HOUSTON BALLET ANNOUNCES 2012-2013 SEASON

 World Premieres by Aszure Barton in September 2012 and
Edwaard Liang in March 2013 Highlight Season 

Stanton Welch Stages New Production of The Rite of Spring in March 2013
to Mark Centennial of Landmark Work 

Company Premieres of George Balanchine's Ballet Imperial,
Mark Morris's Pacific, and Twyla Tharp's The Brahms-Haydn Variations 

Trey McIntyre's Full-Length Peter Pan Returns to the Repertoire in June 2013 

Cullen Series Returns with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
in February 2013

HOUSTON, TEXAS - Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch has announced the company's 2012-2013 season. Six new works enter Houston Ballet's repertoire, including world premieres by Aszure Barton in September 2012 and Edwaard Liang in March 2013; company premieres of George Balanchine's Ballet Imperial, Mark Morris's Pacific, and Twyla Tharp's The Brahms-Haydn Variations; as well as a new staging of The Rite of Spring by Mr. Welch in March 2013.

"This season's repertory is truly exciting with two new works by Aszure Barton and Edwaard Liang, who are both young, talented, and in demand choreographers. I personally am looking forward to creating my own version of The Rite of Spring in honor of the one hundredth anniversary of the premiere of this milestone work," comments Mr. Welch.  "Peter Pan and La Bayadère are works that were created especially for Houston Ballet over the last decade, and our audiences will be able to see the growth of the company as the dancers return to these pieces. I am very excited that Jim Nelson has accepted the position of executive director. As a former dancer, he brings a special understanding of the creative process, and he also has a deep knowledge of the company's operations from his decade of service as general manager."

The 2012-2013 season will mark the first full season under the new leadership of executive director James Nelson, who takes the helm on February 15, 2012. A native of Portland, Oregon he has spent his career in the dance world moving from professional dancer to administrative leader. "Jim Nelson is known as one of the rising stars among young managers in the dance field. It is highly unusual, and desirable, to find a chief executive for a ballet company with Jim's unique combination of experience as a ballet student, dancer, and successful administrator. The fact that all that experience has happened at Houston Ballet makes him an ideal choice to partner with Stanton in leading the company," states San Francisco Ballet Executive Director Glenn McCoy.