Ballet Academy East Announces 20th Annual Spring Performance Series

New York City's leading center for complete ballet education, Ballet Academy East (BAE), today announced its 20th annual Spring Performance series taking place at Hunter College's Kaye Playhouse, May 31-June 2, 2019. Approximately 135 students from BAE's Pre-Professional Division will perform during the series. The program features Sleeping Beauty, Aurora's Wedding staged by Maina Gielgud and includes world premieres by Charles Askegard, Amanda Edge, and Alan Hineline. Works by Darla Hoover, Jenna Lavin and Marcia Dale Weary round out the program.

"Working with the legendary Maina Gielgud on her restaging of Sleeping Beauty, Aurora's Wedding as well as being part of the creation of new works gives our dancers exactly the kind of well-rounded education that is at the heart of the BAE mission," says Darla Hoover, Artistic Director of BAE's Pre-Professional Division. I can't wait to share this beautiful program with our audiences."

The program features three world premieres: Romanza by Alan Hineline, director of artistic programming at CPYB and guest faculty member at BAE, and two by former New York City Ballet dancers: Hungarian Serenade by Amanda Edge and The Lesson by Charles Askegard (BAE Faculty Member). Hineline's Romanza is a four-movement neoclassical ballet inspired by the musical landscape of Ernö Dohnányi's Serenade. "Dohnányi's Serenade has long been a favorite work of mine and the exceptional BAE dancers bring the contrasting sections of music beautifully to life," explains Hineline. "Their mix of strong technique and hunger for movement always makes creating upon them a thrill."

The performance's final piece is "Aurora's Wedding" from the 19th-century ballet Sleeping Beauty. Based on the original choreography of Marius Petipa, BAE's version is restaged by Maina Gielgud who has staged productions for The Australian Ballet, Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, to name a few. The final act presents the festivities of Princess Aurora's wedding to Prince Désiré, including dances by their fairytale guests and the joyous couple's climactic pas de deux.

Hailed for their "expressive dancing, dramatic nuanced touches, and nicely synchronized corps work (Ballet Focus)," BAE students captivate audiences and critics alike in their annual showcase. According to Art Times Journal, it is an "evening of ballet superior to the work of many professional companies." The New York Times cited: "Upper bodies are beautifully open; legwork is firm and clear; beaten steps are fleet...I was completely interested in the complex details shown, and by the individual skills of each dancer...Above all, everything here found life in the keenness with which all these dancers engaged with their music."

About Ballet Academy East Pre-Professional Division
The BAE Pre-Professional Division is celebrated for producing technically strong and artistically expressive dancers who are sought after for their professionalism and ability to adapt to a broad range of styles demanded of today's dance professionals. Alumni include Ariel Rose and Petra Love (Miami City Ballet), Siobhan Howley (Pennsylvania Ballet), Hannah Marshall (American Ballet Theatre), and Erica Pereira (New York City Ballet), to name a few. The comprehensive ballet training is combined with professional-caliber performance opportunities. The year-round curriculum includes technique, pointe, partnering, variations, stretch, men's classes, modern and character. Students are ages seven to 19 and are accepted through an audition process.

With a vision of inspiring dancers of all ages and levels to achieve their greatest potential, director, Julia Dubno, founded Ballet Academy East (BAE) in 1979. Today BAE is New York City's leading center for complete ballet education, internationally recognized for its exceptional training. The school's Young Dancer, Pre- Professional and Adult Divisions nurture students' physical and emotional well-being, build technical skills, and develop artistry. Under the guidance of Artistic Director Darla Hoover BAE's Pre-Professional Division offers comprehensive ballet training with professional-caliber performance opportunities to prepare students for success in the dance world. BAE's proven syllabus creates technically strong, artistically expressive dancers who adapt easily to the broad range of styles required of today's professionals. balletacademyeast.com

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