Studio 5 at City Center Features Damian Woetzel, Victoria Clark

This season in Studio 5 at City Center, renowned dancer-turned director Damian Woetzel will offer an intimate look at today's most compelling dance artists and companies, including American Ballet Theatre and Christopher Wheeldon, and Tony Award-winning performer and master teacher Victoria Clark will explore City Center's beloved Encores! series. Studio 5 provides an intimate forum for informal conversations with some of today's most compelling figures in dance and musical theater. Interactive discussions and performances by guest artists offer audiences a glimpse beyond the proscenium into the creative process. Studio Five events take place in the Barbara and David Zalaznick Studio at City Center, 130 West 56th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues).

The three-part dance series, curated and hosted by Woetzel, begins on October 11 when Woetzel is joined by American Ballet Theatre dancers who will demonstrate and discuss highlights of the company's upcoming City Center season, followed on January 9 featuring choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and his brilliant work. One additional event will be announced shortly.

The three-part musical theater series, "Backstage at Encores!", curated and hosted by Victoria Clark, will open on October 17 with Encores! Music Director Rob Berman, followed by casting director Jay Binder on December 5. The final event on February 6 will feature a panel of musical theater composers and writers.

The complete schedule is as follows:

Dance with Damian Woetzel
Curated and Hosted by Damian Woetzel

American Ballet Theatre
Tuesday, October 11 at 6:30pm
Featuring highlights from ABT's City Center season, with company dancers performing excerpts and discussing the upcoming ballets and their roles.

Christopher Wheeldon in 2012
Monday, January 9 at 7 pm
The acclaimed choreographer joins Mr. Woetzel in conversation, featuring excerpts of his works performed by distinguished guest artists.

A third Studio 5 dance event will be announced shortly.

Musical Theater with Victoria Clark: Backstage at Encores!
Curated and Hosted by Victoria Clark

An Evening with Rob Berman
Monday, October 17 at 6:30 pm
Encores! Music Director Rob Berman will offer behind-the-scenes insights into the process of mounting the Encores! season. Special guest artists will perform selections from all three upcoming productions (Merrily We Roll Along, Pipe Dream and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes).

God, I Hope I Get It!
Monday, December 5 at 6:30 pm
Encores! casting director Jay Binder will discuss the behind-the-table conversations that take place when an actor leaves the audition room, and host mock auditions for this season's Encores! shows to demonstrate his techniques.

What's the Buzz?
Monday, February 6 at 6:30 pm
Today's Broadway hits will become tomorrow's cherished Encores! productions. A panel of today's brightest young composers and writers will discuss how musical theater tastes and styles change as time goes on, and try to predict what we can expect in the decades ahead.

Since retiring in 2008 from a 20-year career as Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet, Damian Woetzel has taken on multiple roles in arts leadership. He is the artistic director of the Vail International Dance Festival, the Director of Arts Programs for the Aspen Institute, and the founding Director of the Jerome Robbins Foundation's New Essential Works (NEW) Program, and he also works with Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Connect Program in the New York City Public Schools. He is active as a director and producer, and recently directed a performance at the White House celebrating dance in America. Mr. Woetzel holds a Master in Public Administration Degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and in 2010-11 he was a Visiting Lecturer at Harvard Law School. In November of 2009, President Obama appointed Mr. Woetzel to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Mr. Woetzel serves on the Board of New York City Center.

Victoria Clark is currently appearing in the Broadway hit musical Sister Act (Tony nomination). Her previous work includes the Broadway musicals The Light in the Piazza (Tony Award), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Cabaret, Urinetown, Titanic, Guys and Dolls, A Grand Night for Singing and Sunday in the Park With George. Her off-Broadway credits include When the Rain Stops Falling, A Prayer for My Enemy, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Tres Ninas, The Agony and the Agony, Marathon Dancing and Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Ms. Clark's Encores! credits include Follies, Bye Bye Birdie and the title role in Juno. She serves on the Board of New York City Center.

New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city for more than 60 years. It was Manhattan's first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1943 with a mission to make the best in music, theater and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City Center is home to many distinguished companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned national and international visiting artists; and its own critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as "one of the very best reasons to be alive in New York." Dance has been integral to the theater's mission from the start, and dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance Festival and a partnership with London's Sadler's Wells Theatre, remain central to City Center's identity. City Center is dedicated to providing educational opportunities to New York City students and teachers with programs such as Encores! In Schools and the Young People's Dance Series. Special workshops cater to families, seniors and other groups, while events such as the Fall for Dance DanceTalk series offer learning opportunities to the general public. City Center is currently undergoing an extensive renovation project to revitalize and modernize its historic theater. A grand reopening gala is scheduled for October 25. For more information, visit www.NYCityCenter.org.

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