SCHOOL OF AMERICAN BALLET 2013 WORKSHOP PERFORMANCES
Company:
School of American Ballet
· Balanchine’s elegant Divertimento No. 15, originally choreographed for New York City Ballet in 1956, has appeared on the Workshop program four times (1978, 1987, 1997, 2001) with SAB faculty member Suki Schorer staging each presentation of the ballet. Ms. Schorer, who danced a principal role in Divertimento No. 15 as a member of New York City Ballet under George Balanchine, will once again teach and rehearse SAB’s students in the musically intricate solo variations, pas de deux, and ensemble dances for 13 women and 3 men to Mozart’s Divertimento No. 15 in B-flat major.
· Maurice Ravel’s French-inflected Tombeau de Couperin was the inspiration for Balanchine’s ballet, which premiered as a highlight of NYCB’s 1975 Ravel Festival. The suite of dances for 8 couples in the baroque and classical style retains an aura of courtly formality despite the fact that the dancers perform in simple practice clothes. Le Tombeau de Couperin was previously performed at the 2004 Workshop. This year it will be staged for SAB by Rosemary Dunleavy (currently Ballet Mistress at New York City Ballet) and SAB faculty member Arch Higgins.
· In 1980, Balanchine revived and reworked the ballet he had originally created for the Paris Opera’s 1975 production of Faust for the occasion of New York City Ballet’s School of American Ballet gala benefit. Walpurgisnacht Ballet, intended as a piece d’occasion for the gala, proved so popular that it entered NYCB’s permanent repertoire. The ballet for 24 women and one male dancer was previously performed at the 1990 Workshop under the supervision of faculty member Susan Pilarre, who is once more staging the ballet for this year’s performances.
Tickets for the 2013 Workshop Performances may be purchased online at www.sab.org/workshop beginning April 15. Mail order forms may be requested by calling (212) 769-6600. Ticket prices are 0 for June 1 (2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m). Tickets for the June 4 benefit performance and dinner dance are available at 00 (performance only), ,000, ,500 and ,500. The Peter Jay Sharp Theater is located at 155 W. 65th Street (between Amsterdam and Broadway).
