August 16, 2017
Casting Announced for ABT's 2017 Fall Season at David H. Koch Theater
Gillian Murphy in Other Dances.Casting for American Ballet Theatre’s 2017 Fall Season at the David H. Koch Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.
American Ballet Theatre opens its Fall season on Wednesday, October 18 at 6:30 P.M. with a special opening night Gala performance highlighted by the World Premiere of a new work by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky. The work for twelve dancers will be led by Isabella Boylston and Alban Lendorf at the World Premiere. Christine Shevchenko and Calvin Royal III will debut in the roles at the matinee on Saturday, October 21. Ratmansky’s new work is set to new music Bukovinian Songs (24 Preludes for Piano) by Leonid Desyatnikov, performed live by guest soloist Alexey Goribol.
The Opening Night Gala will also feature the World Premiere of a new work by Jessica Lang performed by ABT apprentices, the ABT Studio Company and students from the upper level of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. Christopher Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions will round out the opening night program with Sarah Lane, Misty Copeland, Stella Abrera, Skylar Brandt, Joseph Gorak, Gray Davis, Thomas Forster and Zhiyao Zhang in the leading roles.
American Ballet Theatre will give the season’s first performance of Jessica Lang’s Her Notes on Thursday evening, October 19 danced by Gillian Murphy, Misty Copeland, Devon Teuscher, Stephanie Williams, Skylar Brandt, Cassandra Trenary, Thomas Forster, Gabe Stone Shayer, Cory Stearns and Blaine Hoven. The October 19 performance will mark debuts by Forster and Shayer in the ballet. On Friday evening, October 20, Luciana Paris and Catherine Hurlin will dance the ballet for the first time, alongside Stella Abrera, Christine Shevchenko, Stephanie Williams, Sarah Lane, James Whiteside, Arron Scott, Alexandre Hammoudi and Calvin Royal III. Set to music by Fanny Mendelssohn, with costumes by Bradon McDonald, scenery by Lang and lighting design by Nicole Pearce, Her Notes received its World Premiere on October 20, 2016 at the Koch Theater in New York City.
Misty Copeland, Christine Shevchenko, Luciana Paris, Arron Scott, Calvin Royal III and Joseph Gorak will dance the season’s first performance of Frederick Ashton’s Symphonic Variations on Thursday evening, October 19 ; with Scott and Gorak making debuts. Symphonic Variations is set to music by César Franck, with costumes by Sophie Fedorovitch and lighting by Michael Somes. A plotless ballet for six dancers, Symphonic Variations was given its World Premiere by the Sadler’s Wells Ballet in London on April 24, 1946. It was first performed by American Ballet Theatre at the Civic Opera House in Chicago, Illinois on March 20, 1992. The ballet is staged for ABT by Wendy Somes and Malin Thoors.
Hee Seo will debut in Jerome Robbins’ Other Dances performing opposite David Hallberg on Thursday evening, October 19. On Thursday evening, October 26, Cory Stearns will dance the male lead for the first time alongside Gillian Murphy. Set to a waltz and four mazurkas by Frédéric Chopin, Other Dances features costumes by Santo Loquasto and original lighting by Nananne Porcher. The plotless, classical character pas de deux was created by Robbins for a Gala evening for the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center at the Metropolitan Opera House on May 9, 1976, performed by Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Other Dances is staged for American Ballet Theatre by Isabelle Guerin.
On Thursday evening, October 19, Herman Cornejo, Alban Lendorf in a role debut, Blaine Hoven, Calvin Royal III, Gabe Stone Shayer, Daniil Simkin, James Whiteside and Devon Teuscher will dance the season’s first performance of Ratmansky’s Serenade after Plato’s Symposium. Zhiyao Zhang in a role debut, Alexandre Hammoudi, Thomas Forster, Jose Sebastian, Tyler Maloney, Arron Scott, Joseph Gorak and Hee Seo take over the same roles at the matinee on Saturday, October 21. Set to music by Leonard Bernstein, the ballet features scenery and costumes by Jérôme Kaplan and lighting by Brad Fields. Serenade after Plato’s Symposium received its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on May 16, 2016 at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Liam Scarlett’s Elegy pas de deux, from his 2014 work With a Chance of Rain will receive its first performance of the season on Tuesday, October 24 performed by Hee Seo and Roman Zhurbin in a role debut. Thomas Forster will debut in the ballet at the matinee of Saturday, October 28. Set to music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, the ballet features costumes by Scarlett and lighting by Brad Fields. Scarlett’s complete work was given its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on October 22, 2014.
The World Premiere of a new work by Benjamin Millepied will be given on Wednesday evening, October 25 with Devon Teuscher, Misty Copeland, Hee Seo, David Hallberg, Herman Cornejo and Cory Stearns in the leading roles. Stephanie Williams, Cassandra Trenary, Catherine Hurlin, Blaine Hoven, Daniil Simkin and Alexandre Hammoudi will debut in the roles at the matinee on October 28. The new Millepied work, set to music by Philip Glass, features costumes by Alessandro Sartori, Artistic Director of Italian luxury brand Ermenegildo Zegna and lighting by Brad Fields.
Last season’s Company Premiere of Ratmansky’s Souvenir d’un lieu cher will return to the repertory on Wednesday evening, October 25 performed by Stella Abrera, Sarah Lane, Thomas Forster in a role debut and Alban Lendorf. Souvenir d’un lieu cher is set to music of the same name by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. Featuring sets and costumes by Keso Dekker with lighting by Brad Fields, the ballet for four dancers received its World Premiere by Het National Ballet on February 16, 2012 in Amsterdam.
Millepied’s Daphnis and Chloe will be performed for the first time during the Fall season on Wednesday evening, October 25 featuring Stella Abrera, Cassandra Trenary, Cory Stearns and Calvin Royal III and Herman Cornejo making role debuts as Dorcon and Bryaxis respectively. Isabella Boylston, Skylar Brandt, Blaine Hoven and Arron Scott take over these roles on Thursday evening, October 26 with James Whiteside debuting as Daphnis. Set to music by Maurice Ravel, Daphnis and Chloe features costumes by Holly Hynes, scenery by Daniel Buren and lighting by Brad Fields. Daphnis and Chloe, adapted from the second century A.D. novel by the Greek writer Longus, was choreographed by Millepied for the Paris Opera Ballet in 2014. Daphnis and Chloe was originally commissioned in 1912 by Serge Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes. The ballet, which is staged for ABT by Janie Taylor and Sebastien Marcovici, was given its Company Premiere on October 20, 2016 at the Koch Theater.
Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2017 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced from $25, are available online, at the Koch Theater box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $25. The David
H. Koch Theater is located at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org
Leadership support for Serenade after Plato’s Symposium and Ratmansky’s World Premiere, part of The Ratmansky Project, has been provided by Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James and the Blavatnik Family Foundation, with additional support provided by Linda Allard, Sarah Arison, Avery and Andrew F. Barth, Lisa and Dick Cashin, The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, Brian J. Heidtke, Lloyd E. Rigler – Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, Bernard L. Schwartz, The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund, Melissa A. Smith, The H. Russell Smith Foundation/Stewart R. Smith and Robin A. Ferracone, Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation, and Sutton Stracke.
Daphnis and Chloe has been generously supported by The Leila and Mickey Straus Family Charitable Trust and through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.
Her Notes was commissioned with leadership support from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. This production has been generously supported through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.
American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre.
Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.
ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.