London’s Royal Ballet Heads to New York

08_Rondo Capriccioso RATMANSKY
Layla Burgess and Gabrielle Perkins. Courtesy of the American Ballet Theater

The American Ballet Theater Studio Company and the graduate students of The Royal Ballet School will perform a shared bill at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on February 10th and 11th. This is great news for New York balletomanes as the program teams up two outstanding groups showcasing emerging dance talent.  ABT Studio Company, a classical ensemble made up of 14 dancers chosen for their extraordinary potential, trains young dancers (ages 16-20) for ABT’s main company or other leading national and international groups. The Royal Ballet School, one of the world’s greatest centers for classical ballet training, has produced such internationally renowned dancers and choreographers as Margot Fonteyn, Anya Linden, Kenneth MacMillan, Darcey Bussell and Jonathan Cope. The joint performances are part of an exchange program that began in 2003.

Performances by ABT Studio Company will include the New York City premieres of Dana Genshaft’s Chromatic Fantasy, a new work by Marcelo Gomes and Ethan Stiefel’s See the Youth Advance. The Royal Ballet School repertory will feature the pas de deux from Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto, Helgi Tomasson’s Concerto Grosso and excerpts from Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering. This year’s exchange will be highlighted by a world premiere choreographed by Liam Scarlett featuring members of both companies.

Tickets: Performances are scheduled for February 10th and 11th, 2017 at 7:00 P.M., with a special “family friendly” performance narrated and designed for younger audiences, at 2:00 P.M. on February 11th. Price: Tickets range from $25 – $55 and may be purchased online at www.nyuskirball.org or in person at the NYU Skirball Center Box Office: Tuesday-Saturday, 12:00–6:00 P.M. NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is located at 566 LaGuardia Pl in New York City.