American Ballet Theatre

The American Ballet Theatre, based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century, and a leading dance company in the world today.

Launched in 1939, few ballet companies equal ABT for its combination of size, scope and outreach. Recognized as a living national treasure since its founding, ABT annually tours the United States, performing for more than 600,000 people, and is the only major cultural institution to do so. It has also made more than 15 international tours to 42 countries as perhaps the most representative American ballet company and has been sponsored by the State Department of the United States on many of these engagements.

There are three levels within the company (in rising order): the [Corps de ballet], the Soloists and the Principals. There is also the ABT Studio Company.

History

The company was originally founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet, and then reorganized in 1940 with a new name as the Ballet Theatre, with direction from Lucia Chase and Rich Pleasant.

When American Ballet Theatre was launched in 1939, it was just a few years after Lincoln Kirstein had established his company, which would become the New York City Ballet. With the inroads New York socialite Kirstein had made, the aim of the American Ballet Theatre was to develop a repertoire of the best ballets from the past and to encourage the creation of new works by gifted young choreographers, wherever they might be found. Under the direction of Lucia Chase and Oliver Smith from 1940 to 1980, the Company more than fulfilled that aim.

The repertoire, perhaps unmatched in the history of ballet, includes all of the great full-length ballets of the nineteenth century, such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and Giselle, the finest works from the early part of this century, such as Apollo, Les Sylphides, Jardin aux Lilas and Rodeo, and acclaimed contemporary masterpieces such as Airs, Push Comes to Shove and Duets. In acquiring such an extraordinary repertoire, ABT has commissioned works by all of the great choreographic geniuses of the 20th century: George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Jerome Robbins, Agnes de Mille and Twyla Tharp, among others.

In 1956, it became the American Ballet Theatre, and has kept that name ever since. The Metropolitan Opera House in New York is now home to the American Ballet Theatre. In 1960, the company became the first American company to dance in the Soviet Union.

In 1980, Mikhail Baryshnikov became Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre, succeeding Lucia Chase and Oliver Smith. Under his leadership, numerous classical ballets were staged, restaged and refurbished, and the Company experienced a strengthening and refining of the classical tradition. In 1990, Jane Hermann and Oliver Smith succeeded Baryshnikov and immediately established an agenda that was dedicated to maintaining the great traditions of the past while aggressively pursuing a vital and innovative future.

In keeping with the Company's long-standing commitment to bringing the finest in dance to the widest international audience, ABT has recently enjoyed triumphant successes with engagements in Tokyo, London, Paris, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Palermo, Italy, and in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece.

In the Fall of 2000, American Ballet Theatre made its first visit to China, appearing in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. The Company also appeared in Taipei and Singapore for the first time. Over its 60-year history, the Company has appeared in a total of 126 cities in 42 countries. ABT has also appeared in all 50 states of the United States.

In October 1992, former American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Kevin McKenzie was appointed Artistic Director. Mr. McKenzie, steadfast in his vision of ABT as "American," is committed to maintaining the Company's vast repertoire, and to bringing the magic of dance theater to the great stages of the world.

Artistic directors

   * 1940–1980
   * 1980–1990
   * 1990–1992
   * 1992–

   Lucia Chase and Oliver Smith
   Mikhail Baryshnikov
   Jane Hermann and Oliver Smith
   Kevin McKenzie

Notable ABT dancers of the past (Partial Listing)

   * Alessandra Ferri
   * Alicia Alonso
   * Anton Dolin
   * Erik Bruhn
   * Natalia Makarova
   * Cynthia Harvey
   * Robert La Fosse
   * Johan Renvall
   * Danilo Radojevic
   * Leslie Browne
   * Susan Jaffe
   * Amada McKerrow
   * Julio Bocca

   * Gelsey Kirkland
   * Leslie Browne
   * Mikhail Baryshnikov
   * Natalia Makarova
   * Antony Tudor
   * Cynthia Gregory
   * Marianna Tcherkassky
   * Fernando Bujones
   * Martine van Hamel
   * Kirk Peterson
   * Kevin McKenzie
   * Melissa Hayden
   * Patrick Bissell

[edit] Principal dancers of the present

   * Angel Corella
   * David Hallberg
   * Diana Vishneva
   * Ethan Stiefel
   * Gillian Murphy
   * Herman Cornejo
   * Irina Dvorovenko
   * Jose Manuel Carreno

   * Julie Kent
   * Marcelo Gomes
   * Maxim Beloserkovsky
   * Michele Wiles
   * Nina Ananiashvili
   * Paloma Herrera
   * Vladimir Malakhov
   * Xiomara Reyes

Special repertoire

Ballerina Xiomara Reyes in Giselle, Act II, 2006 Ballerina Xiomara Reyes in Giselle, Act II, 2006

Many choreographers have staged works especially for ABT, including George Balanchine, Adolph Bolm, Michel Fokine, Léonide Massine, and Bronislava Nijinska. The great British choreographer Antony Tudor, made his American debut with ABT, and the legendary Agnes de Mille staged the majority of her ballet works with them. Other past choreographers include Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, and Alvin Ailey.

ABT's 1976 production of The Nutcracker starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland was televised the following year and has become a broadcast classic.

Their main season is held during eights weeks in the spring at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House. The 2008 spring season will include The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote, The Merry Widow, Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, La Bayadère, Etudes, and a new Twyla Tharp ballet premiere.

Today, ABT encourages the growth of dance and choreography by holding a summer intensive care session every summer for young people across the country. Its Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School teaches the style and techniques specifically used by ABT.

[edit] Ballets performed

Below is a list of works which have been performed by American Ballet Theatre. Not all of the works are currently in the company's repertory.

   Listed alphabetically

Adagio for Strings, Afternoon of a Faun (Robbins), Afternoon of a Faun (Nijinsky), Airs, Aleko, Amazed in Burning Dreams, Americans We, Amnon V'Tamar, L'Amour et son Amour, Anastasia, Angrismene, Annabel Lee, Apollo, Appalachian Spring, Artemis, At Midnight Awakening

Bach Partita, Le Baiser de la Fee, Baker's Dozen, Le Bal, Balladen der Liebe, Ballet Imperial, Barn Dance, Baroque Game, La Bayadère, Beatrice, The Beloved, Billy the Kid, Birthday Offering, Bitter Rainbow, Black Ritual (Obeah), Black Tuesday, Blood Wedding, Bluebeard, Bolero (solo), Bolero, Bourree Fantasque, Brahms Quintet, A Brahms Symphony, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Brief Fling, Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, The Bull Dancers, Bum's Rush

The Capital of the World, Capriccio Espagnol, Capriccioso, Caprichos, The Careless Burghers, Carmen (A. Alonso), Carmen (Roland Petit), Carnaval, The Catherine Wheel, Cinderella, Cinderella (Kudelka), Circo de Espana, Clair de Lune, Clear, The Combat, Concerto (Dollar/Chopin), Concerto (Dollar/Mendelssohn), Close to Chuck, Concerto (MacMillan), Concerto (Ross), Concerto no. 1 for Piano and Orchestra, Concerto Six Twenty-Two (Duet), Concert Waltzes, Configurations, Conflict, Continuum, Conterdances, Coppelia, Corbaille de Fleurs, Le Corsaire (full length), Le Corsaire Pas de Deux, Cruel World

Dancing with Monet, Danses Concertante, Catie Stillwell, Danza del Molinero, Dark Elegies, Death and the Maiden, Les Demoiselles de la Nuit, Designs with Strings, Desir (pas de deux), Dialogues Diana and Acteon, Dim Lustre, Disposition, Diversion of Angels, Divertimento-Rossini Divertissement D'Auber, Don Domingo de Don Blas, Donizetti Variations, Don Quixote (ballet), Don Quixote (Grand pas de deux), Don't Panic! , Dorian, The Dream, Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes, Duets

Eccentrique, Echoing of Trumpets, Eden (pas de deux), Electra, Elegy, The Elements, The Enchanted, The Encounter, Enough Said, Ensayo Sinfonica, Epilogue, Esmeralda (pas de deux - after Perrot), Esmeralda (pas de deux - Stevenson), [[La Esmeralda (Beriosoff), Espana, Estuary, The Eternal Idol, Etudes, Everlast

Facsimile, Fair at Sorochinsk, Fall River Legend, Fancy Free, Fandango, Fantaisie Serieuse, The Fantastic Toyshop, Festa, Fest Polonaise, Field Chair and Mountain, La Fille Mal Gardee, Firebird, Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, Five Sketches, Flames of Paris, Flower Festival in Genzano, Follow the Feet, The Four Marys, Francesca da Rimini, From Here on Out, The Fugue

Gaite Parisienne, Gala Performance, The Garden of Villandry, Gartenfest, Gayaneh (pas de deux), Gemini, Getting Closer, Gift of the Magi, Giselle, Glinka Pas de Trois, Glow-Stop, Gong , Goya Pastoral, Goyescas, Graduation Ball, Grand Pas Classique, Le Grand Pas de Deux, Grand Pas (Glazunov), Grand Pas Romantique, Le Grand Spectacle, Grand Tarantella, Grass, Graziana, The Great American Goof, Great Galloping (Gottschalk), The Green Table, The Guards of Amager (Bournonville)

Hamlet Connotations, Harbinger, Harlequinade (pas de deux - Balanchine), Harlequinade (Pas de deux - Stevenson), The Harvest According, Harvest Time, Helen of Troy, Hereafter, Las Hermanas, Hommage a Lucia, How Near Heaven, The Howling Cat, Huapango

In a Country Garden, In Volo, L'Inconnue, The Informer, Interludes, Intermezzo, Interplay, In The Upper Room, Italian Suite (four dances)

Jabula, Jack And Jill (Pas de deux), Jardin Anime (from Le Corsaire, Act II), Jardin aux Lilas, Jeu D’Esprit (Pièce d’Occasion), Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, Jeux, Jeux des Cartes, Journey, Jubilee, Judgment of Paris, Jump Start

Kaleidoscope, Known by Heart, Kontraste

Lady From the Sea, Lady into Fox, The Leaf and the Wind, The Leaves Are Fading, Legende (pas de deux), Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Lilting Fate, The Little Ballet, Little Improvisations, The Love Song

Mademoiselle Angot, The Maids, Manon, Marimba, Meadow, Mechanical Ballet, Medea (pas de deux), The Meeting, Mendelssohn Symphony, The Merry Widow, Minkus Pas de Trois, The Miraculous Mandarin, The Mirror, Miss Julie, The Mollino Room, Momentum, Monument for a Dead Boy, Moondance, Moonlight Sonata, Moon Reindeer, The Moor's Pavane, La Muerte Enamorada, Murder, My Funny Valentine

Napoli Divertissements, N.Y. Export: Op. Jazz, Night Journey, Nimbus, Nine Sinatra Songs, Les Noces, The Nutcracker (Baryshnikov), The Nutcracker (McKenzie)

Odalisque, Ode to Glory, Offenbach in the Underworld, Once More Frank, On Stage!, Onegin, Ontogeny, Othello, The Other, Other Dances, Ovid Metamorphoses

Paean, Paquita, Paquita (pas de deux), The Parliament of the Birds, Pas de Deux, Pas de Deux Holberg, Pas de Deux Imperiale (from Anastasia, Act II), Pas de "Duke", Pas de Quatre, Pas d'Esclave (from Le Corsaire), Pas des Deesses, Pas de Trois, Pas et Lignes, Le Passage Enchante, Les Patineurs, Pavane, La Peri (pas de deux), Petite Mort, Peter and the Wolf (Bolm), Peter and the Wolf (Smuin), Petrouchka, Pièce d’Occasion, The Pied Piper, Pierrot Lunaire, Pillar of Fire, Pleroma, Points of Jazz, Polovtsian Dances, Polyandrion, Prevailing Westerlies, Princess Aurora (excerpt from The Sleeping Beauty), The Prodigal Son, A Promise, Pulcinella Variations, Push Comes to Shove

Quartet, Quintet

Raymonda, Raymonda (Act III), Raymonda (Divertissments), Raymonda (Divertissements from Act II & Act III), Raymonda (Grand Pas Classique), The Red Shoes, Remanso, Les Rendezvous, Rendezvous(Pas de deux - Hoff), Rendezvous (pas de deux - Nijinska), Requiem, Le Retour, Reverie, Rib of Eve, Ricercare (pas de deux), Rigaudon, The Rite of Spring, The River, Rodeo, Romantic Age, Romeo and Juliet (MacMillan), Romeo and Juliet (Tudor), Romeo and Juliet (pas de deux - Bruhn), Romeo and Juliet (pas de deux - Nureyev), Romeo and Juliet (Pas de deux - Tchernichov), A Rose for Miss Emily, Russian Soldier

Le Sacre du Printemps, (The Rite of Spring), Sargasso, Scherzo for Massah Jack, Schubertiade, Schuman Concerto, Sea-Change, Sebastian, Sechs Tänze, Sentient Bach, Serious Pleasures, Seven Faces of Love, Seven Spanish Songs, Shadow of the Wind, Shadowplay, Side Show, Sin and Tonic, Sinatra Suite, Sinfonietta, "...smile with my heart" Slavonika, The Sleeping Beauty, The Snow Maiden, Soiree Musicale, A Soldiers Tale, Solitaire (pas de deux), Solo, Some Assembly Required, Something Special, Some Times, La Sonnambula, Spartacus (pas de deux, Act III), S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A., Le Spectre de la Rose, Sphinx, The Sphinx, Spring and Fall, Spring Waters, States of Grace, Stepping Stones, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, A Streetcar Named Desire, Streetcar Royalty, Summer Day (pas de deux), Sunset, Swan Lake, Swan Lake (McKenzie), La Sylphide, Les Sylphides, Sylvia, Sylvia (pas de deux), Symphonic Variations, Symphonie Concertante, Symphony in C

Tales of Hoffmann, Tally Ho- or the Frail Quarry, The Taming of the Shrew (pas de deux), The Taming of the Shrew, Tarantella (pas de deux), Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Texas Fourth, Theatre, Theme and Variations, The Thief Who Loved a Ghost, This Property is Condemned, Three-Cornered Hat, Three Essays, Three Preludes, Three Virgins and a Devil, The Tiller in the Fields, Till Eulenspiegel, Times Past, Top Hat and Tails, Torso, The Traitor, Transcendental Etudes, Triad, Trio a Deux, Triptych, Tristan (pas de deux), Tropical Pas de Deux, Turnstile

Undertow, Unfinished Symphony, Us (pas de deux)

Variations on 'America', Variations for Four, La Ventana, Vestris, Venetian Carnival, Voices of Spring, Voluntaries

Walk This Way, Waltz Academy, The Wanderer (Errante), Way Out, Weren't We Fools?, The Wild Boy, The Wind in the Mountains, Winter's Eve, Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison, Without Words, The Wooden Prince (solo), Workout, workwithinwork

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• http://www.abt.org/dancers/default.asp?section=corpsdeballet ABT Corps de Ballet

ABT Soloists ABT Principals ABT II

External links

• Official website
• American Ballet Theatre entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica
• American Ballet Theatre entry in the Columbia Encyclopedia

Credits

Initial content was copied from the following Wikipedia article:

• American_Ballet_Theater (December 5, 2007) history

All credit for producing the original text goes to the WikiMedia Foundation and its selfless team of volunteer contributors. It was copied here in compliance with the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). Any changes made to the original text since then create a derivative work which is also GFDL licensed. Please note the current version here and at Wikipedia are liable to diverge over time. Check the edit history for details.