San Francisco Ballet's ROMEO AND JULIET Launches Lincoln Center at the Movies' GREAT AMERICAN DANCE Screenings Tonight

Lincoln Center at the Movies, the new cinema series recently announced by Lincoln Center in partnership with Fathom Events, will open in fall 2015 with Great American Dance presenting performances by four of America's leading companies: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Hispanico, New York City Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet. Each event will be shown in select cinemas nationwide at nearly 400 locations.

Jed Bernstein, President of Lincoln Center, said, "These four companies represent the height of artistic excellence and a wide range of American dance and we are proud to have them inaugurate Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance. Their programs offer something for everyone, committed dance fans and curious first-timers, many of whom rarely if ever have the opportunity to see dance performances in the theater."

Tickets for Lincoln Center at the Movies will be available beginning July 8 at FathomEvents.com and at participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participating box offices are subject to change).

Great American Dance kicks off tonight, September 24, at 7 pm with San Francisco Ballet's glorious production of Romeo & Julietchoreographed by company Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson. The series continues on October 22 at 7 pm with a screening of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's signature work, Revelations, the American dance masterpiece created by company founder Alvin Ailey, and three additional works: Chroma by Wayne McGregor, Grace by Ronald K. Brown, and Takademe by the company's Artistic Director Robert Battle.

Coming to movie screens on November 12 at 7 pm is Ballet Hispanico, the nation's premier Latino dance company, with two audience favorites: CARMEN.maquia, an electrifying contemporary take on Bizet's passionate opera choreographed by Spaniard Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, and Club Havana, a virtuosic re-imagining of a sizzling nightclub, by Cuban-born choreographer Pedro Ruiz. New York City Ballet's magical holiday-time classic George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™, set to the memorable Tschaikovsky score, is the concluding presentation of the inaugural season on December 5 at 12:55 pm and December 10 at 7 pm.

Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance presentations are filmed in HD by the multi-Emmy Award-winning team responsible for Live From Lincoln Center broadcasts on PBS, Andrew C. Wilk, Executive Producer. Each screening will include extra features such as interviews with the companies' principal dancers, and informative segments that will provide an inside look at the productions.

Lincoln Center at the Movies will bring the best of the performing arts to national audiences through Fathom's extensive network of movie theaters and will focus on the different art forms on Lincoln Center's campus. For more information visit LincolnCenterattheMovies.org.

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Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance - Screening Schedule:

Tonight, September 24, 7 pm

San Francisco Ballet

Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson

Romeo & Juliet

Choreographer Helgi Tomasson

Music Sergei Prokofiev

Conductor Martin West

Production and Costume Design Jens-Jacob Worsaae

Lighting Design Thomas R. Skelton

Fight Scene Choreographer Martino Pistone in collaboration with Helgi Tomasson

Cast

Juliet Maria Kochetkova

Romeo Davit Karapetyan

Mercutio Pascal Molat

Benvolio Joseph Walsh

Tybalt Luke Ingham

Two innocent youths meet by chance, relishing the discovery and passion of first love-only to be shattered by tragic twists of fate and the destructive hatred of their own families. The timeless Shakespearean masterpiece Romeo and Juliet has been retold in many theater, opera, film, and dance works. Since its creation by company Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson in 1994, San Francisco Ballet's Romeo & Juliet has played to sold-out houses and taken its place as one of the finest dance interpretations of the passionate tale. Set to an evocative Prokofiev score, the production is filled with beautiful dance, riveting battles, and compelling drama, all amid elegant and stunning production and costume designs evoking Renaissance Italy. Two of the company's most celebrated principal dancers, Maria Kochetkova and Davit Karapetyan, dance the title roles, joined by the 78-member company that The New York Times called, "a national treasure."

As America's oldest professional ballet company, San Francisco Ballet has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic "firsts" since its founding in 1933, including performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. San Francisco Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States and currently presents more than 100 performances annually, both locally and internationally. The mission of San Francisco Ballet is to share its joy of dance with the widest possible audience in its community and around the globe and to provide the highest caliber of dance training in its School. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson, the company has achieved an international reputation as one of the preeminent ballet companies in the world. 2015 marks the 30th anniversary of Helgi Tomasson's tenure as artistic director of San Francisco Ballet. For more information, visit sfballet.org.

The Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance presentation of San Francisco Ballet is directed for the screen by Thomas Grimm.

Thursday, October 22 at 7 pm

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Artistic Director Robert Battle

Revelations

Choreographer Alvin Ailey

Music Traditional

Décor and costumes by Ves Harper

Costumes for "Rocka My Soul" redesigned by Barbara Forbes

Lighting designer Nicola Cernovitch

The company's signature work, created by its founder Alvin Ailey in 1960, is an enduring tribute to the African-American cultural experience and to Ailey's genius. Set to African-American spirituals, Revelations powerfully explores places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul and has become an American cultural treasure acclaimed as a must-see for all.

Chroma

Choreographer Wayne McGregor

Music by Jack White and Joby Talbot

Set by John Pawson

Costume designer Moritz Junge

Lighting Designer Lucy Carter

Restaging by Antoine Vereecken

The groundbreaking British choreographer's contemporary ballet is full of sensory surprises: sumptuous movement, a driving score by Joby Talbot with orchestrations of songs by The White Stripes, and a luminous set by minimalist architect John Pawson.

Grace

Choreographer Ronald K. Brown

Assistant to the Choreographer Arcell Cabuag

Music Duke Ellington, Roy Davis Jr., Paul Johnson, Fela Anikulapo Kuti

Costume Designer Omatayo Wunmi Olaiya

Lighting Designer William H. Grant III

One of the most popular works in the Ailey repertory, Ronald K. Brown's spellbinding Grace is a fervent tour-de-force depicting individuals on a journey to the promised land. This spiritually-charged work is a rapturous blend of modern dance and West African idioms. The movement alternates fluidly between extremes, with eruptions of power coupled with lightness and serenity.

Takademe

Choreographer Robert Battle

Music by Sheila Chandra

Costume by Missoni; Costume recreated by Jon Taylor

Lighting designer Burke Wilmore

Music "Speaking in Tongues II" performed by Sheila Chandra (Courtesy of Real World Records)

This bravura work mixes humor and high-flying movement in a savvy deconstruction of Indian Kathak dance rhythms. Clear shapes and propulsive jumps mimic the vocalized syllables of Sheila Chandra's syncopated score.

Recognized by U.S. Congressional resolution as a vital American "Cultural Ambassador to the World," Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-fabled March 1958 performance in New York that changed forever the perception of American dance, and has now performed for an estimated 25 million people in 71 countries on six continents. Founded by Alvin Ailey, recent posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom-the nation's highest civilian honor-and guided by Judith Jamison beginning in 1989, the company has been led by Robert Battle since 2011. Promoting the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance tradition, the company performs on major stages throughout the world in extensive yearly tours, including annually at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and at New York City Center. The Ailey organization's mission is to further Alvin Ailey's pioneering work through dance performances, training, and educational and community programs for all. Ailey's permanent home-The Joan Weill Center for Dance-is New York City's largest building dedicated to dance. For more information, visit alvinailey.org.

The Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance presentation of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is directed for the screen by Matthew Diamond.

Thursday, November 12 at 7 pm

BALLET HISPANICO

Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro

CARMEN.maquia

Choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansano

Music various works by Georges Bizet and Pablo de Sarasate

Costume Designer David Delfin

Costume Construction Travis Halsey, Diana Ruettiger

Lighting Designer Joshua Preston

Set Design and Construction Luis Crespo

Hailed as a "masterpiece" by the Chicago Sun-Times, this work-like Bizet's iconic opera about a passionate gypsy-is riveting from start to finish. The physically charged and sensual choreography fuses contemporary dance with nods to the Spanish paso doble and flamenco. With a visual concept inspired by Picasso's black-and-white palette, and movement that is full of elaborate partnering, CARMEN.maquia is a bold and electrifying reimagining of this fiery and tragic tale.

Club Havana

Choreographer Pedro Ruiz

Music Israel Lopez, Rubén Gonzales, A.K. Salim, Perez Prado and Francisco Repilado

Costume designer Emilio Sosa

Lighting designer Donald Holder

The intoxicating rhythms of the conga, rumba, mambo, and cha cha are brought to life by choreographer Pedro Ruiz, a native of Cuba, in this reimagined nightclub populated by virtuoso dancers.

Since its inception in 1970, Ballet Hispanico has been recognized as the nation's premier Latino dance organization. Led by award-winning Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro, the Ballet Hispanico Company has performed for audiences totaling over 3 million, throughout 11 countries and on 3 continents. The company's commitment to contemporary repertory has produced world-class, multifaceted performances that have featured masterworks by Nacho Duato, cutting-edge premieres by Cayetano Soto and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and live music collaborations with renowned artists such as Paquito D'Rivera and Ruben Blades-to name a notable few. Through the work of its professional company, school of dance, and community arts education programs, Ballet Hispanico celebrates the dynamic aesthetics of the Hispanic diaspora, building new avenues of cultural dialogue and sharing the joy of dance with all communities. For more information, visit ballethispanico.org. Follow Ballet Hispanico onFacebook and Twitter.

The Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance presentation of Ballet Hispanico is directed for the screen by Matthew Diamond.

Saturday, December 5 at 12:55 pm and Thursday, December 10 at 7 pm

NEW YORK CITY BALLET

Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™

Music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky

Choreography by George Balanchine*

Scenery by Rouben Ter-Arutunian

Costumes by Karinska

Original Lighting by Ronald Bates

Lighting by Mark Stanley

*©The George Balanchine Trust

Cast

Sugarplum Fairy Megan Fairchild

Her Cavalier Joaquin De Luz

Dewdrop Ashley Bouder

New York City Ballet's acclaimed production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™ premiered on February 2, 1954 and helped to establish The Nutcracker and its score as perennial favorites in the United States. Critics have called this now legendary production of The Nutcracker the "gold standard" and "The Nutcracker of all Nutcrackers." NYCB's beloved production has been performed in New York City every year since its premiere, and is seen live by more than 100,000 annually. Created by George Balanchine, a giant of 20th-century dance, the ballet classic depicts a magical world where mischievous mice besiege a battalion of toy soldiers, and an onstage blizzard leads to an enchanted Land of Sweets. The ballet features the Company's entire roster of more than 90 dancers, as well as more than 60 young students from the renowned School of American Ballet. Tschaikovsky's glorious score is performed by the 62-piece New York City Ballet Orchestra under the direction of NYCB Resident Conductor Clotilde Otrano. NYCB Principal Dancers Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz dance the roles of the "Sugarplum Fairy" and "Her Cavalier," with Ashley Bouder as "Dewdrop."

New York City Ballet is one of the foremost dance companies in the world, with an unparalleled repertory of ballets-most of them created for NYCB-many of which are considered modern masterpieces. The company was founded in 1948 by arts patron Lincoln Kirstein and the legendary choreographer George Balanchine, who served as Ballet Master of NYCB from its inception until his death, in 1983. In 1949, Jerome Robbins joined the company as associate artistic director. NYCB moved to its current home at Lincoln Center's New York State Theater (now the David H. Koch Theater), built especially for Balanchine and the company, in 1964. Now under the direction of Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins and Executive Director Katherine Brown, the company has more than 90 dancers, a 62-member orchestra, an official school (the School of American Ballet), an institute for choreography (the New York Choreographic Institute), and an annual 21-week season in New York City. NYCB is committed to promoting creative excellence and nurturing a new generation of dancers and choreographers. For more information visit nycballet.com.

The Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance presentation of New York City Ballet's George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™ is directed for the screen by Alan Skog.

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About Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts - Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA's series and programs include American Songbook, Avery Fisher Artist Program, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, Martin E. Segal Awards, Meet the Artist, Mostly Mozart Festival, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and 11 resident organizations: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, visit aboutlincolncenter.org

About Fathom Events - Fathom Events is the recognized leader in the alternative entertainment industry, offering a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events in movie theaters nationwide that include live, high-definition performances of the Metropolitan Opera, the performing arts, major sporting events, music concerts, comedy series, Broadway shows, original programming featuring entertainment's biggest stars, socially relevant documentaries with audience Q&A, and much more. Fathom Events takes audiences behind-the-scenes and offers unique extras, creating the ultimate entertainment experience. It is owned by a consortium called AC JV, LLC., comprised of AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), the three largest movie theater circuits in the United States. In addition, Fathom Events' live digital broadcast network ("DBN") is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live events to more than 820 locations in 177 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50). For more information, visit fathomevents.com.