FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:
Roberto Santiago, P.R. Manager Miami City Ballet (305) 929-7000, ext. 1602 [email protected]
MIAMI CITY BALLET TO MAKE ITS DEBUT IN PARIS, FRANCE WITH A THREE-WEEK SUMMER SEASON. SEVENTEEN COMMAND PERFORMANCES AT THE THEATRE du CHATELET JULY 6-23, 2011.
Miami, FL (Feb. 7, 2011) – Edward Villella, Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet, announced today that the company will climax its 25th anniversary year with an unprecedented three-week season in Paris, France - the company's first visit there. The company’s fifty dancers will present seventeen command performances over three weeks, July 6-23, 2011. They will be dancing at the renowned Chatelet Theater, where in 1909 Diaghilev's Ballets Russes gave their first performances, and where two years later, Petrouchka had its World Premiere.
As the sole participant of the 2011 Les Etes de la Danse festival, which has in recent years hosted Alvin Ailey, San Francisco Ballet, and Ana Laguna & Mikhail Baryshnikov, Miami City Ballet will focus primarily on George Balanchine, for whom Mr. Villella starred at the New York City Ballet for many years. Among the eight Balanchine ballets in the repertory – including the world-famous The Four Temperaments and Theme and Variations – are three major works that as far as we're aware, have never before been seen in Paris: the 1951 doom-laden La Valse, to Ravel; Symphony in Three Movements, created for New York City Ballet's 1972 Stravinsky Festival (it featured Mr. Villella); and Ballet Imperial, Balanchine's ultimate tribute to Tschaikovsky and Petipa. (more…)
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The repertory will also include two of Jerome Robbins' most popular ballets, Afternoon of a Faun (Debussy) and In the Night, set to Chopin piano music; two of Twyla Tharp's most exciting works, In the Upper Room, to Philip Glass's propulsive score, and Nine Sinatra Songs, to the great singer's own recordings; Mercuric Tidings (to Schubert) by America's most important living choreographer, Paul Taylor; and Christopher Wheeldon's intense duet, Liturgy.
All in all, fifty dancers will be performing fourteen ballets over seventeen performances.
Edward Villella: "I can't imagine a more thrilling way for us to end this landmark season than with these ballets, in this theater, in this city. You can imagine how eagerly we're all looking forward to July!"
Edward Villella, is regarded as the greatest American-born ballet dancer of our time, best known for his work as principal dancer at New York City Ballet (1957-1975), where he excelled in interpretations of works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. During the eighteen years spent with New York City Ballet, Balanchine created a dozen ballets for him including A Midsummer Night's Dream (1962), Bugaku (1963), Tarantella (1964), Jewels "Rubies" (1967) and the previously mentioned Symphony in Three Movements (1972).
The ballets to be performed in Paris are: George Balanchine: Symphony in Three Movements, Square Dance, La Valse, Ballet Imperial, The Four Temperaments, Theme and Variations, Western Symphony, Tarantella (pas de deux). Jerome Robbins: Afternoon of a Faun, In the Night Twyla Tharp: In the Upper Room, Nine Sinatra Songs Paul Taylor: Mercuric Tidings Christopher Wheeldon: Liturgy (Pas de Deux) (more…)
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Théâtre du Châtelet, located at 1 Place du Chatelet 75001 in Paris, is known for featuring many of the top opera and ballet companies in the world. For more information on Miami City Ballet’s appearance in Paris, visit http://www.lesetesdeladanse.com
# # # About Miami City Ballet Critically acclaimed by The New York Times, Miami City Ballet (MCB) was founded in 1985 by Artistic Director Edward Villella. The Company has 50 dancers, and a repertoire of 88 ballets which they perform in the four home counties of Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Collier, and around the world. MCB maintains its headquarters in Miami Beach in a facility designed by renowned architectural firm Arquitectonica. The facility houses rehearsal studios and administrative offices as well as the Company’s school: Miami City Ballet School.
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