Brooklyn Center Presents GISELLE, 4/15

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2011-2012 World Stages series with the Moscow Festival Ballet's production ofGiselle on Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 2pm.

Haunted forests, quaint mountain villages, mystic legends of fairies and ghostly visitors, forces of nature, love overcoming death - these images and themes are interwoven into the two-act ballet Giselle, considered by many to be one of the greatest romantic ballets of all time. First presented in 1841 by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris, this masterpiece tells the story of a peasant girl named Giselle whose ghost, after her premature death, protects her lover from the vengeance of a group of evil female spirits called Wilis. 

The original production was choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, with music by Adolphe Adam and a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-George andThéophile Gautier. The choreography in modern productions generally derives from the 1884 revival by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Russian Ballet (now the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet).

The role of Giselle is one of the most sought-after in the ballet repertoire, requiring that the ballerina have impeccable technique to execute the physical demands of the role, while masking the difficulty with strong dramatic skills and outstanding grace. For the Moscow Festival Ballet's 2012 U.S. tour, the title role will be danced byEkaterina Egorova and Maria Sokolnikova. Dmitry Shchemelinin and Aidos Zakan share the role of Count Albrecht, Giselle's lover.

About Moscow Festival Ballet

Moscow Festival Ballet was founded in 1989 when legendary principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, Sergei Radchenko, sought to realize his vision of a company which would bring together the highest classical elements of the great Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet companies in an independent new company within the framework of Russian classic ballet. Under Radchenko's direction, the Moscow Festival Ballet has commissioned new works from within Russia and abroad, complimenting a repertoire of twentieth century classics such as Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Legend of Love, Stone Flower and The Golden Age. Mr. Radchenko has also researched the original choreography and stage productions of several of Marius Petipa's classic ballets, including new productions of Don Quixote and Paquita, and a recreation of Jules Perrot's and Jean Coralli's Giselle.

Since its inception, the Moscow Festival Ballet has completed two tours of Europe, with extraordinary receptions in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Turkey (the Istanbul Festival) and Greece (the Athens Festival). The company has also toured extensively throughout the United States and recently completed a two-month tour of Japan, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.      

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' presentation of the Moscow Festival Ballet's Giselle is sponsored, in part, by the Macy's Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and The Harkness Foundation for Dance.

About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College

Founded in 1954, the mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn's diverse communities, at affordable prices. Each season, Brooklyn Center welcomes more than 65,000 people to the 2,400-seat Walt Whitman Theatre, including 46,000 schoolchildren from over 300 schools who attend its SchoolTime educational series, one of the largest arts education programs in the borough. 

Brooklyn Center's presentations explore both the classical traditions and the boldest contemporary performances, embracing the world culture that defines Brooklyn. As a dance presenter, Brooklyn Center has presented the New York, US, and world premieres of more than 150 dance, and more than 50 dance companies have made their New York debuts at Brooklyn Center, including the Miami City Ballet, the Missouri, Washington, Chicago, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Oakland Ballets, the Hubbard Street Dance Company, Italy's Aterballetto, France's Ballet du Nord, Iceland Dance Company and Canada's Ballet-théâtre Atlantique.

Moscow Festival Ballet's Giselle

Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 2:00pm

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College

2/5 trains to Brooklyn College/Flatbush Avenue

On-site paid parking available

Tickets: $45/$36

Online orders: BrooklynCenterOnline.org

Box Office: (718) 951-4500, Tuesday - Saturday, 1pm - 6pm

Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-4600, ext. 3326

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/BrooklynCenterforthePerformingArts

Twitter: www.twitter.com/BrklynCtr