Company to Celebrate 70th Anniversary of Agnes de Mille's Rodeo

Xiomara Reyes and Sascha Radetsky in Rodeo.

American Ballet Theatre’s 2012 Fall season at New York City Center opens
Tuesday evening, October 16 for seven performances including the World Premiere of a new work by Alexei Ratmansky, a revival and repertory, October 16-20.

Principal Dancers for the New York City Center engagement include Roberto Bolle, Herman Cornejo, Marcelo Gomes, Julie Kent, Veronika Part, Xiomara Reyes, Polina Semionova and Cory Stearns.

American Ballet Theatre’s 2012 New York City Center season will begin at 6:30pm on Tuesday, October 16 with an Opening Night Gala benefit. A benefit dinner at The Pierre Hotel will immediately follow the performance. For benefit tickets and information, please contact ABT’s Special Events office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3245.

WORLD PREMIERE

The season will be highlighted by the World Premiere of a new work by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky. Set to Symphony No. 9 by Dmitri Shostakovich, the new Ratmansky work will receive its World Premiere on Thursday, October 18. The ballet will be the first of a full-evening of three one-act ballets which will be presented during ABT’s 2013 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House. The Shostakovich trio of works will feature scenery by George Tsypin and costumes by Keso Dekker. Following the World Premiere
performance, the new work by Ratmansky will be given three additional performances, October 19 evening and the matinee and evening of October 20.

70th ANNIVERSARY OF AGNES DE MILLE’S RODEO

American Ballet Theatre’s Fall Season at New York City Center will celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo with a performance of the choreographer’s most celebrated work on Tuesday, October 16. First presented by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at the Metropolitan Opera House on October 16, 1942, Rodeo features music by Aaron Copland and scenery by Oliver Smith. The World Premiere cast featured Agnes de Mille as the Cowgirl, Frederic Franklin as the Champion Roper and Casimir Kokitch as the Head Wrangler. Rodeo was first performed by Ballet Theatre in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1950. A new production, featuring sets by Oliver Smith and costumes by Santo Loquasto, was given its Revival Premiere in 1989 in St. Louis, Missouri. Rodeo will receive two additional performances on October 18 and the matinee of October 20.

REVIVAL OF JOSÉ LIMÓN’S THE MOOR’S PAVANE

A revival of José Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane, set to music by Henry Purcell, is scheduled for three performances at New York City Center beginning Wednesday evening, October 17. Last performed by American Ballet Theatre in 1981,
The Moor’s Pavane is based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy of Othello and features costumes by Pauline Lawrence and lighting by Jean Rosenthal. The Moor’s Pavane received its World Premiere on August 17, 1949 with Limón in the leading role and was first performed by ABT at the New York State Theater in 1970. The ballet will receive its Revival Premiere on Thursday, October 5, 2012 at The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
Clay Taliaferro will stage American Ballet Theatre’s revival of The Moor’s Pavane.

RETURNING REPERTORY

The 2012 New York City Center season will also feature performances of Mark Morris’ Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes, Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room and Antony Tudor’s The Leaves Are Fading.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2012 New York City Center season start at $20 and go on sale by phone at 212-581-1212 and on online at www.nycitycenter.org on July 23. The City Center Box Office will open for sales on September 4. For more information, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre. Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. The 2012 New York City Center Season is also made possible with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

David H. Koch is the Lead Underwriter of the three-part World Premiere Shostakovich works. The World Premiere works are generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. Mary Jo and Ted Shen are Lead Sponsors of the World Premiere at New York City Center. Support for the World Premiere Shostakovich works has been generously provided by Michele and Steven Pesner and Mary Jo and Ted Shen.

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