Choreographer Ángel Corella has announced the complete repertoire his company, Corella Ballet Castilla y León, will perform during its U.S. debut, March 17 - 20 at New York City Center. In addition to the U.S. premieres of Mr. Corella's String Sextet, and Russell Ducker's Epimetheus, the four-performance engagement will feature Leonid Lavrovsky's Walpurgisnacht and Vladimir Vasilyov & Natalia Kasatkina's Sunny Duet featuring Adiarys Almeida and Herman Cornejo. The debut will also include the world premiere of Soleá, pas de deux by the flamenco dancer and choreographer María Pagés, featuring Angel Corella and Carmen Corella; and Christopher Wheeldon's DGV .
Corella Ballet dancers who will be performing at City Center include Principals: Adiarys Almeida, Carmen Corella, Natalia Tapia, Ángel Corella, Herman Cornejo and Joseph Gatti; First Soloist: Kazuko Omori; Soloists: Cristina Casa, Ashley Ellis, Mª José Sales, Fernando Bufalá, Kirill Radev and Yevgen Uzlenkov.
Ángel Corella's String Sextet (2009), inspired by Tchaikovsky's String Sextet, "Souvenir of Florence" Op. 70, 1892, is choreographed for the full company in four movements. The piece had its world premiere on July 30, 2009 at the Peralada Festival in Barcelona.
Russell Ducker's Epimetheus (2009), set to The Music of the Spheres by Mike Oldfield (who is known for Tubular Bells, featured in the film The Exorcist) was inspired by the fifth moon of the planet Saturn. The piece had its world premiere on August 1, 2009 at the Noches Mágicas Festival in La Granja-Spain.
Leonid Lavrovsky's Walpurgisnacht (1956) set to music by Charles Francoise Gounod from his Faust opera, is a pas de trois created for the Bolshoi Ballet. It is based on Walpurgis Night, a holiday celebrated on April 30 or May 1 in large parts of Central and Northern Europe.
María Pages' Soleá ,(2010), with music by Rubén Lebaniegos, was choreographed especially for Principal Dancers Ángel Corella and Carmen Corella. A soleá is one of the basic pillars of flamenco, rich with melodic richness and depth of execution.
Vladimir Vasilyov & Natalia Kasatkina's Sunny Duet (1973), with music by Arno Babajanyan, will be danced by Principal Dancers Adiarys Almeida and Herman Cornejo.
Christopher Wheeldon's DGV (Danse à Grande Vitesse, 2006) is a meditation on travel set to Michael Nyman's MGV : Musique à Grande Vitesse Musique. The piece premiered at London's Royal Ballet in 2006 and was nominated for an Oliver Award. DGV is performed by kind permission of The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, UK.
About The Choreographers:
Ángel Corella was born in Madrid in 1975. He was awarded First Prize in the National Ballet Competition of Spain in 1991, and the Grand Prix and Gold Medal at the Concours International de Danse de Paris in 1994. Mr. Corella joined the American Ballet Theatre as a soloist in 1995 and in 1996 was promoted to Principal Dancer. His repertoire includes all the principal roles of the major classical, neoclassical and contemporary ballets. Mr. Corella has also been a guest star with the worlds' leading dance companies, including The Royal Ballet, Australian Ballet, Ballet of Georgia, Bolshoi Ballet, New York City Ballet and Kirov Ballet. In 2000, Mr. Corella received the Benois de la Danse Award for his work in Other Dances by Jerome Robbins, and in 2002 he was awarded The National Dance Prize of Spain as "an exceptional dancer and representative of a generation which enhances Spanish dance in the most outstanding international companies. In 2001 he formed a foundation to promote classical dance in Spain and to provide the finest professional training to all dancers, regardless of their economic or social condition.
Russell Ducker began his training at the Royal Ballet of London, joining the Royal Ballet Upper School in 2004. He has been awarded the MacMillan, De Valoais and Ursula Morton Prizes and has received an award from the NFL Choreographic Foundation. Mr. Ducker is also a dancer with the Corella Ballet.
