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Metropolitan
Classical Ballet Announces 2006-2007 Season |
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE ARLINGTON, TEXAS - The 2006-2007 season repertory and performance schedule for Metropolitan Classical Ballet has been announced. The season will begin on September 2, 2006, and will run through June 22, 2007. In celebration of the company's 10 year anniversary, Artistic Directors Paul Mejia and Alexander Vetrov have designed a repertory that reflects what has become the hallmark of the company: a combination of rich traditional Russian ballets and classical works by George Balanchine, Paul Mejia, Alexander Vetrov and others. The Metropolitan Classical Ballet Orchestra, under the direction of Music Director Ron Spigelman, will accompany performances during the season. Four programs will be presented at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth: one full-length and three mixed repertory programs to include two world premieres, three company premieres, and the return of three favorites. The full-length production of The Nutcracker will be presented at Texas Hall on the campus of the University of Texas in Arlington. Highlights include: new works by Paul Mejia and Alexander Vetrov, the company premiere of Paul Mejia's Webern Pieces, the return of the full-length Creation of the World, Alexander Vetrov's staging of the great Russian classic, La Bayadere, and the annual production of The Nutcracker. |
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The 2006-2007 Season Overview SEASON
PREMIERE The company will open the season with the full-length Creation of the World, choreographed by Natalya Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilyov. The music is by the internationally acclaimed Russian composer, Andrei Petrov, who died in St. Petersburg, Russia in February of this year. Based on the book of Genesis, the two-act full-length ballet presents an amusing look at Creation and the tussle between God and the devil. Created for the Kirov Ballet, it premiered on March 23, 1971, and was first performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Irina Kolpakova. Natalya Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilyov, directors of the Moscow Classical Ballet since 1977, have produced more than fifty-five of their librettos in the former Soviet Union and abroad. Their credits include works at the Kirov and Bolshoi. Metropolitan Classical Ballet premiered Creation of the World in 2003. FALL
REPERTORY PROGRAM The Balanchine/Mejia evening will feature two works by the celebrated choreographer, George Balanchine, and one by Artistic Director Paul Mejia. The program will open with a company premiere of Balanchine's Square Dance, which was first presented on November 21, 1957 at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York by the New York City Ballet. A spirited and delightful ballet, it is a mixture of American folk dance and classical technique. The second Balanchine ballet, Apollo, will close the program. Based on the Greek god, Apollo, the ballet was first presented by the Ballets Russes, Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, Paris France in 1928. It was the first of Balanchine's artistic collaboration with Igor Stravinsky, a relationship that spanned a good portion of the 20th Century. Metropolitan Classical Ballet first performed Apollo in 2000. Paul Mejia's Webern Pieces was created in 1986 when Mr. Mejia was co-artistic director of Chicago City Ballet with Maria Tallchief. A sophisticated approach to movement set to music by Anton Webern, it was danced by Maria Terezia Balogh and Joseph Malbrough at the Jubilee Gala for the American Guild of Musical Artists. THE
NUTCRACKER (full-length) The annual production of The Nutcracker will brighten the holiday. A classical ballet in two acts, it is based on the cherished fairy tale The Nutcracker and The Mouse King written by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1816. It is set to the timeless score by Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky. Alexander Vetrov's choreographic version has been pleasing audiences and garnering great critical acclaim since it was first presented in December of 2003. Influenced by the Bolshoi, with choreography in part by Yuri Grigorovich, The Nutcracker is Mr. Vetrov's first work choreographed specifically for Metropolitan Classical Ballet. SPRING
REPERTORY PROGRAM A combination of Bolshoi and Broadway offers two works that span more than a century. The evening will open with two acts from the great Russian classic, La Bayadère, set in legendary India. Alexander Vetrov will stage two acts from this masterpiece by Marius Petipa. La Bayadère was first presented at the Maryinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, Russia on February 4, 1877. Mr. Vetrov and Nadia Gracheva danced the leads in the Bolshoi video production of La Bayadère. The evening will conclude with Notes on My Life, a work by Paul Mejia set to music by Broadway composer Richard Adler. Premiered by the company in 2002, it was the first work created specifically for Metropolitan Classical Ballet by Mr. Mejia, and the second ballet that he and Richard Adler collaborated on. The first was Mr. Mejia's highly acclaimed Eight by Adler, which premiered in 1984 at the Chicago City Ballet. It was later filmed for PBS and won an Emmy Award for Suzanne Farrell. SEASON
FINALE Two significant new works by co-artistic directors Paul Mejia and Alexander Vetrov will close the season. Alexander Vetrov's new work will be set to music by Alexei Rybnikov. A prominent composer and musician based in Moscow, Russia, Mr. Rybnikov has established a fascinating, multi-dimensional career, composing for film and other projects in Russia and around the world. Programming, program order and casting for all productions is subject to change without notice. Season subscriptions, group discounts, and Nutcracker tickets are available at Metropolitan Classical Ballet's administration office located at 500 West Abram in Arlington, or by calling (817) 275-0598. In addition to low ticket prices, subscribers receive priority seating, ticket exchange privileges, invitations to private receptions, preview parties and a subscription to Metropolitan Classical Ballet's E-newsletter, To The Pointe. Season subscription prices are $120, $80 and $40. Subscribers have the option of adding The Nutcracker at Texas Hall at a savings of 10%. Single tickets to individual shows will be available August 1st through Bass Hall Box Office at (817) 212-4280, toll free at (877) 212-4280, or on the web at www.basshall.com. Single ticket prices are $30, $20 and $10. Founded in 1997, Metropolitan Classical Ballet is well recognized as a major creative force in the dance world today. Co-artistic directors Paul Mejia and Alexander Vetrov are two of the most recognized names in ballet. Mr. Mejia, a former soloist with the New York City Ballet who danced principal roles in many Balanchine ballets, carries on Balanchine's style and artistic vision though his acclaimed choreography. Alexander Vetrov, former leading male principal dancer with the prestigious Bolshoi has the distinction of being the recipient of the Honored People's Artist of Russia, the highest honor given by the Russian President. Mr. Vetrov still maintains close connections with the Bolshoi today. The company dancers are comprised of twenty members who are valued for their superior technique and strong artistic personalities. Performances reach over 30,000 individuals each season. Four programs are presented at the prestigious Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, and the annual production of The Nutcracker is presented at Texas Hall on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington. Located in Arlington, Texas, Metropolitan Classical Ballet's spacious state of the arts studios are unsurpassed in the North Texas area. Metropolitan Classical Ballet's 2006/2007 season is made possible in part by its generous sponsors: American Airlines, WRR Classical 101, and the law firm of Hill Gilstrap. -END- Media
Note: Further information and photos may be obtained by contacting
Judy Puder at (817) 465-4644. Information can also be found on Metropolitan
Classical Ballet's website www.mcballet.org. |
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