THE TEMPEST Highlights American Ballet Theatre's Opening Night Gala Tonight

American Ballet Theatre celebrates the opening of its Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center this evening, October 30 at 6:30PM with a special opening night Gala performance highlighted by the World Premiere of The Tempest, choreographed by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky.

Julia Koch, Sutton Stracke and Caryn Zucker will serve as Co-Chairs for the 2013 Fall Gala. Vice Chairs include Mark Badgley, Leah Mary Campbell, James Mischka and Victoria Phillips. Daniel Cappello, Jennie Tarr Coyne and Asha Talwar will serve as Junior Chairs for the evening. A black tie dinner and dancing on The Promenade will immediately follow the performance. Business leader and philanthropist Adrienne Arsht will be honored with the 2013 Melville Straus Leadership Achievement Award. The World Premiere of The Tempest will provide the evening's thematic inspiration with The Promenade transformed to evoke the story's title storm-at-sea. Gala décor will be created by noted designer Bronson Van Wyck of the environmental design and event production firm Van Wyck & Van Wyck.

American Ballet Theatre's inaugural season at the David H. Koch Theater marks the Company's first return to the venue since 1976. The season will open with a one-time-only Gala performance highlighted by the World Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's The Tempest led by Marcelo Gomes as Prospero, Daniil Simkin as Ariel, and Herman Cornejo as Caliban. The evening will also feature a new production of

George Balanchine's Theme and Variations led by Gillian Murphy and James Whiteside and a Pièce d'Occasion choreographed by ABT Principal Dancer Marcelo Gomes and set to Souvenir de Florence by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky.

Gala benefit tickets for American Ballet Theatre's Fall Gala at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, are available by calling American Ballet Theatre's Special Events office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3310. Performance-only tickets, beginning at $20, are available online, at the Koch Theater box office or by calling 212-496-0600. For more information, visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.