Company Moves into New Center for Dance, Largest Facility for Professional Dance in America, in 2011
Houston Ballet Premieres of Balanchine's American Classic Jewels and Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew Highlight Season
Celebrated Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo Creates His First Work for Houston Ballet
HOUSTON, May 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch has announced the company's 2010-2011 season. The season marks a milestone in Houston Ballet's history as the company moves into its sleek new $53 million Houston Ballet Center for Dance, the largest facility for professional dance in America, in the spring of 2011, propelling the company into the next phase of its development.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100519/DC07262)
Seven news works enter Houston Ballet's repertoire during the 2010-2011 season, including the Balanchine evening-length Jewels, featuring Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds; the company premiere of John Cranko's lavish, comic staging of the Shakespearian classic The Taming of the Shrew; a world premiere by the much in-demand European dance maker Jorma Elo; the American premiere of Houston Ballet Associate Choreographer Christopher Bruce's Grinning in Your Face; and the company premiere of English choreographer Christopher Wheeldon's Rush in May 2010.
"With our 2010-2011 season, Houston Ballet is ideally positioned to take a great leap forward. We have an exciting season full of many new works by the world's leading choreographers. The company's upcoming move into our new home in 2011 will provide us with a state-of-the-art facility in the center of Houston's vibrant Theater District," remarks Mr. Welch. "As I look back over my last seven years with Houston Ballet, we can take pride that we have greatly expanded the repertory with new works, and increased our touring nationally and internationally."
All performances listed here are in Wortham Theater Center.
September 9 - 19, 2010
Featuring:
Choreography by Stanton Welch
FORGOTTEN LAND
Choreography by Jiri Kylian
THE CORE: GERSHWIN, THE HEART OF THE BIG APPLE
Choreography by Stanton Welch
Body, Soul & Gershwin, featuring Stanton Welch's lively and colorful neo-classical work Tu Tu, Kylian's emotionally charged abstract ballet Forgotten Land, and The Core: Gershwin, the Heart of the Big Apple, Welch's Broadway-style ode to 1930s New York City glamour.
September 23 - October 3, 2010
(Houston Ballet Premiere)
Featuring: EMERALDS, DIAMONDS, RUBIES
Choreography by George Balanchine
The gems in Jewels pay tribute to three golden ages of dance. Poetic and flowing, Emeralds evokes France, the birthplace of Romantic dance. Its ballerinas drift on stage in clouds of tulle, whispering of elegance. Rubies mirrors the carefree spontaneity of America, a sassy, jazzy burst of sunshine. Diamonds dazzles with each shimmering wave of classical elegance.
November 26 – December 26, 2010
Choreography by Ben Stevenson, O.B.E.
Ben Stevenson's breathtaking production of The Nutcracker is, in the words of the Houston Chronicle, "the crown jewel of holiday entertainment." Set in nineteenth century Germany, the ballet opens at a charming Christmas party at which the mysterious Dr. Drosselmeyer gives Clara a magical toy that takes her on an unforgettable journey.
February 24 - March 6, 2011
Choreography by Stanton Welch
Stanton Welch's Marie is inspired by the life of the legendary French queen Marie Antoinette. Marie was born an Austrian arch duchess in 1755, married the future French King Louis XVI at the age of 15, and was executed by guillotine at the height of the French Revolution in 1793.
March 10 - 20, 2011
Choreography by Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., after Marius Petipa
The Sleeping Beauty is recognized as one of the supreme achievements of classical ballet. A beautiful princess is cursed by an evil fairy, and doomed to sleep for a hundred years -- only to be awakened by the kiss of the handsome prince who loves her.
May 26 - June 5, 2011
Featuring:
WORLD PREMIERE BY JORMA ELO
GRINNING IN YOUR FACE (American Premiere)
Choreography by Christopher Bruce
RUSH (Houston Ballet Premiere)
Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon
Raising the Barre features a world premiere by the choreographer Jorma Elo, an American premiere by Christopher Bruce and a company premiere by Christopher Wheeldon. Wheeldon's Rush is anchored around a dazzling pas de deux. Bruce's Grinning in Your Face evokes a Midwest American community in the 1930s and features conflict, love and rejection, and folksy humor. Also on the program is Houston Ballet's first commissioned work by Jorma Elo.
June 9 - 19, 2011
Choreography by John Cranko
John Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew is a masterful choreographic depiction of Shakespeare's perpetually battling lovers, Petruchio and Katherina, and of Petruchio's determination to bend the feisty, independent-spirited and tempestuous Katherina to his will.
Full season subscriptions, with tickets to six productions, range in price from $78 to $996. To subscribe, call (713) 5-BALLET or purchase online at www.houstonballet.org.
Single tickets go on sale August 2, 2010 and may be purchased by calling 713-227-ARTS or purchased online at www.houstonballet.org.
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Stanton Welch
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SOURCE Houston Ballet
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