for the ABT Studio Company in 2003.

American Ballet Theatre gratefully acknowledges The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for its generous support of this new work.

Company Premieres

American Ballet Theatre will present Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun and Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table for the first time this season.

Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun will be given its ABT Company Premiere on Thursday evening, October 20. Set to music by Claude Debussy with costumes by Irene Sharaff and décor and lighting by Jean Rosenthal, Afternoon of a Faun was given its World Premiere by New York City Ballet at City Center in 1953. A pas de deux based on the themes of a poem by Stéphane Mallarmé, Afternoon of a Faun is dedicated to Tanaquil Le Clercq for whom Robbins choreographed the ballet. Jean-Pierre Frohlich will stage the production for ABT.

Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table (The Dance of Death in 8 Scenes), staged by Anna Markard, will have its Company Premiere on Friday evening, October 21. Inspired by World War I and its aftermath, The Green Table is set to music by Frederick Cohen with costumes by Hein Heckroth, and lighting and masks by Hermann Markard. The Green Table was given its World Premiere by Jooss Ballet in Paris in 1932 with the choreographer portraying the role of Death.

American Ballet Theatre’s production of The Green Table has been made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Revivals

The 2005 City Center season will also be highlighted by four revivals of works from American Ballet Theatre’s repertory. Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo will be performed for the first time since 2001 at the matinee on Saturday, October 22. Celebrating de Mille’s centennial this year, the Company will give five performances of Rodeo, one of the choreographer’s signature works. Set to music by Aaron Copland with scenery by Oliver Smith and costumes by Santo Loquasto, Rodeo, subtitled The Courting at Burnt Ranch, was given its World Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1942. It was first presented by Ballet Theatre in 1950 in Wiesbaden, Germany. Paul Sutherland will stage the revival of Rodeo for ABT, with assistance from Christine Sarry.

George Balanchine’s Apollo, set to music by Igor Stravinsky, will be given seven performances beginning Friday evening, October 21. ABT’s production of Apollo, staged by Richard Tanner, will include the birth scene. Apollo was given its World Premiere by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1928 and was first performed by Ballet Theatre in 1943 at the Metropolitan Opera House. The Company last performed Apollo in 1998.

Antony Tudor’s Dark Elegies will also be revived this year with six performances being given beginning Wednesday evening, October 26. Dark Elegies, a ballet portraying members of a community mourning the loss of their children, is set to music by Gustav Mahler with scenery and costumes by Nadia Benois and lighting by Jean Rosenthal. Dark Elegies received its World Premiere by Ballet Rambert in 1937 and was first presented by Ballet Theatre in 1940. Last performed by ABT in 1990, the ballet will be staged by Donald Mahler.

Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room will be given its Revival Premiere on Wednesday, October 26. A ballet in nine parts, In The Upper Room, staged for ABT by Keith Roberts, features music by Philip Glass, costumes by Norma Kamali and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. Last performed by ABT in 1995, IIn The Upper Room received its World Premiere by Twyla Tharp Dance in 1986 and was given its ABT Premiere in 1988.

Returning Repertory

American Ballet Theatre’s three-week season at City Center will feature the return of Michel Fokine’s Les Sylphides and Mark Morris’ Gong.

Les Sylphides, set to the music of Frederic Chopin, will be given six performances beginning Thursday evening, October 20. This romantic one-act plotless work was premiered by Ballet Theatre, staged by Fokine, at the Company’s inaugural performance on January 11, 1940. Les Sylphides received its World Premiere as Chopiniana by the Maryinsky Theatre in 1908 and was staged for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes a year later in the form we know today. ABT’s current production, which received its Revival Premiere during the Company’s 2004 City Center season, is staged by Kirk Peterson with assistance from Susan Jones. The ballet features scenery by Alexandre Benois and lighting by David K.H. Elliott.

Mark Morris’s Gong, last performed by ABT in 2002, will be given six performances beginning Friday evening, October 21. Gong, staged by Tina Fehlandt, features music by Colin McPhee with costumes by Isaac Mizrahi and lighting by Michael Chybowski. A ballet for fifteen dancers, Gong was given its World Premiere by ABT in 2001.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2005 Fall season at City Center are priced from $25-$90 and are on sale now by mail, online at www.nycitycenter. org or by calling CityTix at 212-581-1212. Discounts are available for packages of three of more performances. The box office will open Sunday, August 28. City Center is located on West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in New York City.

FALL SEASON AT NEW YORK CITY CENTER

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