Boston Ballet Announces 2017 BB@HOME SERIES

Boston Ballet is pleased to announce its BB@home performance series for the 2016-2017 season. Boston Ballet II (BBII), Boston Ballet's Second Company, will present a range of diverse repertoire January 21-22, 2017 at 7:30 pm. On February 10, 2017 at 7:30 pm, BB@home: "Focus on Forsythe" will feature a conversation with world-renowned choreographer William Forsythe and Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen, with excerpts from Forsythe's masterpiece Artifact. All BB@home performances take place in Boston Ballet's grand rehearsal studio at its South End headquarters, which transforms into an intimate, state-of-the-art black box theater.

BB@home with Boston Ballet II

For the January BB@home, BBII will present George Balanchine's rarely-performed Haieff Divertimento, "an intimate, appealingly human gem" (Sarah Kaufman, The Washington Post). Other program highlights include Jaime Sierra's energetic, all-male ensemble work LEGIÓN with music by "avant garde" cellist Zoë Keating (Chrissie Dickinson, Chicago Tribune), and Laurie Jones' classical Drigo Divertissements, a work that "nurtures a joyous appetite for movement" (Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times). The young ensemble will also perform a preview of a newly commissioned work by Jill Johnson, Dance Director at Harvard University and dancer/collaborator with choreographer William Forsythe.

Boston Ballet II, the Second Company of Boston Ballet, is a two-year program featuring young, classically trained dancers on the cusp of their professional careers led by Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen and Associate Director of BBII Peter Stark. BBII performs extensively with the main Company at the Boston Opera House, in addition to their own touring engagements throughout the Greater Boston community. BBII alumni make up more than a third of the current Boston Ballet roster, and many others have gone on to professional careers in American and international companies, including The Royal Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and The National Ballet of Canada.

BB@home: "Focus on Forsythe"

In 2016, Boston Ballet established a long-term partnership with William Forsythe, one of today's most influential and innovative choreographers, and will become the first North American company to perform his full-length Artifact, "a viscerally thrilling celebration of classical dance" (Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times). Forsythe will discuss his work and choreographic process with Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen, and the Company will present excerpts fromArtifact. This BB@home program is a unique, intimate opportunity to hear from the master and see how his creative process comes to life. Artifact will be performed at the Boston Opera House February 23-March 5, marking the start of Boston Ballet's five-year partnership with Forsythe.

William Forsythe is "widely recognized as one of the most important choreographers working today" (Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times), and his work has been performed by virtually every major ballet company in the world. Forsythe danced with the Joffrey Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet, where he was appointed Resident Choreographer in 1976. He spent the next seven years of his career creating new work for Stuttgart and companies around the world. In 1984, he began a 20-year tenure as director of Ballet Frankfurt. He later served as the director of The Forsythe Company-a new, independent ensemble based in Dresden and Frankfurt am Main-which he directed from 2005 to 2015. Forsythe's work continues to be commissioned by the world's most prestigious companies, and he regularly gives lectures and workshops at universities and cultural institutions around the world. He is an Honorary Fellow at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London and holds an Honorary Doctorate from The Juilliard School. Forsythe is a Professor of Dance and Artistic Advisor for the Choreographic Institute at the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.

Tickets start at $55. For more information about BB@home, visit bostonballet.org/bb-at-home or call 617.695.6955.

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