Pauline Adamek
A trio of works by American Ballet Theatre (ABT) promises an electrifying cconclusion to Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center’s2015-16 dance season.
ABT returns to The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on July 8-10, 2016with a program choreographed entirely by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky.
Featuring their roster of ballet rock-stars, the mixed repertoire program celebrates one of the greatest choreographers of our age by presenting Ratmansky’s reimagined Firebird. This captivating ballet is based on a classic Russian fairytale. Setto the iridescent music of Igor Stravinsky, it will be performed by live orchestra. This is anenchanting tale of a mythical bird who possesses magical powers and helps two lovers overcome an evil sorcerer. Complete with stunning sets and costumes, Ratmanskys Firebird packs a powerful punch of intricate dance and witty storytelling thats sure to delight and inspire.
The three ABT performances will also feature Symphony #9 set to music by Dmitri Shostakovich; and a West Coast Premiere of a new piece set to Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium).
All performances will be accompanied by a live orchestra.
In addition, The Music Center will present ABT in a special benefit performance of Ratmanskys 2012 Firebird, starring ABT principal dancers and Southern California natives, Misty Copeland and Stella Abrera, at The Music Centers Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as part of The Music Centers inaugural Summer Soire, which will celebrate the new generation of powerful artists, like Copeland and Abrera, who are transforming the arts.
Principal casting* for all four nights of The Music Center engagement includes:
Thursday, July 7, 2016, 7:30 p.m., The Music Center Summer Soire:
Firebird Misty Copeland, Marcelo Gomes, Cory Stearns and Stella Abrera
Friday, July 8, 2016, 7:30 p.m., All-Ratmansky Program:
Symphony #9 Herman Cornejo, Stella Abrera and Craig Salstein with additional dancers to be announced
Ratmansky west coast premiere To be announced.
Firebird Isabella Boylston, Alexandre Hammoudi, Roman Zhurbin and Cassandra Trenary
Saturday, July 9, 2016, 7:30 p.m., All-Ratmansky Program
Symphony #9 Joseph Gorak, Luciana Paris and Arron Scott with additional dancers to be announced
Ratmansky west coast premiere To be announced
Firebird Misty Copeland, Marcelo Gomes, Cory Stearns and Stella Abrera
*Casting is subject to change.
Sunday, July 10, 2016, 2:00 p.m., All-Ratmansky Program
Symphony #9 Herman Cornejo, Stella Abrera and Craig Salstein with additional dancers to be announced
Ratmansky west coast premiere To be announced
Firebird Isabella Boylston, Alexandre Hammoudi, Roman Zhurbin and Cassandra Trenary
From the press release:
According to Rachel Moore, formerly ABT CEO and now president and CEO of The Music Center, ABT’s performances exemplify some of the very best in dance theater. It is an honor to present the excellence and grace of ABT, truly a national treasure, to Los Angeles audiences. and to witness the incredible work of one of the most gifted choreographers in classical ballet, Moore said. These performances will be particularly special to us at The Music Center, with the homecoming of both Misty Copeland and Stella Abrera, both of whom have made ballet history, she added. Copeland is a winner of The Music Centers Spotlight scholarship and arts education program for Southern California high school students (1997).
Set to Stravinsky’s Le Oiseau de Feu. Ratmansky’s reimagined Firebird takes audiences on an extravagant adventure, relaying the enchanting tale of a mythical bird who possesses magical powers and helps two lovers overcome an evil sorcerer. The ballet received its world premiere under the title LOiseau de Feu by Diaghilevs Ballet Russes in Paris on June 25, 1910, with choreography by Mikhail Fokine and scenery and costumes by Alexander Golovine and Leon Bakst, and premiered in the United States as Firebird with the same company in New York on January 17, 1916. Firebird, with choreography by Adolph Bolm and scenery and costumes by Marc Chagall, first entered ABTs repertory on October 24, 1945, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. A second production, with choreography after Michel Fokine, staged by Christopher Newton, and scenery and costumes by Nathalie Gontcharova, was given its first performance on February 21, 1977, at The Music Centers Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. A revival of Firebird, with choreography after Michel Fokine and produced by Nicholas Beriozoff, was given its first performance on January 24, 1992, at the Palacio des Bellas Artes, Mexico City.
The Ratmansky choreography had its world premiere in Southern California at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on March 29, 2012. The Los Angeles Times said, choreographer Alexei Ratmansky has updated the iconic Firebird into an extravagant and fanciful adventure while The Wall Street Journal called it a freshly told fantastical tale.
Ratmanskys Symphony #9, his seventh work for ABT, is part of a trio of works that are often presented as a full evening of one-act ballets. Set to Shostakovichs Symphony #9 in E-Flat Major, op. 70, the choreography was given its world premiere by ABT on October 18, 2012. Symphony #9 was hailed by The New YorkTimes asebullient and pure dance work and for marvelous mastery of the vocabulary of academic balletsubtly combined with a sense of sublimated acting.
The third element of the ABT program at The Music Center features a new Ratmansky ballet, which will have its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, on May 16, 2016.
A Trio of Works
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
135 N. Grand Avenue,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
PERFORMANCES:
Friday, July 8, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 9, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 10, 2016, 2:00 p.m.
PROGRAM:
Firebird
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Music: Igor Stravinsky (Le Oiseau de Feu)
Scenery Design: Simon Pastukh
Costume Design: Galina Solovyeva
Costume Consultant: Holly Hynes
Lighting Design: Brad Fields
Projection Design: Wendall K. Harrington
Symphony #9
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Music: Dmitri Shostakovich (Symphony No. 9 in E-Flat Major, op. 70)
Scenery Design: George Tsypin
Costume Design: Keso Dekker
Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton
New Ballet
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Music: Leonard Bernstein (Serenade after Platos Symposium)
Scenery Design: Jrme Kaplan
Costume Design: Jrme Kaplan
Lighting Design: Brad Fields
TICKETS:
Single tickets for the July 8-10, 2016 engagement of American Ballet Theatre at The Music Center start at $34 and are available at The Music Centers Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Box Office, 135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012; by calling (213) 972-0711; and online at musiccenter/abt. For groups of 10 or more, call (213) 972-8555 or email mcgroupsales@musiccenter.org
In addition, a number of table and ticket packages are available for The Music Centers Summer Soire on July 7, 2016. Single Soire tickets, which include prime orchestra seating for the performance and the post-performance party in Grand Park, are available at $500/each by calling (213) 972-4322 and online at musiccenter.org/firebird. Single tickets for the benefit performance alone start at $28 and are available at The Music Centers Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Box Office, 135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012; by calling (213) 972-0711; and online at musiccenter.org/benefit
Ticket holders to the July 8-10 performances can get further insight on the performances by joining DANCETALKS, on-site discussions held at the theatre one hour before curtain. For American Ballet Theatre, DANCETALKS will be led be dance writer and historian, Elizabeth Kaye. DANCETALKS are also available in real time by calling 1-800-371-8200 (access code: 314902) and can be heard after the engagement on The Music Centers Soundcloud channel: soundcloud.com/music-center-LA
About American Ballet Theatre:
Recognized as one of the premier dance companies in the world, American Ballet Theatre brings the highest quality dance and dancers to audiences across the globe. Celebrating its role as Americas National Ballet Company, ABT tours nationally and internationally, performing for over 400,000 people annually. The Company is under artistic direction of former ABT Principal Dancer Kevin McKenzie.
About The Music Center:
The Music Center is Los Angeles home to the worlds greatest artistic programs and events. With four iconic theaters and four renowned resident companies LA Phil, LA Opera, Center Theatre Group and the Los Angeles Master Chorale and recognized for its illustrious dance programming, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, The Music Center is a destination where audiences find inspiration in the very best of live performance, as well as nationally recognized arts education and participatory arts experiences. The Music Center also programs and manages Grand Park, a 12-acre adjacent greenspace, with year-round free programming. For more information, visit musiccenter.org and follow The Music Center on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat (@MusicCenterLA).
About Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center:
As The Music Centers highly regarded dance series, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center is one of the leading presenters of dance on the West Coast. The celebrated series offers significant works by prestigious ballet and contemporary dance artists from around the world. Entering its second decade, Dance at The Music Center continues to be a powerful commissioning force through the support of new works and artists-in-residence projects by todays most influential companies and choreographers. Performances take place throughout The Music Centers historic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, its distinctive Ahmanson Theatre, and its iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall, providing the ideal setting for inspiring dance experiences. For more information, visit musiccenter.org/dance
