2015/16 Season Overview Fall Season November 14 – 22, 2015 Four Seasons Centre the Winter’S Tale* for the Performing Arts
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2015/16 Season Overview Fall Season November 14 – 22, 2015 Four Seasons Centre The Winter’s Tale* for the Performing Arts November 25 – Four Seasons Centre Romeo and Juliet December 5, 2015 for the Performing Arts Holiday Season December 12, 2015 – Four Seasons Centre The Nutcracker January 3, 2016 for the Performing Arts Winter Season March 2 – 6, 2016 Four Seasons Centre La Sylphide for the Performing Arts March 9 – 13, 2016 Four Seasons Centre Cacti* & Rubies & The for the Performing Arts Four Temperaments March 16 – 20, 2016 Four Seasons Centre Romeo and Juliet for the Performing Arts Summer Season June 4 – 12, 2016 Four Seasons Centre Le Petit Prince† for the Performing Arts June 15 – 19, 2016 Four Seasons Centre Giselle for the Performing Arts June 7, 2016 Four Seasons Centre MAD HOT BALLET Gala for the Performing Arts Touring October 1 – 3, 2015 Montréal, Québec the second detail & Spectre de la Rose & Chroma April 7 – 9, 2016 National Arts Centre La Sylphide Ottawa, Ontario World Ballet Day October 1, 2015 † World Premiere * Company Premiere North American Premiere The Winter’s Tale Ballet in a Prologue and Three Acts Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Staged by: Jacquelin Barrett and Anna Délicia Trévien Music: Joby Talbot Set & Costume Design: Bob Crowley Lighting Design: Natasha Katz Projection Design: Daniel Brodie Silk Effects Design: Basil Twist Premiere: The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, London, UK, April 10, 2014 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: November 14, 2015 A co-production of The National Ballet of Canada and The Royal Ballet (UK). Generously supported by The Monument Trust. Lead philanthropic support for The Winter’s Tale is provided in part by The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, Richard M. Ivey, C.C., an anonymous friend of the National Ballet and The Producers’ Circle. The Producers’ Circle: John & Claudine Bailey, David Binet, Susanne Boyce & Brendan Mullen, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, Kevin & Roger Garland, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, Rosamond Ivey, Hal Jackman Foundation, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Judith & Robert Lawrie, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Joan & Jerry Lozinski, The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., Lynda & Jonas Prince, Susan Scace & Arthur Scace, C.M., Q.C., Sandra L. Simpson and Noreen Taylor & David Staines, O.C. Performance Dates: November 14 – 22, 2015 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Following the international success of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, renowned British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon returns with The Winter’s Tale, a ballet that is as lavishly imagined and entertaining as his earlier work. Based on the classic play by Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale is a story of the deterioration of a marriage and the complex emotions that follow. With an original score by Joby Talbot, set and costumes design by Bob Crowley and lighting design by Natasha Katz, the ballet is an engaging and deeply touching reflection on love, jealousy and the nature of family. Quotes “ /5 In embracing the king-sized emotions of The Winter’s Tale, Christopher Wheeldon has produced the most heartfelt and resonant full-length ballet seen in decades… his greatest triumph.” The Times, 2014 “Christopher Wheeldon’s new three-act version of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale is a triumph. It is contemporary and classical, traditional and modern, narrative and abstract. It feels like something entirely new.” The Telegraph, 2014 “Christopher Wheeldon rises to the challenge of translating Shakespeare into dance, creating one of most fully achieved story ballets to be staged at Covent Garden in years.” The Guardian, 2014 “Like the play, the ballet has taken us through a large arc of human experience.” The New York Times, 2014 Page 2 of 2 Christopher Wheeldon Choreographer, The Winter’s Tale Internationally acclaimed choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has received many awards for his work including the Martin E. Segal Award, American Choreography Award, London Critics’ Circle Award and two Olivier Awards. Mr. Wheeldon studied at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1991, winning the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne the same year. In 1993, he joined New York City Ballet and began his choreographic career with New York City Ballet in 1997 when he created Slavonic Dances for the company’s annual showcase. In 2000, he retired from dance to concentrate on choreography and served as New York City Ballet's first Artist-in-Residence, creating two ballets, Polyphonia and Variations Sérieuses. In 2001, Mr. Wheeldon was named New York City Ballet's first Resident Choreographer and from 2007 to 2010, he was Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company. He has choreographed such works as Morphoses, After the Rain, An American in Paris and The Nightingale and the Rose. In 2010, his new version of The Sleeping Beauty had its premiere with The Royal Danish Ballet. His full-length ballet Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was created as a co-production of The National Ballet of Canada and The Royal Ballet and premiered at the Royal Opera House in 2011. His production of Cinderella (San Franciso Ballet & Dutch National Ballet) won the 2013 Benois De La Danse. In 2014, Mr. Wheeldon created a full-length version of The Winter’s Tale, a second co-production between The National Ballet of Canada and The Royal Ballet and will direct and choreograph a musical version of An American in Paris which premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Châtelet and is Broadway bound in 2015. Romeo and Juliet Presented by Chloé Fragrances Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky Music: Sergei Prokofiev Set, Costume and Properties Design: Richard Hudson Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, November 16, 2011 Lead philanthropic support for Romeo and Juliet is provided by Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., with additional generous support from Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, an anonymous friend of the National Ballet and Walter Carsen, O.C. Performance Dates: November 25 – December 5, 2015 March 16 – 20, 2016 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Few of the many Shakespeare works that have been re-imagined for ballet have had the lasting impact and been embraced with as much affection as Romeo and Juliet. The story of two young lovers whose passion is tragically thwarted by the enmity of their respective families has inspired numerous choreographers over the decades, attracted by the enduring power of its themes and narrative and by its potential for dramatic and evocative dancing. Celebrated Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, in his adaptation of the play, has given the familiar story a fresh and compelling re-telling. Created for The National Ballet of Canada in 2011, his version stays true to the play’s theatricality, romance and tragedy, plumbing the characters’ emotional depths and complexity with rare sensitivity. Mr. Ratmansky has created a Romeo and Juliet that is at once bracing and modern in its choreographic vigor, yet timeless in its dramatic urgency. Quotes “Gorgeous dancing fuelled by intricate choreography... the balcony pas de deux was ravishing." Los Angeles Times, 2014 “Finally, a Romeo and Juliet for our time” Los Angeles Register, 2014 “Of the six versions I have seen by choreographers alive today, this is much the best.” The New York Times, 2013 “Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet is a choreographic delight, rich in detail, subtle in its musicality and always dramatically expressive…. a Romeo and Juliet with soul." Toronto Star, 2013 Page 2 of 2 Alexei Ratmansky Choreographer, Romeo and Juliet Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Alexei Ratmansky is a choreographer and former ballet dancer. He is Artist-in-Residence at American Ballet Theatre and former Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet, having trained under Pyotr Pestov and Alexandra Markeyeva at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Prior to his appointment as Artistic Director, Mr. Ratmansky was a Principal Dancer with the Kiev Ballet, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and The Royal Danish Ballet. Mr. Ratmansky has created ballets for the Mariinsky Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Australian Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, Kiev Ballet and the State Ballet of Georgia, as well as for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Nina Ananiashvili, Wendy Wheelan and Diana Vishneva. His 2003 work, The Bright Stream, created for the Bolshoi Ballet, led to his appointment as Artistic Director of the company the following year. For the Bolshoi, he choreographed full-length productions of The Bolt (2005) and Lost Illusions (2011) and re-staged Le Corsaire (2007) and Flames of Paris (2008). His works for Mariinsky Ballet include Cinderella (2002) and Little Humpbacked Horse (2009). In 2011, he created Psyche for Paris Opéra Ballet, Romeo and Juliet for the National Ballet and in 2013, he created Opera for Teatro alla Scala and The Tempest, a co-production between the National Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. The Critics’ Circle in London named the Bolshoi Ballet Best Foreign Company under Mr. Ratmansky’s direction in 2005 and 2007 and he received their National Dance Award for The Bright Stream. He was awarded the 2005 Prix Benois de la Danse for his choreography of Anna Karenina for The Royal Danish Ballet. In 2011, Mr. Ratmansky received the New York Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Production for The Bright Stream. He was named a MacArthur Fellow and was selected as a Rolex Mentor by the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative in 2013. His ballets for New York City Ballet include Russian Seasons, Concerto DSCH and Namouna and for American Ballet Theatre, On the Dnieper, Seven Sonatas, Dumbarton and The Nutcracker.