American Ballet Theatre Studio Company Performs at the Joyce This Weekend

The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company will present three performances at the Joyce Theater, this weekend, beginning tonight, April 15 and continuing through April 17, 2016. Performance times are 8:00 PM tonight and Saturday, April 16, and 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 17.

Friday evening's performance will include the ABT Studio Company in the New York City Premieres of Gemma Bond's Third Wheels and George Williamson's Murmuration, as well as the world premiere of Knightlife, choreographed by Ethan Stiefel, and Raymond Luken's Danse Baroque, both featuring students in Level 7 of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.

Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon's performances will feature the ABT Studio Company in Alexei Ratmansky's Bolero, the Pas d'Action from La Bayadère, Ethan Stiefel's Bier Halle, Marco Pelle's Libera! and Gemma Bond's Third Wheels.

The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, directed by Kate Lydon, is comprised of 16 dancers of outstanding potential aged 16-20. In addition to a schedule of classes including ballet technique, pointe, variations, partnering, modern, Pilates, men's strengthening, acting and dance history, the ABT Studio Company gains performance experience through residencies, cultural exchanges and local performances.

The ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School serves approximately 300 students and encompasses a Pre-Professional Division for dancers ages 12-18 and a Children's Division for dancers ages 3-14. Classes include classical ballet technique, pointe, partnering, men's class, character, modern technique, variations and Pilates. Instruction at the ABT JKO School is based on ABT's National Training Curriculum, which combines scientific principles with elements from the classic French, Italian and Russian schools of training.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences for three decades. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater in 1982. The Joyce Theater is named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater. One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant home for more than 320 domestic and international companies. The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992. In 2009, The Joyce opened Dance Art New York (DANY) Studios to provide affordable studios for rehearsals, auditions, classes, and workshops for independent choreographers, non-profit dance companies, and the dance/theater communities. New York City public school students and teachers annually benefit from The Joyce's Dance Education Program, and adult audiences get closer to dance through informative post-performance Curtain Chats. The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000.

Tickets, starting at $10, can be purchased online at https://goo.gl/9hCR5t, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue in New York City. For more information about performances by the ABT Studio Company, call the ABT Education Department at 212-477-3030, ext. 1177 or visit www.abt.org/education/studiocompany.asp.