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FOR RELEASE MAY, 2011
CONTACT: SHAUNA TYSOR
713 535 3226
KIM ESPINOSA
713 535 3224
pr@houstonballet.org
HOUSTON BALLET PRESENTS RAISING THE BARRE
AN EVENING OF PREMIERES IN MAY 2011
Finnish Choreographer Jorma Elo Creates His First Work
for Houston Ballet
American Premiere of Christopher Bruce's Grinning In Your Face
Houston Ballet Premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's Rush ©
HOUSTON, TEXAS - From May 26 - June 5, 2011, Houston Ballet presents a powerhouse of twenty-first century ballet in its spring mixed repertory program entitled Raising the Barre. The program features a world premiere by the celebrated Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo, the American premiere of Christopher Bruce's Grinning In Your Face and the company premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's Rush ©. Houston Ballet will give six performances of Raising the Barre at Wortham Theater Center in downtown Houston. Tickets may be purchased by calling 713 227 2787 or by visiting www.houstonballet.org.
"Raising the Barre is a fresh look at contemporary ballet over the past decade in America. The pieces are a reflection of America with Bruce's Grinning in Your Face, which is a portrait of American life in the 1930s, Elo's new work being choreographed in America and Wheeldon's Rush © also choreographed in America," states Mr. Welch.
"I am excited for Houston Ballet to have a new work by Jorma. Houston audiences have loved the Kylián ballets and Jorma is a product of Kylián's company. His choreographic style is unique, mixing Kylián's influence into classical ballet," notes Mr. Welch. "I first saw Jorma choreographing at San Francisco Ballet and I instantly loved his style. The way he worked in the studio with the dancers, demonstrating his choreography, made me think Houston Ballet needs him in our studios."
Mr. Elo, who has created pieces for American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and New York City Ballet, among others, is currently the resident choreographer at Boston Ballet. He trained at the Finnish National Ballet School and The Kirov Ballet School. From 1978-1984 he danced with Finnish National Ballet, with Cullberg Ballet from 1984-1990, and in 1990 he joined Netherlands Dance Theatre. Mr. Elo worked with renowned choreographers such as Hans van Manen, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, Jiří Kylián and William Forsythe. In 2005 he was awarded the choreographic prize at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition.
Hailed by The New York Times as "one of the most vividly satisfying constructions by him or any other ballet choreographer in this decade," Christopher Wheeldon's Rush © is anchored around a dazzling pas de deux and features two principals, four soloists, and a corps de ballet of 10 dancers. The work is set to Bohuslav Martinu's Sinfonietta La Jolla for chamber orchestra and piano. Writing in Dance View Times, critic Rita Felciano described Rush's © choreography:
"The choreography plays with off-kilter balances and segments the upper body and the arms. There is a robust quality to the dancers, in part emphasized by the strong colors in both costumes (Jon Morrell) and lighting design (Mark Stanley). The choreography has a windswept, pushing ahead quality to it." (March 1, 2004)
Born in Somerset, England, Mr. Wheeldon began his ballet training when he was eight years old, and later trained at The Royal Ballet School. In 1991 he joined The Royal Ballet and also won the gold medal at the Prix de Lausanne competition. In 1993, Mr. Wheeldon was invited to become a member of New York City Ballet, where he rose to the rank of soloist in 1998. He began choreographing for New York City Ballet with Slavonic Dances for the 1997 Diamond Project. After creating Mercurial Manoeuvers (2000), he retired from dancing to concentrate on his choreographic work. In July 2001 he was named New York City Ballet's first resident choreographer. For New York City Ballet, Mr. Wheeldon has choreographed several works, including Polyphonia (2001) Variations Sérieuses (2001), Morphoses (2002), Liturgy (2003) and After the Rain (2005). He has also created ballets for such companies as The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet and Boston Ballet. From 2006 - 2010, Mr. Wheeldon formed and directed his own dance company, Morphoses, with the troupe giving performances in London, New York and across the United States.
Houston Ballet has two works by Mr. Wheeldon in its repertory, Carnival of the Animals, which entered the company's repertory in 2007, and Carousel (A Dance), which entered the repertory in 2009.
Set to music of the same name by the blues acoustic guitarist, banjo player and vocalist Martin Simpson, Mr. Bruce's Grinning in Your Face evokes a Midwest American community in the 1930s and features many of the hallmarks of Mr. Bruce's work: conflict, love and rejection, and folksy humor. The work was originally created for Rambert Dance Company in 2001.
"Grinning in Your Face is a ballet about America. Christopher choreographed the piece on Rambert, but requested it be brought to Houston in order for Americans to dance a work that is deeply rooted here," remarks Mr. Welch.
"For years I have enjoyed listening to my son playing guitar arrangements by Martin Simpson, recordings of which he has also choreographed to. Mark's close association with the music made me feel obligated to ask his permission to make a work to Martin's compositions. Mark generously endorsed the idea and I therefore dedicate this work to him," explains Mr. Bruce, "My dance comes directly from images inspired by the music, which appeared to me to paint pictures of rural America, particularly during the middle decades of the last century. My imagination was stimulated by photographs, novels (particularly those of Steinbeck) and, of course, the movies. There is no storyline, although occasionally a story is told. Mostly, the work is an interpretation of the songs with linking themes. Holding a line throughout the piece is a matriarchal figure in whose memory, perhaps, events take place."
"The music used in this piece contains some of the strands of traditional music I was working with when I was 29, some of which had already been raveled by major writers. I continue to love this material because it contains so much life and energy. These are strong threads and I am proud to see them woven into another fabric," notes Mr. Simpson.
Hailed by London's The Daily Telegraph as "the Nureyev of contemporary ballet," Mr. Bruce was appointed Houston Ballet associate choreographer in 1989 and has staged nine acclaimed works for the company including Ghost Dances (1981), Land (1985) and Swansong (1987). He has created four works especially for Houston Ballet: Gautama Buddha (1989), Journey (1990), Nature Dances (1992) and Hush (2006). Over the last 18 years, Houston Ballet has emerged as Mr. Bruce's artistic home in America.
Houston Ballet's performances of Raising the Barre are made possible from the generous support of Baker Botts L.L.P. and Riviana Foods Inc.
About Houston Ballet
On February 17, 1969 a troupe of 15 young dancers made its stage debut at Sam Houston State Teacher's College in Huntsville, Texas. Since that time, Houston Ballet has evolved into a company of 53 dancers with a budget of $18.4 million, a state-of-the-art performance space built especially for the company, Wortham Theater Center, and an endowment of just over $47 million (as of June 2010), making it the United States' fourth largest ballet company by number of dancers. Under the administrative leadership of managing director C.C. Conner since 1995, the company has maintained a strong financial position.
Houston Ballet has toured extensively both nationally and internationally. Over the last decade, the company has appeared in London at Sadler's Wells, at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, in six cities in Spain, in Montréal, at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in New York at City Center, and in cities large and small across the United States.
Houston Ballet has emerged as a leader in the expensive, labor-intensive task of nurturing the creation and development of new full-length narrative ballets. The company has also commissioned new one-act ballets from some of the world's most respected choreographers, including Julia Adam, Christopher Bruce, James Kudelka, Trey McIntyre, Paul Taylor, Glen Tetley, Natalie Weir and Lila York.
Writing in The Financial Times on March 6, 2006, dance critic Hilary Ostlere praised Houston Ballet as "a strong, reinvigorated company whose male contingent is particularly impressive, a well-drilled corps and an enviable selection of soloists and principals." Dance Europe editor Emma Manning observed of the company in November 2004, "One of the first things that hits you about this company is the technical strengths not just of the principals, but throughout the ranks. Watching artistic director Stanton Welch take class on a Sunday morning before a matinee, one could not help but marvel at the multiple turns tossed off by the young women in the corps....The three new works shown in this program will be followed by no fewer than four more Houston premieres. Can any other major ballet company in the world match that?"
In a move designed to propel Houston Ballet to the next phase of its development, the company broke ground on July 15, 2009 on the Center for Dance, a new 115,000-square-foot facility located in downtown Houston. The grand opening of the $46 million building is set for Saturday, April 9 at noon with Houston Mayor Annise Parker presiding over the ribbon cutting. The six-story building will boast nine dance studios, a dance laboratory for presentations as well as rehearsals, and artistic, administrative and support facilities for Houston Ballet and its Academy. The new facility will more than double the space that Houston Ballet has at its current home, and become the largest facility for professional dance in America.
Houston Ballet Orchestra was established in the late 1970s and currently consists of 61 professional musicians who play all ballet performances at Wortham Theater Center under the leadership of music director Ermanno Florio.
Houston Ballet Academy has reached over 19,000 Houston area students (as of the 2009-2010 season) and has had four academy students win prizes at the prestigious international ballet competition the Prix de Lausanne, with one student winning the overall competition in 2010.
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HOUSTON BALLET
RAISING THE BARRE
FACT SHEET
WHAT: RAISING THE BARRE (Spring Mixed Repertory Program)Featuring:
WORLD PREMIERE BY JORMA ELO
Costume Designs by Holly Hynes
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Concerto No. 4, Denise Tarrant, Violin
First and Second movement cadenzas courtesy of Julia Fischer
GRINNING IN YOUR FACE (2001): American Premiere
Music by Martin Simpson (Moonshine, Green Linnet - Grinning in Your Face, Reuben's Train, It Doesn't Matter Anymore, Little Birdie, The First Cut Is The Deepest, Roving Gambler, This War May Last You For Years, Masters of War)
The album Grinning In Your Face is used by permission of Topic Records, London.
Choreography by Christopher Bruce
Costume Designs by Marian Bruce
Lighting by John B. Read, recreated by Christina R. Giannelli
RUSH ©(2003): Houston Ballet Premiere
Music by Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959), Sinfonietta La Jolla for chamber orchestra and piano
Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon
Costume Designs by Jon Morrell
Generously underwritten by:
Baker Botts L.L.P.
Riviana Foods Inc.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM: Houston Ballet's spring repertory program will feature a powerhouse of 21st century ballet, including a world premiere by the celebrated Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo, an American premiere by Christopher Bruce and a company premiere by Christopher Wheeldon. Hailed by The New York Times as "one of the most vividly satisfying constructions by him or any other ballet choreographer in this decade," Christopher Wheeldon's Rush © is anchored around a dazzling pas de deux, and features two principals, four soloists, and a corps de ballet of ten dancers. Set to music of the same name by the blues guitarist Martin Simpson, Christopher Bruce's Grinning in Your Face evokes a Midwest American community in the 1930s, and features many of the hallmarks of Mr. Bruce's work: conflict, love and rejection, and folksy humor. Also on the program is Houston Ballet's first commissioned work by one of Europe's most in-demand dance makers, Jorma Elo.
WHEN: At 7:30 PM on May 26, 28, and June 3, 4, 2011
At 2:00 PM on May 29, and June 5, 2011
WHERE: Brown Theater, Wortham Theater Center
501 Texas Avenue in downtown Houston
TICKETS: Start at $18. Call (713) 227 ARTS or 1 800 828 ARTS
Tickets are also available at www.houstonballet.org and
Houston Ballet Box Office at Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Ave. (at Smith St.)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Visit Houston Ballet online at www.houstonballet.org
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