New York Theater Ballet--NYTB--will conclude its Spring 2006 Legends and Visionaries Series with A. DeMille Celebration: Act 1 - Agnes the dancer, and Act 2 - Agnes the choreographer, performing April 28-29 at Florence Gould Hall (55 East 59th Street, NYC). Both performances will be at 7:30 PM.
A. De Mille Celebration will honor the late
Agnes De Mille's 100th birthday and her legendary career as both dancer and choreographer. In
Act 1 - Agnes the dancer, the program will feature "Three Virgins and a Devil" and Antony Tudor's "Judgment of Paris." In
Act 2 - Agnes the choreographer, the program will pay tribute to de Mille's choreography with the staging of her original dances from the Broadway musicals
Oklahoma!,
Carousel,
Brigadoon and
Paint Your Wagon.
Act 2 - Agnes the choreographer (staging by
Gemze de Lappe) will also feature vocal selections by Broadway talent to accompany
the dances: "Out of My Dreams" from
Oklahoma! performed by Kathleen
White (
Dames at Sea); "Blow High, Blow Low" from
Carousel performed by
Matt Castle (
Company at
Cincinnati Playhouse);
and "Come to Me, Bend to Me" from
Brigadoon performed by Jarrod
Cafaro (
Naked Boys Singing).
The Act 1 program will be staged by Sallie Wilson. The program will features costume design by Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan and the music of the NYTB Chamber Orchestra, directed by Ferdy Tumakaka. It will be performed by NYTB company members: Danielle Genest,
Marina Lazzaretto,
Steven Melendez, Saori Nagata, Melissa Sadler, Darion Smith, Ron Spiess, Kieran Stoneley, Kip Sturm and
Elena Zahlmann.
"At the
Ballet Russe de
Monte Carlo, DeMille created her first important ballet,
Rodeo (1942), which included tap dancing and movements reminiscent of
the American West. De Mille brought ballet form to musical comedy,
using dance to enhance the plot and move the story along, first in
Oklahoma! (1943), and later in such musicals as
Bloomer Girl (1944),
Carousel (1945),
Brigadoon (1947) and
Paint Your Wagon (1951). She
created dances for
American Ballet Theatre, notably
Fall River Legend
(1948), and for films. Choreographing some 15 musicals and 21 ballets,
she was a significant force in a new American realism that mingled
ballet technique, vernacular movement, and modern psychology," state press notes.
Single tickets are $30. For Seniors and Students with valid ID, tickets are $15. All tickets are available by calling
Ticketmaster.com at 212-307-4100 or, in-person at
Florence Gould Hall box office. For subscription tickets, call NYTB at 212-679-0401.