Revivals of Twyla Tharp's Sinatra Suite, George Balanchine's Symphonie Concertante, Lar Lubovitch's Meadow and Mark Morris' Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes Scheduled

The World Premiere of a new work by Jorma Elo and Revivals of Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite, George Balanchine’s Symphonie Concertante, Lar Lubovitch’s Meadow and Mark Morris’ Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes will highlight American Ballet Theatre’s 2006 Fall season at New York City Center, October 18 through November 5, 2006.

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

American Ballet Theatre’s 2006 Fall Season at City Center will kick off with an Opening Night Gala at 6:30pm featuring ABT’s Principal Dancers in selections of the season’s works.

Countrywide Financial is the National Sponsor of American Ballet Theatre, CA, Inc. is the Leading Sponsor of ABT’s 2006 Family Initiative and Saks Fifth Avenue is the Leading Sponsor of ABT’s Costume Fund. ABT’s 2006 City Center season is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
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World Premiere

The World Premiere of a new work by Jorma Elo is scheduled for Thursday evening, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. A former dancer with Finnish National Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theater and Cullberg Ballet, Elo is currently Resident Choreographer at Boston Ballet. The new Elo work will be given six performances during the City Center season.

Revival Premieres

Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite, a ballet for two dancers, will have its Revival Premiere on Thursday evening, October 19. Set to five songs by Frank Sinatra, Sinatra Suite features costumes by Oscar de la Renta and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. The ballet, last performed by ABT in 1984, is a suite of dances from Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, created in 1982 for the Twyla Tharp Dance Company. Sinatra Suite received its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere in Washington, DC in 1983. The ballet will be staged for ABT by Elaine Kudo.

George Balanchine’s Symphonie Concertante will have its Revival Premiere on Friday evening, October 20 at City Center. Set to Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E flat Major for Violin and Viola, Symphonie Concertante was created in 1947 for Ballet Society and received its American Ballet Theatre Premiere in 1983. The ballet features costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by David K.H. Elliott. Symphonie Concertante , which was last performed by ABT in 1999, will be staged for ABT by Susan Jones.

Mark Morris’ Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes, last performed by ABT in 1998, will have its Revival Premiere on Tuesday evening, October 24. Staged by Tina Fehlandt, the ballet for twelve dancers is set to the music of Virgil Thomson and features costumes by Santo Loquasto. Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes was given its World Premiere by ABT in 1988. An excerpt of the ballet was given its first performance at the Dancing For Life benefit at the New York State Theater in 1987.

A revival of Lar Lubovitch’s Meadow is scheduled for its premiere on Tuesday evening, October 24. Set to music by Franz Schubert, Gavin Bryars, Ferruccio Busoni and William David Brohn, with costumes by Ann Hould-Ward, Meadow received its World Premiere by ABT in 1999. Following its Revival Premiere, the ballet will be given four performances.

Returning Repertory

American Ballet Theatre’s 2006 City Center season will also feature performances of Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table, Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun and Fancy Free, Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room, Antony Tudor’s Dark Elegies, and Stanton Welch’s Clear.

Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table (A Dance of Death in 8 Scenes), staged by Anna Markard, was given its Company Premiere last season at City Center. 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. The Green Table will be given five performances this season beginning Thursday evening, October 19.

Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, which was revived for ABT’s 2005 City Center season, will be given four performances this season beginning Saturday, October 21 matinee. 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. The 2005 revival of Rodeo was staged for ABT by Paul Sutherland with assistance from Christine Sarry.

Antony Tudor’s Dark Elegies will be given two performances at City Center, Thursday evening, November 2 and Saturday evening, November 4. The ballet 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. ABT’s current production of the Tudor ballet was staged by Donald Mahler.

Two works by Jerome Robbins will be presented by ABT this season. Afternoon of a Faun, which received its Company Premiere at City Center in 2005, will be given four performances beginning Thursday evening, October 26. 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. ABT’s production of Afternoon of a Faun was staged by Jean-Pierre Frohlich.

Robbins’ Fancy Free, last performed by ABT in 2003, will be given four performances beginning Thursday evening, October 26. Staged by Jean-Pierre Frohlich, Fancy Free is set to music by Leonard Bernstein, with scenery by Oliver Smith, costumes by Kermit Love and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, after original designs by Nananne Porcher. Fancy Free was created for American Ballet Theatre and received its World Premiere in 1944.

Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room will have six performances at City Center beginning Tuesday evening, October 24. Set to music by Philip Glass with costumes by Norma Kamali and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, the ballet received its World Premiere by Twyla Tharp Dance in 1986 and its ABT Company Premiere in 1988. ABT’s current production of In The Upper Room was staged by Keith Roberts.

Stanton Welch’s Clear will be given four performances beginning Thursday evening, October 26. Last performed by ABT in 2003, Clear is set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach with costumes by Michael Kors for Celine. Clear was given its World Premiere by ABT at City Center in 2001.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2006 Fall season at City Center, priced from $26-$93, go on sale beginning Monday, July 17 by mail, online, or by calling CityTix at 212-581-1212. Discounts are available for packages of three or more performances. The box office will open Sunday, August 27. City Center is located at West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in New York City.

FALL SEASON AT NEW YORK CITY CENTER

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