New York City Ballet
Programme 1
Essential Balanchine
Wed 12, Fri 14, Sun 16 at 7.30pm, Sun 16 at 2pmSerenade
Agon
Symphony in C
George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet are an incomparable pairing, shown here in three signature works.
Set to Tchaikovsky's passionate score, Serenade is a milestone in the history of dance. Featuring twenty-eight dancers, it was the first work Balanchine made in America and grew from a simple lesson in stage technique into one of the sublime masterpieces of the ballet repertoire.
Agon and Symphony in C similarly demonstrate Balanchine's innovative and innately musical approach. For Agon, He worked with Stravinsky to design the structure of the ballet during the creation of the music, as the 12 dancers clad in simple black and white costumes demonstrate the breathtaking speed and refinement for which New York City Ballet is world-renowned. Symphony in C is set to a score by Bizet, as the dancers perform four movements, before the entire cast gathers for a rousing finale.
We have now sold out of our allocation of tickets for New York City Ballet.
Tickets can be booked via the Coliseum ticket office:
www.tickets.eno.org
tel: 0871 911 0200
Programme 2
Jerome Robbins: An American Icon
Thu 13, Sat 15 at 7.30pm, Sat 15 at 2pmThe Four Seasons
Moves
The Concert
New York City Ballet celebrates its long association with the revered choreographer Jerome Robbins, who epitomised the post-war American dance and theatre scene. His versatility and extraordinary talents are fully displayed in three signature works.
The Four Seasons, set to a magnificent operatic score by Verdi, is full of visual and musical layers. In a fond evocation of the balletic divertissements popular in 19th-century operas, Robbins casts Janus, god of beginnings and endings, to usher in each new season in an inventive and light-hearted ballet. "Mr. Robbins's exhilarating choreography demonstrated that balletic conventions remain forever capable of being transfigured by creative imagination" New York Times
In contrast is the daring and experimental Moves. This is a ballet without music which is primarily as a work of formal beauty, full of academic display. Finishing the programme on a high is The Concert, an uproariously funny parody of a Chopin piano recital. Featuring a live pianist, The Concert also contains moments of sweetness and surprising poignancy, which is guaranteed to bring a smile.
We have now sold out of our allocation of tickets for New York City Ballet.
Tickets can be booked via the Coliseum ticket office:
www.tickets.eno.org
tel: 0871 911 0200
Programme 3
Four Voices: Wheeldon, Martins, Bigonzetti, Ratmansky
Tue 18, Thu 20, Fri 21 at 7.30pmChristopher Wheeldon: Carousel (A Dance)
Peter Martins: Zakouski
A ballet by Mauro Bigonzetti
Alexei Ratmansky: Russian Seasons
True to the pioneering spirit of Balanchine and Robbins, New York City Ballet continues to commission new works from the world's brightest choreographic talents. This dazzling programme showcases some of the finest recent work created for a company that refuses to rest on its artistic laurels.
Christopher Wheeldon is one of today's most talked about choreographers - a Resident Choreographer at NYCB and Sadler's Wells Associate Artist, he has also created work for the Royal Ballet and recently established his own company Morphoses. Carousel (A Dance) uses the evocative and melodic "Carousel Waltz" by Richard Rodgers in one of contemporary ballet's finest love duets.
Director of the Bolshoi Ballet, Alexei Ratmansky, presents Russian Seasons - an inventive and exciting combination of dance and musical flavours which mixes classical steps with elements of folk and jazz. Zakouski, the Russian term for hors d'oeuvres, is a ballet for two dancers by the New York City Ballet's own Ballet Master in Chief, Peter Martins.
Finally, NYCB perform In Vento by star Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti. The ballet is marked by an emotional intensity, which is enhanced by Moretti's lyrical and atmospheric music, alongside an intriguing combination of light and shadow.
We have now sold out of our allocation of tickets for New York City Ballet.
Tickets can be booked via the Coliseum ticket office:
www.tickets.eno.org
tel: 0871 911 0200
Programme 4
Ballet and Broadway: A Musical Celebration
Wed 19, Sat 22 at 7.30pm, Thu 20, Sat 22 at 2pmPeter Martins: Thou Swell
George Balanchine: Tarantella
George Balanchine: Western Symphony
Jerome Robbins: West Side Story Suite
A virtuoso showcase of thrilling and much-loved works by three of New York City Ballet's most celebrated choreographers.
Thou Swell, Peter Martins' lavish tribute to composer Richard Rodgers sees four elegant ladies and their partners dance the night away, as four jazzy waitresses with swizzle-stick hairpieces serve the cocktails with their energetic waiter partners. Characterised by complex partnering, high extensions, arabesques.
This is juxtaposed with Balanchine's delightfully quick Tarantella which has provided a showcase for many New York City Ballet dancers, and the swaggering Western Symphony, set to traditional American folk melodies. Set on a rugged Old West street populated by cowboys and dance hall girls, Western Symphony nevertheless is very much a classical work. Balanchine used steps from the traditional ballet vocabulary, but he infused them with the formations and gestures of American folk dancing. The ballet is a striking example of Balanchine’s fascination with American themes.
The programme concludes with Jerome Robbins' thrilling West Side Story Suite, which features the original dance sequences from his landmark musical.
We have now sold out of our allocation of tickets for New York City Ballet.
Tickets can be booked via the Coliseum ticket office:
www.tickets.eno.org
tel: 0871 911 0200
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