The following features news of the 2007 City Center:

http://www.nysun.com/article/56914

I will post the release shortly.

Wow! The good neighbor policy, NYCB to the rescue!

Perhaps ABT could loan the occasional tall male dancer to NYCB in return? WHY NOT?

Here's the press release:

PHILIP GLASS’S A MUSICAL PORTRAIT OF CHUCK CLOSE
CHOREOGRAPHED BY JORMA ELO AND
A NEW WORK BY BENJAMIN MILLEPIED
TO HIGHLIGHT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S
2007 NEW YORK CITY CENTER SEASON, OCTOBER 23-NOVEMBER 4

Company Premieres of George Balanchine’s Ballo della Regina and
Twyla Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen to Highlight Engagement


Repertory for American Ballet Theatre’s 2007 Fall season at New York City Center, October 23-November 4, was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Highlighting the engagement will be the World Premieres of new works by Jorma Elo, in collaboration with Philip Glass and Chuck Close, and by Benjamin Millepied, with a commissioned score by Nico Muhly.
American Ballet Theatre’s 2007 Fall Season at City Center will open with a Gala Performance on October 23 at 6:30 PM and features ABT’s Principal Dancers in selections of the season’s works. ABT’s Opening Night Fall Gala is sponsored by Nina Ricci. For information on ABT’s Gala benefit, please call the Special Events office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3239

World Premieres
The friendship between two influential artists is the inspiration for a new ballet by Jorma Elo, set to Philip Glass’s A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close, Glass’s musical portrayal of the life of artist Chuck Close was conceived and first performed in 2005 by concert pianist Bruce Levingston. ABT’s premiere of the work will include three new movements composed by Glass and performed on stage by Levingston. Featuring a set design by Chuck Close and costumes by designer Ralph Rucci, the new Elo/Glass/Close ballet will receive its World Premiere on Saturday evening, October 27. Elo previously choreographed Glow - Stop for ABT in 2006.

The World Premiere of a new work by Benjamin Millepied is scheduled for Friday evening, October 26. Set to a commissioned score by composer Nico Muhly, Millepied’s work, a ballet for 12 dancers, also features costumes designed by Millepied and lighting by Roderick Murray. A principal dancer with New York City Ballet, Millepied has previously choreographed Double Aria (2003) for New York City Ballet and Circular Motion (2005). He choreographed Capriccio in 2006 for the ABT Studio Company. This is Millepied’s first work for American Ballet Theatre.
Countrywide Financial is the National Sponsor of American Ballet Theatre. Superfund Asset Management, Inc. is the sponsor of American Ballet Theatre’s 2007 New York City Center season. CA, Inc. is the Leading Sponsor of ABT’s 2007 Family Initiative and Saks Fifth Avenue is the Leading Sponsor of ABT’s Costume Fund. Benjamin Millepied’s new work is underwritten by Cheryl Bergenfield Katz and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Nico Muhly's original score has been generously underwritten through a gift from Michele and Steven Pesner. The new Elo/Glass/Close work is made possible by the generous support of Leading Underwriters Barbara Hemmerle Gollust, Lewis S. Ranieri, Leila and Mickey Straus, and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Company Premieres
George Balanchine’s Ballo della Regina, staged for American Ballet Theatre by Merrill Ashley, will be given its Company Premiere on opening night, October 23.
Set to music by Giuseppe Verdi from the opera Don Carlos, with costumes by Ben Benson, Ballo della Regina was given its World Premiere by New York City Ballet on January 12, 1978. The ballet will receive five performances by ABT.
Twyla Tharp’s 1979 Baker’s Dozen will be given its Company Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on Tuesday evening, October 30. A work for twelve dancers in five sections, Baker’s Dozen is set to music by Willie “The Lion” Smith and features costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. Baker’s Dozen received its World Premiere by the Twyla Tharp Dance Company on February 15, 1979 and featured Tharp in the original cast. The ballet will be staged for ABT by Elaine Kudo.

Revivals
Antony Tudor’s The Leaves Are Fading, last performed by American Ballet Theatre in 1997, will be given five performances this season beginning Wednesday evening, October 24. Created for ABT in 1975, the ballet has music by Antonin Dvorak, scenery by Ming Cho Lee, costumes by Patricia Zipprodt and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. ABT’s revival of The Leaves Are Fading will be staged by Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner.
Agnes de Mille’s Fall River Legend will be given its Revival Premiere on Thursday, November 1. Last performed by ABT in 1999, Fall River Legend, based upon the true story of Lizzie Borden, is set to music by Morton Gould with scenery by Oliver Smith, costumes by Miles White and lighting designed by Thomas Skelton.

Returning Repertory
American Ballet Theatre rounds out its New York City Center season with the return of Lar Lubovitch’s Meadow, Stanton Welch’s Clear, Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite and Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free.
Lar Lubovitch’s Meadow will be given five performances beginning Thursday evening, October 25. 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.
Stanton Welch’s Clear, premiered by ABT in 2001, is set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach with costumes by Michael Kors and Lisa Pinkham. The ballet will be given five performances beginning Tuesday evening, October 23.
Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free will have four performances beginning Wednesday evening, October 24. Staged for ABT by Jean-Pierre Frohlich, Fancy Free has music by Leonard Bernstein, costumes by Kermit Love and lighting by Jennifer Tipton after original designs by Nananne Porcher. Fancy Free was premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House by American Ballet Theatre on April 18, 1944.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2007 Fall season at New York City Center, priced $27-$98, go on sale by mail, by phone at 212-581-1212 and at the City Center Box office beginning July 16. Discounts are available for packages of three or more performances. For more information, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

Thanks, Dale!

The season is only 2 weeks?I thought there were plans to extend the season to 4 weeks.Ballo and Leaves are fading are something to look forward to.

bingham, I noticed that. Just thinking about the dancers they have and the pieces they're putting on... It again looks as if we're going to see a lot of some dancers and nothing from others.

Any bets who gets Ballo? My guess is first cast Murphy-Stiefel, second cast Lane-Cornejo .

I'd love to see Lane-Cornejo but I don't think it will happen unless she gets promoted.

So this is a cut-back from three to two weeks. Were sales bad last fall? At least Wheeldon's new company will be at City Center the week before.

Thanks

I didn't know about Wheeldon's company being there (I'm sometimes not totally with it). I'll be looking into that.

I can't believe ABT's sales at City Center were bad. Whatever the reason, a two week season is a shame.

Could this have something to do with the renovation schedule at City Center? I wonder. The performance calendar for the Main Stage looks fairly empty after this summer.

Maybe they are doing something now? (Though somethig called Gypsy fills their July schedule.) With Wheeldon and ABT in October/November, Ailey December (always a sell-out five weeks, no?), Vishneva's Beauty Tour a week in February (already being sold), Taylor much of March (again, a fixture), Mariinsky three weeks in April (already being sold). Will there be another Fall for Dance in September? Will the 2008 Ananiashvili State Ballet of Georgia Tour play here? The five venues announced so far seem to suggest a tour beginning out west, through the midwest to ?, as winter marches on.

that is (yet another revival of) the musical Gypsy about Gypsy Rose Lee and the ultimate stage mother of all time, Momma Rose.

Im not sure *why* they are reviving it since it was on bway just a few years ago, but that is what it is.

Well, I guess CC thinks they can sell a lot of tickets, especially with Patti Lupone as Mama Rose. Actually Broadway shows are very late in the food chain of "reviving" Up until the 70s most of what was put on the Broadway was brand new. It was only
around then that new material started to dry up, and revivals start to absorb the space.


As I said, Broadway shows are recent additions to the revival business. We have been looking at revivals of Giselle, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, etc. for a long time. And they are revived for the same reason; people will buy tickets. So you could say "why do Swan Lake, it was done last year"

I could add operas, classical plays, and orchestral music. All the schedules for this classifications are dominated by revivals for a long , long time.

Audiences want to play it safe with stuff they know and that figures regularly in the scheduling

*****edited to fix the role that Lupone will play, it's NOT the title role

Good points. I actually like broadway revivals, as I much prefer older musicals to most of those from the 70s to today. It is a bit strange however given that broadway musicals *aren't* usually revived every year, that there is another revival of Gypsy this soon. And Patti Lupone is certainly more true to type (Ethel Merman) than Bernadette Peters was.

Or they want to share the experience with someone of a younger generation. The first Broadway show I went to was Fiddler on the Roof, in the original production (but not the original cast). I was thrilled to see that there was a revival with Molina, so that my (much) younger cousins could see it. (Not that it had to be on Broadway, but it was important to be prominently available.)

Although I don't know if today's 17-year-old would have seen the same thing in Pippin that I did at that age

A lot of the classic musicals are our a key part of American musical legacy, and are great vehicles for today's actors. I think there's something great about passing them down.

No, you're right, a musical being revived that quickly is odd. But let me make a few guesses(mostly concerned with money of course).
The Peters revival of 2003-2004 was troubled and you are not the only person to remark that the role was not a neat fit for her
(imagine whispering Everything's Coming Up Roses??????)
More important , it was an open ended show at a Broadway house.

The Lupone is easier and neater for the promoters, it's closed ended, just three weeks and it should be easy to sell a lot of tickets even in July based on the short window. I don't know this as fact, so bear that in mind, but I think this version may be moved around to limited engagements in other cities. The producers have less of that old style managing of looking at last weeks takes and deciding to post a closing notice.

Sorry, I've gone waaaaaaaaaaaaay

You are probably right but a Murphy- Hallberg cast would be nice too.Any ideas for "Leaves..."

Abrera maybe, she is unlike Kirkland (who I saw in the role) but has an air of mystery and fluidity that might work.

A connected topic - ABT is ripe for promotions. I had assumed that Part would become a principal soon. Is that happening? Could Abrera be on the principal track? Also, I have been rooting for a Lane promotion to soloist. Are any promotions likely to be announced any time soon? I feel like this site is sometimes like "the oracle."

Much of the reason for the City Center run is because Arthur Laurents and Patti Lupone finally "kissed and made-up," so to speak and Laurents not only consented to the casting but will be directing Lupone in the production. He had refused to give his consent to Lupone playing Rose in a major production, and now that he's not only given his go-ahead but signed onto the project, no one is really going to sit around on it. After all, quite frankly, Laurents isn't getting any younger. With an all-star supporting cast, I guess City Center is selling it as a variation on their popular "Encores!" concerts.

And yes, while I've thoroughly enjoyed Bernadette Peters in many things (including concert renditions of songs from "Gypsy") she was miscast in the last revival and Mendes was not the director who could make it work.

This is probably just 'relatively soon' for Gypsy to be getting revived again, because it seems the perennially revivable show. The only comparable one that showcases a diva type is 'Hello, Dolly!' and that doesn't have the staying power. Dozens of ladies from the movies did it in the 60s and 70s, but Gypsy always gets a major production eventually. Even with business matters, as with Laurents and Lupone, Gypsy is the one show that keeps making it back due to its perfect balance as a work in this form. I definitely think if a single one had to be chosen as the most exemplary, it would be Gypsy.

I like Richard53dog's observation about revivals of B'way shows being like revivals in ballet and opera--hadn't thought of it exactly like that--but it is exactly the same. Even reminded me of the way Michael Moore presented universal health care to Oprah as being a kind of public right just like a police and fire department--should be taken for granted. Never have seen Lupone, so am looking forward to this. This is , I see, but I guess it's about City Center, my least favourite theater in New York.

The two week schedule is now posted on the ABT website. I was not to pleased with the comission to Millipied after sitting
through his very forgettable Quiet Music at the YAGP gala in April BUT it is last on most programs so if it's another zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz we can skip out during the second intermission and do an "early quit"


http://www.abt.org/insideabt/news_display.asp?News_ID=199


Scroll all the way to the bottom for the sched

Unfortunately, K Mckencie doesn't listen to "the oracle" but the ABT higherups seems to be pushing J Mathews to more soloist roles than any other male member of the corp.There seems more promising females than males in the present group. Any other names?

I'm so bummed they aren't doing In the Upper Room! I was prepared to rush out and buy tickets for every performance of it. I'm still dumbfounded from last year's performances.

In the Upper Room has been done a lot recently by a bunch of companies. Boston Ballet is doing it next May, on a program that includes Concerto Barocco and Dark Elegies.

It is difficult to know whether Abrera could be promoted to principal, but I certainly hope so! She is lovely as the Lilac Fairy and as Myrta. However, it is difficult to know if she will remain permanently as a soloist, like Carmen seems to be doing. It seems like Part would be the next obvious promotion, though I don't think ABT knows quite what to do with her. She dances lead roles in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, and yet she is completely absent from other ballets.

Also Bayadere, Raymonda, Giselle (Myrtha), R&J (Mommy, a lead role when she does it), Mozartiana.

Hurling a bunch of responses to the myriad comments made so far:

Part's promotion: She really should be promoted. However, a few well-placed critics (including Macauley at the Times) don't like her and she was not given very warm reviews for her Aurora. I saw the opening night and I thought she was lovely if somewhat miscast and lacking a little in lightness of footwork. However she was definitely a ballerina up there. I am afraid that McKenzie et al. might decide to make her take the fall for the disastrous critical reception of the "Sleeping Beauty" production. ABT should either promote her now or let her go. Her Nikiya in "La Bayadere" and her Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake" in partnership with Gomes are reason enough to give her the rank of principal. Add any other role you wish to this very short list.

"Ballo" casting: Part often has been cast in Balanchine at ABT and at the Kirov/Maryinsky back when. Could she do "Ballo"? Definitely Wiles, Herrera and Murphy are natural Balanchine ballerinas but Dvorovenko and Beloserkovsky are good bet too.

As for promotions: I wonder where the next generation of ballerinas are going to come from? Really once Julie Kent retires and Nina finally quits the stage, ABT will be short in the prima ballerina department. Other than Sarah Lane or Misty Copeland, perhaps, who in corps is ready to be groomed for stardom? Also, the constellation of male superstars we have been enjoying at ABT already has been diminished by the retirement of Julio Bocca. Vladimir Malakhov is getting to be a rare and uncertain presence on the ABT roster and he is over 35. Jose Manuel Carreno is over 35 and was in great shape last season. Other than a troublesome shoulder and upper back which affects his partnering, he is still going strong and could go on for another four or five years. Ethan Stiefel is a fantastic dancer who this season showed up with stronger acting temperment. However, I suspect that the aftereffects of his many injuries will limit him in future seasons more and more. Another serious injury could end his career before he turns 40. Carlos Acosta didn't make it to the Met season this year and his busy schedule and main affiliation to the Royal makes him really more of an occasional guest artist, at best. That leaves Marcelo, Angel, David Hallberg, Herman and Max to carry the company forward. Certainly, Roberto Bolle made a very nice impression on the ABT audience who took to him immediately. His is tall and a good partner and would take some of the pressure off of Marcelo.

The City Center season is always a better opportunity for corps dancers to do more and might prove a testing ground for new talent which will be needed desperately at ABT in five years.

Oooh. I like her, but that would not be pretty. The role is for an allegro technician - the opposite sort of dancer to Part. It might exert a sort of morbid fascination, kind of like making Katharine Hepburn sing "On the Good Ship Lollipop," but I'm not sure either Part or Ballo would be enriched by the experience.



Wiles, Herrera and Murphy are natural Balanchine ballerinas? Murphy comes the closest, but in my viewing, Herrera looks stilted in Balanchine and Wiles has the ability but not the attack or accenting.

Lane is a good solid soloist, although I'd place my bets on wondrous Yuriko Kajiya to surprise everyone!

Stella Abrera, without a doubt, should be the next female principal at ABT. She has it all -- amazing technique, charisma and versatility (think Lilac Fairy or Gamzatti one day, Push Comes to Shove the next, then Balanchine Symph Concertant). I don't feel quite the same about Part, although she certainly held her own as Aurora when I saw her.

And like Julio Bocca and Vladimir Malakhov before him, Angel Corella will now have his own company (and school) to attend to, and so will probably be less able to commit to a full season at ABT in the future. So yes, Mr. McKenzie et.al. need to consider the talent present in ABT's soloists and corps, (or imported from elsewhere) and the next generation of stars they want to promote.

I have always thought that Zhong Jing Fang would be the next one to be promoted but so far she has not been cast in a big soloist role( aside from her Symphonic Variation) . She always stands out even when in the corp de ballet.

I liked her a lot in her fairy variation in SB--I'd definitely enjoy seeing more of her.

How about guys? I'd certainly say Jared Matthews would be the next promotion there--he's doing both Benvolio and Von Rothbart this season (he did some Benvolio's last seaon too).

And what about Isaac Stappas? I remember a time when ABT (at least this is my memory of it!) used to promote some dancers due to their excellence in some of the character/heavy roles. He was a very good Tybalt, and has been featured in this sort of part for several seasons at least now. I see from the website his rep includes Hilarion (Giselle), Bottom (Midsummernight's dream), Death (Green Table), etc. He's Von Rothbart too, but only the green ugly one from what I remember, so that's not exactly the same thing ;)

Yes, I was wondering whether he would be in line for a promotion too. I don't pay as much attention to the male corps as to the female, but he has stood out to me this season.
As to the women, I agree there's a shortage (or impending shortage) of major ballerina talent at the top, which I have trouble understanding how that happened, since there's so much talent at the bottom. Does anyone have any ideas as to how that happened?
As to the soloists, my guess is if they were going to promote Part, it would have been in conjunction with SB, and that didn't happen, leaving me wondering what her future with ABT is. Carmen Corella and Maria Riccetto, (from what I've seen anyway) have not gotten wide casting this season -- I don't know if that means they're still in development for promotion down the road, or stuck as perpetual soloists. Abrera has gotten heavy performance time this season, and while I like her in many respects, find her lacking in lyricism and emotional depth. She can do "cold and evil" so convincingly it can freeze your heart in fear, which is great in some roles, but I don't see her doing much else.
But in the corps, there are so many girls that look impressive! I don't understand why they don't just promote 2 or 3 or 4 of them already! Why do they promote so stintingly? Am I missing something?

Not a bad prospect, really!! Let's see... Marcelo, Angel, David, HERMAN... all except perhaps one yet in their 20s... this is a problem?

heh, well no! they are all wonderful. But they still haven't found the right girl for Herman to partner, and he is just too short for the main leads with the female dancers they have. So that leaves 4 principals who are all great but that isn't just enough to support the entire company

This isn't to say I think ABT is in dire straits..just an observation.

Sarah Lane is the girl. They have given her opportunites but they are slow to promote

City Center has now posted the Fall ABT programming. Certainly bargain pricing, far less than Wheeldon, Paul Taylor, Ailey, Vishneva, Mariinsky. Yet, even more, they offer substantial discounts for three or more performances. Very strange ('though welcome!).
https://www.nycitycenter.org/events/event_d...vent_code=ABT08

The brochures are in the City Center lobby. They have the same picture on the front as last year's -- Stiefel and Murphy in Clear (but with a light background instead of dark).

The blurb in the brochure about the Elo-Glass dance describes the music as a piano solo.

The brochure has all of the pictures we've seen before. They've inserted a beautiful Fabrizio Ferri photo of Michele Wiles in the center of the brochure, but she's in costume for, I believe, Sylvia. No relevance to the season, but nevertheless, a nice picture.

I got my season brochure in the mail this week and noticed 2 things. First, the two-weeks-replacing-three is slightly misleading. They are scheduling Sunday evening performances which mean 8 perfomances a week rather than seven.
For me this is all to the good, NYCB and NYCO used to do Sunday evenings and I miss them. So It's only a few less performances.

Looking at the principals I noticed no Malakhov or Ananiashvili, neither of which was a surprise but no Corella which was.
Maybe he's cutting back his schedule with ABT.

Anyway, I'm happy, I can get the ballets I want to see and avoid the Ben Millipied thing(zzzzzzzzzz)

Nor diana vishneva...

Corella isn't going to be a City Center? A definite loss for everyone. I noted in today's online Moscow Times that Corella, Stiefel, Kobborg and Tsiskaridze are taking their Kings of Dance gig to the Bolshoi theater in October.

It is an exciting season. I can't wait to see the casting. I figure Murphy & Wiles as possible leads for Ballo (Lane if Cornejo does the male lead but he might be cast in gigue).

Kent and maybe Part for the Gelsey role in Leaves are Fading.

Pick any three men for Fancy Free -- How about, Gomes, Cornejo, Stiefel?

Many possibilities.

Does anyone know who is staging Bakers Dozen?

Yeah but Stiefel is on the ABT City Center roster and Angel Corella is not. So go figure.

Angel Corella will be very busy this fall organizing his new company, guesting with Wheeldon's Morphoses company in London, and then the Kings of Dance tour in Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm, Novoborisk?)--according to the websites of all three companies. A loss to ABT at City Center, but not world audiences; it gives others at ABT a chance to shine too. And what I said about "Clear" last year still applies.

Do you know which performances Angel Corella will be in at Sadler's Wells on September 19 and 20? I am trying to book before I leave for London.

Program information is here - http://www.sadlerswells.com/show/Morphoses...heeldon-Company

Casting is not listed.

Try writing the theater. reception@sadlerswells.com or ticket.office@sadlerswells.com - they may already have casting or know when it will be announced.

I have seen an evening of Balachine ,a few years ago, that ABT did at the Met. If you saw that program, you wouldn't want an ABT dancer loaned to NYCB. Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake and even R+J that NYCB does, doesn't have the same romance and beauty that ABT's versions have. One evening (I believe it was 2 years ago) Julio Bocca did a guest appearance with NYCB. Peter Martins choreographed a tango piece. I was embarrassed for the NYCB male principals who were on stage with him. They were out-classed and out-danced. Nope, the 2 companies in my opinion don't mix well together, but I am sure they can learn a lot from each other.

There has been some tweaking to the casting of Fancy Free. Hallberg will now be the second sailor for three performances.

A rather run of the mill Opening Night announcement from the company:

OPENING NIGHT GALA AT NEW YORK CITY CENTER
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23 AT 6:30 PM
TO FEATURE COMPANY PREMIERE OF
GEORGE BALANCHINE’S BALLO DELLA REGINA

9/17/2007 - American Ballet Theatre’s Opening Night Gala at New York City Center, Tuesday, October 23 at 6:30 PM, will feature highlights from the Fall season, including the Company Premiere of George Balanchine’s Ballo della Regina and a performance of Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free.

Gala chairmen include Muffie Potter Aston and Sherrell Aston, Anne and Mario Grauso and Julia and David Koch. Gala Vice-Chairs are Pamela Fielder and David B. Ford. Superfund Asset Management, Inc. is the sponsor of ABT’s 2007 New York City Center season.

A sold-out Gala Dinner at New York’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel will immediately follow the performance. ABT’s Opening Night will pay special tribute to Lewis S. Ranieri for his commitment and leadership during his six years of service as Chairman of the Board of Governing Trustees.

Performance-only tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s Opening Night at New York City Center are priced from $30 to $135 and are available online or by calling CityTix at 212-581-1212. New York City Center is located on West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in New York City.

Countrywide Financial is the National Sponsor of American Ballet Theatre. Saks Fifth Avenue is the Leading Sponsor of ABT’s Costume Fund and CA, Inc. is the Leading Sponsor of ABT’s 2007 Family Initiative. American Airlines is ABT’s Official Airline. Ballo della Regina is generously supported through an endowed gift from Susan Fawcett Sosin. Fancy Free is generously underwritten by an endowed gift from Avery and Andy Barth in honor of Laima and Rudolph Barth. Additional support has been provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.