August 15, 2019
Casting Announced for ABT's 2019 Fall Season at The David H. Koch Theater
Herman Cornejo in Apollo. © The George Balanchine Trust. Photo: Erin Baiano, courtesy of Vail Dance Festival.Casting for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.
Principal Dancers for the 2019 Fall season include Stella Abrera, Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo, Sarah Lane, Hee Seo, Christine Shevchenko, Cory Stearns, Devon Teuscher and James Whiteside.
A World Premiere by Twyla Tharp will highlight the Opening Night Gala performance on Wednesday, October 16 at 6:30 PM. Set to String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 by Johannes Brahms, with costumes by Norma Kamali and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, Tharp’s new work, created for Herman Cornejo and ABT Company members, is the choreographer’s 17th ballet for the Company. The Gala program also features Catherine Hurlin and Aran Bell in the New York Premiere of Jessica Lang’s Let Me Sing Forevermore and the debut of Devon Teuscher in George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations.
On Saturday evening, October 26, American Ballet Theatre will present a program of works in honor of Principal Dancer Herman Cornejo and his 20th Anniversary with ABT. This special evening will include Cornejo’s New York debut in the title role of George Balanchine’s Apollo, with debuts by Misty Copeland as Terpsichore, Cassandra Trenary as Calliope and Skylar Brandt as Polyhymnia. The evening will also feature Cornejo in the World Premiere work by Tharp.
Apollo, last performed by the Company in 2012, will receive its first performance of the season on Friday evening, October 18 featuring Joo Won Ahn performing the title role for the first time. Stella Abrera and Katherine Williams will debut in the roles of Terpsichore and Polyhymnia respectively. At the matinee on Saturday, October 19, Calvin Royal III will make his New York debut in the title role, while Hee Seo and Zhong-Jing Fang will debut in the roles of Terpsichore and Calliope. Choreographed by George Balanchine in 1937, Apollo is set to music by Igor Stravinsky and is staged for ABT by Victoria Simon.
The season’s first performance of Clark Tippet’s Some Assembly Required on Friday evening, October 18 will feature the debut of Cory Stearns dancing opposite Sarah Lane. A pas de deux first presented by ABT in 1989, Some Assembly Required is set to music by William Bolcolm, with costumes by Gary Lisz and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. The ballet is staged for ABT by Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner. Skylar Brandt and Roman Zhurbin will dance the ballet for the first time at the matinee on Saturday, October 19.
Jessica Lang’s Let Me Sing Forevermore, a pas de deux set to a medley of songs recorded by Tony Bennett, features costumes by Bradon McDonald and lighting by Brad Fields. Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside will dance the roles for the first time at the matinee on Saturday, October 19. Let Me Sing Forevermore received its World Premiere on March 23, 2019 at the Erik Bruhn Competition in Toronto, Canada performed by Catherine Hurlin and Aran Bell.
Twyla Tharp’s Deuce Coupe, set to songs by The Beach Boys, with costumes and scenery by Santo Loquasto (after original costume design by Scott Barrie and original scenics by United Graffiti Artists) and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, will be given its first performance of the season on Friday, October 18. Blaine Hoven and Thomas Forster will make their debuts in the work at the matinee on Saturday, October 19. Deuce Coupe was given its World Premiere in 1973 by The Joffrey Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois and received its ABT Company Premiere on May 30, 2019 at the Metropolitan Opera House. Deuce Coupe is staged for ABT by Kara Chan, Sara Rudner and Shawn Stevens.
Additional debuts for the 2019 Fall season include Javier Rivet in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Seasons on Tuesday, October 22 and Joo Won Ahn in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations at the matinee on Saturday, October 26.
Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced from $30, are available online, at the Koch Theatre box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $35. The David H. Koch Theater is located at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.