Isabella Boylston News

Programming for American Ballet Theatre's 2018 Fall season, October 17-28 at the David H. Koch Theater, was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The season will feature World Premieres by Michelle Dorrance and Jessica Lang, as well as centennial tribute performances of Jerome Robbins's and Leonard Bernstein's Fancy Free. Check out a video preview of the season below!

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) has announced the winners of the 2018 Princess Grace Awards. The Awards will be presented at the annual Princess Grace Awards Gala and continue the legacy of Princess Grace (Kelly) of Monaco, who helped emerging artists pursue their artistic goals during Her lifetime. In total, the Foundation is awarding over $1 million to artists in theater, dance, and film. In the presence of Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, this year's Gala will be held at Cipriani 25 Broadway on October 16, 2018. The evening will be co-chaired by Dennis and Phyllis Washington and Anne Sweeney and Phillip Miller.

How many people would go to the theater to watch American Ballet Theatre's La Bayadere three time within 45 days? Either they are dance professionals themselves, someone with a lot of time on their hands, or perhaps they're just crazy? I happen to be the crazy one.

On Friday July 13th, I witnessed the incredible performances of Misty Copeland, Isabella Boylston and Jeffrey Cirio as the lead soloists in the mesmerizing and captivating La Bayadere', at the world-renowned Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, at the Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles. ABT was presented as part of the 15th season of Gloria Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center. Thank you, Gloria, for being so generous in your love of Dance. It is a vitally important part of Los Angeles being able to appreciate Dance as one of the primary communicative Arts worth sponsoring and being available to our entire community. It is more important than ever, as, sadly, our support and funding for the Arts keeps dwindling on especially the National level.

Casting for the seventh and eighth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2018 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

The Music Center welcomes the return of American Ballet Theatre (ABT) with the company's production of the 19th century classic ballet, La Bayadere, which will be performed at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for the first time from July 13 - 15, 2018.  The final engagement of the 15th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, La Bayadere is set in royal India and tells the story of eternal love, fate, vengeance and justice.  The production will highlight ABT's stellar roster of international ballet stars, including Principal Dancers Isabella Boylston, Jeffrey Cirio, Misty Copeland, Hee Seo, Cory Stearns, Gillian Murphy, Devon Teuscher and Christine Shevchenko.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at Alexei Ratmansky's Harlequinade. The all - new production of Harlequinade, staged by Ratmansky after the original by Marius Petipa, will be given its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on June 4, 2018. A comic ballet in two - acts, Harlequinade is set to music by Riccardo Drigo and first premiered in 1900 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The eagerly anticipated 2018 NYC Final Round and Gala of Youth America Grand Prix were the best I've seen in all my years of covering YAGP. On the evening of April 18th at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center, the technical prowess as well as the beyond-their-years artistry of the competitors in the Final Round gave credence to YAGP's slogan: “Ensuring the Future of Dance”.

Abrons Arts Center presents the world premiere of RAPHAEL, the third evening-length work by choreographer Mariangela Lopez, on May 2 -5 at 8pm. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Lopez has built an expressive body of work with unique collaborators, from untrained dancers to Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. For RAPHAEL, she is joined by performers Laurel Atwell, Anna Azrieli, and Mor Mendel, along with composer Jason Grisell who performs live - RAPHAEL marks their third collaboration.

World's largest student ballet scholarship audition - YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX - returns to the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center to host its 2018 finals week in New York City. The week of ballet festivities will include the YAGP Final Round with performances by the world's most talented ballet students on April 18th, and the critically-acclaimed 'Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow' Gala on April 19th.

World's largest student ballet scholarship audition - YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX – returns to the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center to host its 2018 finals week in New York City. The week of ballet festivities will include the YAGP Final Round with performances by the world's most talented ballet students on April 18th, and the critically-acclaimed “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow” Gala on April 19th.

American Ballet Theatre's 2018 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 14 - July 7, will feature the World Premieres of AFTERITE by Wayne McGregor and Harlequinade by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky. Tickets for ABT's 2018 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House go on sale at the box office on Sunday, March 25 at 12 Noon.

From July 28 - August 11, the Vail Dance Festival will celebrate its 30th year with a season of newly commissioned choreography and music, highlighting Festival debuts by acclaimed companies and dancers, who join an ever-expanding team of returning artists. In the spirit of pioneering collaborations at Vail, the season is designed to give dancers and musicians the opportunity to experiment in new forms and with new partners. This year, the Festival will feature 7 new commissions including a work by New York City Ballet Resident Choreographer Justin Peck, set to a new composition by the Festival's Leonard Bernstein Composer-In-Residence, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw.

The American Ballet Theatre's current program at the Kennedy Center, featuring works by Ratmansky, Robbins, Millepied, and Wheeldon (as well as the full-length Whipped Cream, not covered in this review), is extremely well done but a little uninspiring. It's hard to fault the fantastic ABT dancers, but I was merely appreciative, not enthralled, by most of the pieces on offer.

Nominees have been reveale for The 10th annual SHORTY AWARDS. The awards recognize the best of social media, including influencers, brands, and organizations on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, and more. The Awards also honor the Best in Comedy as well as Best TV Show.

The Clive Barnes Foundation announced today, Monday, January 8, 2018, that Evan Ruggiero(Bastard Jones) has won the Eighth Annual Clive Barnes Award for Theater. Mr. Ruggiero received his award alongside Gemma Bond (American Ballet Theatre) who was named the recipient of theEighth Annual Clive Barnes Award for Dance. The announcement was made at the Eighth Annual Clive Barnes Awards ceremony, which was held at The Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.

As the weather begins to warm up the top of next week, providing a break from the unusually harsh winter weather NYC has been experiencing, the Clive Barnes Foundation will return to The Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center for the 8th annual Clive Barnes Awards on Monday, January 8, 2018 at 3:00pm.

The Clive Barnes Foundation announced today that the 8th Annual Clive Barnes Awards will be presented on Monday, January 8, 2018 at The Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center.

On October 18th 2017 at the Koch Theater in Lincoln Center, the American Ballet Theatre's Fall Gala celebrated Kevin McKenzie's 25th anniversary as Artistic Director with a delightful triple bill.