Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen announced today the programming for the 2010-2011 season. The season boasts an inspired line-up designed to showcase the Company’s signature range of classical, neo-classical, contemporary and world premiere dance. The 2010-2011 season will be the company’s second at its new home venue, The Boston Opera House.
The season begins with the fifth annual Night of Stars, a sell-out, one-night-only spectacle that captures highlights from Boston Ballet’s repertoire, as well as distinctive new works, and features sparkling guest artists. Night of Stars is followed by the classical tour de force, La Bayadère. The Nutcracker, a New England classic, will shine through the holiday season with an extended run of 40 performances due to the great success of the production. The Company returns to the stage in 2011 with Elo Experience, a full-evening tribute to Boston Ballet’s Resident Choreographer Jorma Elo. It will feature existing works and a world premiere. Balanchine’s classic A Midsummer Night’s Dream continues the season, followed by Bella Figura, a stunning presentation of works by William Forsythe and Jiří Kylián, with world premieres by Helen Pickett. The season closes with Balanchine/Robbins, a set of four works by the two master choreographers, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
“The 2010-2011 season will capture the range and high-level of artistry that Boston Ballet is proud to bring to our audiences,” said Nissinen. “Our deep commitment to inclusivity for all of our audiences - from the newcomer to the balletomane - continues. This season has the excitement of the foremost contemporary choreography and works entirely new to American audiences. It also has classical ballets with sets, costumes and storylines which will transport you. The works are so rich and so varied, audiences won’t want to miss a single program in next season’s line-up.”
Beyond Boston Ballet’s work on stage, the company will continue its extensive work in the studios and in the community with Boston Ballet School. Boston Ballet School is the largest ballet school in North America reaching over 10,000 students annually. Boston Ballet’s unparalleled community outreach programs, Citydance, Adaptive Dance, and Taking Steps, continue to reach thousands of lives each year and encourage access to the art form of dance to students of all backgrounds and experience levels.
All performances are held at The Boston Opera House
Night of Stars – ONE NIGHT ONLY
October 30, 2010, 7:00pm
Boston Ballet’s one-night-only Night of Stars opens the 2010-2011 season. Last season’s Night of Stars was a sold-out success, with The Phoenix asserting there must be a “ballet boom” in Boston and The Boston Globe raving, “from the opening fanfare to the closing processional… Night of Stars was a rousing celebration.” The fifth annual performance promises to thrill audiences with a range of classical to contemporary highlights from the Company’s diverse repertoire. Night of Stars, a fantastic entry-point into the world of ballet, will highlight all of Boston Ballet’s dancers from the accomplished principals and soloists to the promising second company, Boston Ballet II.
La Bayadère – COMPANY PREMIERE
November 4 – 14, 2010
Music: Ludwig Minkus
Choreography: Florence Clerc after Marius Petipa
La Bayadère, a vibrant Petipa classic, takes the stage at The Boston Opera House. The ballet is an important bridge between the romantic and classical eras of ballet and was first performed at St. Petersburg’s Maryinsky Theater in 1877. A story of betrayal and love set in exotic India, La Bayadère follows the heart-breaking tale of a temple dancer and a young warrior kept apart in life and united only in death. The ballet has a rich, lavish set design and production elements which conjure up The Arabian Nights and Bollywood culture and is sure to transport the audience. The ballet contains the monumental Kingdom of Shades scene which traditionally features 32 female dancers entering the stage in single file in a dream-like sequence. Boston Ballet will present the Florence Clerc staging with vivid, new costumes and the enchanting scenery that are cornerstones of this classic.
The Nutcracker
November 26 – December 31, 2010
Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Mikko Nissinen
New England’s most popular winter classic, The Nutcracker, returns to the stage for the holiday season. Last year’s production saw record sales and sell-out performances. The Boston Globe wrote, “Boston Ballet has carved its own niche with an extravagant production featuring lavish sets and costumes, live music, striking choreography, and first-rate dancing.” The production features the accomplished Company dancers on stage with more than 250 children from Boston Ballet School. Vivid costumes, sets, and Mikko Nissinen’s exquisite choreography are complemented by Music Director and Principal Conductor Jonathan McPhee’s expert direction. “Live music is one of the production’s strongest elements, and the orchestra plays with tremendous clarity and verve,” said The Boston Globe. For every performance, the cherished Tchaikovsky score is performed by the Boston Ballet Orchestra in the recently renovated orchestra pit. The run of The Nutcracker has been extended to 40 performances due to the great success of the production.
Elo Experience
March 24 – April 3, 2011
Music: Various
Choreography: Jorma Elo
Elo Experience is a full-evening tribute to Jorma Elo, Boston Ballet’s Resident Choreographer since 2005. The Finnish-born choreographer’s combination of strong classical and contemporary training has provided him with a unique perspective and voice. The program will include his 2007 work, Brake the Eyes, which has been performed by Boston Ballet at engagements including The Spoleto Festival in South Carolina, Ballet Across America in Washington, D.C., Fall for Dance in New York City, and most recently at The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada. It was described by The Boston Globe as having a fluid aesthetic, “with phrases enlivened by quirky connections and stunningly inventive partnering.” Elo Experience will also feature Plan to B, Elo’s 2004 commission for Boston Ballet called by DANCE Magazine “a spectacle of ricochet lighting and solo virtuosity.” Finally, a composition of Elo’s exisiting works for Boston Ballet and companies around the world will complete the program.
Boston Ballet was pivotal in launching Elo’s choreographic career. He has since created works for New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater and Finnish National Ballet, among others. His other works for Boston Ballet include, Sharp Side of Dark (2002), Carmen (2006), In On Blue (2008), and Le Sacre du Printemps (2009). The 2005 Helsinki International Ballet Competition awarded Elo a choreographic prize and he is the recipient of the Prince Charitable Trust Prize and the Choo-San Goh Choreographic Award in 2006.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
April 7 – 17, 2011
Music: Felix Mendelssohn
Choreography: George Balanchine
Boston Ballet presents George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a lucid and inventive telling of Shakespeare’s play. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was Balanchine’s first original, full-length ballet. Called by critic Clive Barnes, “a fantasy spectacle of love,” this work is a masterful combination of storytelling and choreography danced to the exquisite sounds of Mendelssohn. The ballet tells a story of love, illusion and adventures of two pairs of mortal lovers and the kind and queen of the fairies. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was choreographed for New York City Ballet and premiered in 1962. The production includes a large cast complete with 25 students from Boston Ballet School and sets and costumes designed by Tony Award-winner Martin Pakledinaz. The last time A Midsummer Night’s Dream was danced by Boston Ballet it was called, “a winner, a gorgeous, spirited production given strong performances throughout the ranks, including the excellent orchestra led by Jonathan McPhee” by The Boston Globe.
Bella Figura
April 28 – May 8, 2011
The Second Detail – COMPANY PREMIERE
Music: Thom Willems
Choreography: William Forsythe
Pärt I, II and III – FEATURING WORLD PREMIERE WORKS
Music: Arvo Pärt
Choreography: Helen Pickett
Bella Figura – COMPANY PREMIERE
Music: Lukas Foss, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Allessandro Marcello, Antonio Vivaldi, and Giuseppe Torelli
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Boston Ballet presents Bella Figura on the heels of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, showcasing the great depth and breadth of the Company’s artistry. Bella Figura features an extraordinary collection of works by three of the world’s most exciting contemporary choreographers whose careers have overlapped in ways both influential and noteworthy.
The program begins with William Forsythe’s The Second Detail, a company and U.S. premiere, which is an electrifying combination of classicism and jazz for an ensemble. Forsythe, one of the preeminent American dancers and choreographers, has created ground-breaking, exhilarating works which have been performed by the world’s finest ballet companies. Boston Ballet’s Forsythe repertoire includes In the middle, somewhat elevated, last performed in 2005, and Vile Parody of Address, performed as part of the 2009 Night of Stars.
Former principal dancer with William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt, Helen Pickett, also presents three works. Pickett’s Pärt I, II and II are all set to music by Arvo Pärt. Pärt I, Tsukiyo will be a revision of her 2009 sensual pas de deux. Pärt II, Layla and Majnun, a world premiere, will be inspired by the centuries-old, Persian story of star-crossed lovers. Pärt III, Tabula Rasa will also be a world premiere. Pickett has created two other commissioned works for Boston Ballet, Eventide in 2007 and Etesian in 2005.
Nissinen headlines the program with a work by Jiří Kylián, one of Forsythe’s contemporary counterparts who trained with him at the Stuttgart Ballet and is now Resident Choreographer at Nederlands Dans Theater. Bella Figura is tangibly sensual in its adoration and reverence towards the human body and features partial nudity. It has not been performed by any other American company. The Los Angeles Times wrote of it, “in an increasingly dark world, [Kylián’s] dancers are beautiful enough to give almost anyone renewed faith.” Bella Figura will be an addition to Boston Ballet’s growing Kylián repertoire, which includes the five-ballet Black and White program presented by the Company in 2009 to rave reviews and again in 2010.
Balanchine/Robbins
May 12 – 22, 2011
Divertimento No. 15
Music: Wolfgang Mozart
Choreography: George Balanchine
Afternoon of a Faun – COMPANY PREMIERE
Music: Claude Debussy
Choreography: Jerome Robbins
Antique Epigraphs – COMPANY PREMIERE
Music: Claude Debussy
Choreography: Jerome Robbins
Symphony in Three Movements
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Choreography: George Balanchine
The seventh and final production of the 2010-2011 season is Balanchine/Robbins. The program presents four works by master choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, considered two of the greatest proponents of American dance. Balanchine, widely regarded as the most influential choreographer of the 20th century, co-founded New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet. Robbins, as a young dancer, performed many of Balanchine’s works, later dancing for American Ballet Theatre, creating numerous works for Broadway, and finally becoming ballet master for New York City Ballet. Robbins has been called by The New York Times, “the moon to George Balanchine’s sun.”
Balanchine/Robbins is book-ended by Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15 and Symphony in Three Movements. Divertimento No. 15 is set to Mozart’s work of the same title which was a favorite of Balanchine’s. The ballet features five movements for five women, three men and corps women, and showcases Balanchine’s unrivaled ability to complement music and choreography. Symphony in Three Movements, by contrast, is a large ensemble work marked by its breath of energy and complexity. Balanchine choreographed for Stravinsky’s score saying “[the movements] I arranged… try to catch the music and do not, I hope, lean on it, using it instead for support and time frame.”
The Robbins works included in Balanchine/Robbins are his vision for the famed Debussy score, Afternoon of a Faun, and the rarely seen Antique Epigraphs. Robbin’s Afternoon of a Faun is set in a dance studio with two young dancers, each equally transfixed by their own reflections in the mirror. The unique trick employed by Robbins is that the space between the stage and the audience serves as the fourth wall of the studio, the figurative mirror. Antique Epigraphs, a ballet for eight women, was called by The New York Times, “a study in stillness and community.” The work was inspired by statues Robbins came across in his travels. Both works are beautiful in their simplicity and set to Debussy.
Boston Ballet 2010-2011 Season at a Glance
Night of Stars – ONE NIGHT ONLY
October 30, 2010, 7:00pm
La Bayadère – COMPANY PREMIERE
November 4 – 14, 2010
Music: Ludwig Minkus
Choreography: Florence Clerc after Marius Petipa
The Nutcracker
November 26 – December 31, 2010
Music: P.I. Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Mikko Nissinen
Elo Experience
March 24 – April 3, 2011
Music: Various
Choreography: Jorma Elo
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
April 7 – 17, 2011
Music: Felix Mendelssohn
Choreography: George Balanchine
Bella Figura
April 28 – May 8, 2011
The Second Detail – COMPANY PREMIERE
Music: Thom Willems
Choreography: William Forsythe
Pärt I, II and III – FEATURING WORLD PREMIERE WORKS
Music: Arvo Pärt
Choreography: Helen Pickett
Bella Figura – COMPANY PREMIERE
Music: Lukas Foss, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Allessandro Marcello, Antonio Vivaldi, and Giuseppe Torelli
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Balanchine/Robbins
May 12 – 22, 2011
Divertimento No. 15
Music: Wolfgang Mozart
Choreography: George Balanchine
Afternoon of a Faun – COMPANY PREMIERE
Music: Claude Debussy
Choreography: Jerome Robbins
Antique Epigraphs – COMPANY PREMIERE
Music: Claude Debussy
Choreography: Jerome Robbins
Symphony in Three Movements
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Choreography: George Balanchine
2010-2011 Season Tickets
Subscriptions for the 2010-2011 season go on sale March 15. Individual tickets to The Nutcracker are available June 7 and individual tickets to season ballets go on sale August 30. Subscriptions and all tickets will be available for sales online 24 hours a day at www.bostonballet.org or by phone at 617.695.6955 or in person at the box office at 19 Clarendon Street, Boston, Mon–Fri, 9am-5pm and on performance days on Sat and Sun, 11am – 4pm. Prices for season ballets start at $25. Tickets to The Nutcracker start at $35. Discounted group tickets (10 or more for season ballets and 20 or more for The Nutcracker) are available by calling Boston Ballet’s Group Sales at 617.456.6343. Contact the Boston Ballet Box Office at 617.695.6955 or visit www.bostonballet.org for details.
About Boston Ballet
Since 1963, Boston Ballet has been one of the leading dance companies in the world on stage, in the studio and in the community. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen and Executive Director Barry Hughson, the Company maintains an internationally acclaimed repertoire and the largest ballet school in North America, Boston Ballet School.
Boston Ballet maintains a repertoire of classical, neo-classical and contemporary works, ranging from full-length story ballets to new works by some of today's finest choreographers. Boston Ballet's second company, Boston Ballet II, is comprised of pre-professional dancers who gain experience by performing with the Company and independently, presenting lecture-demonstrations and special programs to audiences throughout the Northeast.
Boston Ballet School, the official school of Boston Ballet, has a long-standing dedication to excellence and access and reaches more than 10,000 students ages 2-adult each year through Boston Ballet School classes, Summer Dance Workshop, Summer Dance Program, Citydance, Taking Steps, and Adaptive Dance. The wide array of dance programs are held at four studio locations in Boston, Newton, Norwell and Marblehead, as well as community centers and in Boston Public Schools.
Boston Ballet gratefully acknowledges the following institutional partners:
State Street Corporation, 2010 Presenting Sponsor, The Nutcracker
Jane’s Trust
Massachusetts Cultural Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Boston Organ & Piano, Official Piano Supplier of Boston Ballet
