Casting Announced for Bolshoi Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Paris Opera Ballet's JEWELS at Lincoln Center Festival

Lincoln Center Festival Director Nigel Redden today announced casting for the unprecedented, international presentation of George Balanchine's Jewels. The Bolshoi Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Paris Opera Ballet will share the stage where the masterpiece first premiered on April 13, 1967, for five historic performances celebrating one of the greatest creative artists of the 20th century and the global recognition the work has received.

For the opening night performance on Thursday, July 20, Emeralds will be led by Paris Opera Ballet Étoiles Laëtitia Pujol, Mathieu Ganio, Myriam Ould-Braham, and Mathias Heymann; Rubies will be performed by New York City Ballet Principal Dancers Megan Fairchild, Joaquin De Luz, and Teresa Reichlen; and Diamonds will feature Bolshoi Ballet Prima Ballerina Olga Smirnova and Principal Dancer Semyon Chudin. The four remaining performances of Emeralds will be performed by the Paris Opera Ballet with alternating casts also featuring Étoiles Dorothée Gilbert, Hugo Marchand, Léonore Baulac, and Germain Louvet . Dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet and New York City Ballet will alternate in Rubies and Diamonds, with NYCB's performances of Diamonds featuring Principal Dancers Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle. The Bolshoi Ballet's performances of Rubies will feature Principal Dancers Ekaterina Krysanova, Artem Ovharenko, and Vyacheslav Lopatin, and Soloists Yulia Grebenshchikova and Olga Marchenkova; the company's performances of Diamonds will also feature Prima Ballerina Alena Kovaleva and Principal Dancer Jacopo Tissi. The complete schedule of performance dates, times, and casting follows below.

In what is known as the first three-act, plotless ballet, Balanchine's choreography for Jewels is inspired by precious gems- emeralds, rubies, and diamonds-each, in the eyes of many, showcasing a different international style of ballet. Emeralds, with music by Fauré, represents the French style and evokes dreamy romanticism; Rubies, set to music by Stravinsky, conjures the Jazz Age in America with its wit, energy, and exuberance; and Diamonds, with music by Tchaikovsky, epitomizes the grandeur of the Russian style.

The New York City Ballet Orchestra, under the direction of NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton, will perform for the complete engagement. Jewels will be staged with the sets from the current NYCB production by Peter Harvey, lighting by NYCB's Resident Lighting Director Mark Stanley, and costumes from each company's current production, with the Bolshoi Ballet wearing costumes by Elena Zaitseva, the New York City Ballet wearing Karinska's original costume designs, and the Paris Opera Ballet wearing costumes by Christian Lacroix.

Lincoln Center Festival 2017 also features the Bolshoi Ballet in the U.S. premiere of The Taming of the Shrew by French choreographer and Director of Ballets de Monte-Carlo Jean-Christophe Maillot; and Sleeping Water with choreography, scenic, lighting, and costume design by Saburo Teshigawara and featuring special guest Aurélie Dupont, Paris Opera Ballet Director of Dance. Details about these engagements and the complete Lincoln Center Festival lineup may be found here and at LincolnCenterFestival.org.

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IF YOU GO:

Jewels

Bolshoi Ballet, Makhar Vaziev, Ballet Director
New York City Ballet, Peter Martins, Ballet Master in Chief
Paris Opera Ballet, Aurélie Dupont, Director of Dance
New York City Ballet Orchestra
Music Director and Conductor Andrew Litton

Thursday, July 20 at 7:30pm; Saturday, July 22 at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Emeralds: Paris Opera Ballet; Rubies: New York City Ballet; Diamonds: Bolshoi Ballet
Friday, July 21 at 7:30pm; Sunday, July 23 at 2:30pm
Emeralds: Paris Opera Ballet; Rubies: Bolshoi Ballet; Diamonds: New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater

Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust

Thursday, July 20 at 7:30pm

Emeralds, Paris Opera Ballet
First Pas de Deux: Laëtitia Pujol (Étoile), Mathieu Ganio (Étoile)
Second Pas de Deux: Myriam Ould-Braham (Étoile), Mathias Heymann (Étoile)
Pas de Trois: Hannah O'Neill, Sae Eun Park, François Alu

Rubies, New York City Ballet
Leading Couple: Megan Fairchild (Principal), Joaquin De Luz (Principal)
Soloist: Teresa Reichlen (Principal)
Four Men: Harrison Coll, Spartak Hoxha, Ralph Ippolito, Giovanni Villalobos
Eight Women: Sara Adams, Likolani Brown, Baily Jones, Meagan Mann, Jenelle Manzi,
Kristen Segin, Sarah Villwock, Claire Von Enck

Diamonds, Bolshoi Ballet
Leading Couple: Olga Smirnova (Prima Ballerina), Semyon Chudin (Principal)
Soloists: Olga Marchenkova, Yulia Grebenshchikova, Ana Turazashvili, Alena Kovaleva,
Vladislav Kozlov, Artemy Belyakov, Klim Efimov, Ivan Alekseev

Friday, July 21 at 7:30pm

Emeralds, Paris Opera Ballet
First Pas de Deux: Dorothée Gilbert (Étoile), Hugo Marchand (Étoile)
Second Pas de Deux: Léonore Baulac (Étoile), Germain Louvet (Étoile)
Pas de Trois: Valentine Colasante, Sae Eun Park, Marc Moreau

Rubies, Bolshoi Ballet
Leading Couple: Ekaterina Krysanova (Principal), Artem Ovcharenko (Principal)
Soloist: Yulia Grebenshchikova
Four Men: Mikhail Kemenov, Batyr Annadurdyev, Anton Savichev, Mikhail Kochan
Eight Women: Margarita Shrainer, Xenia Zhiganshina, Anastasia Denisova, Daria Lovtsova,
Ilona Matsiy-Kiryushkina, Xenia Kern, Bruna Cantanhede Gaglianone, Victoria Litvinova

Diamonds, New York City Ballet
Leading Couple: Sara Mearns (Principal), Tyler Angle (Principal)
Soloists: Emily Gerrity, Laine Habony, Mary Elizabeth Sell, Lydia Wellington, Devin Alberda,
Daniel Applebaum, Aaron Sanz, Andrew Scordato

Saturday, July 22 at 2:30pm

Emeralds, Paris Opera Ballet
First Pas de Deux: Laëtitia Pujol (Étoile), Mathieu Ganio (Étoile)
Second Pas de Deux: Myriam Ould-Braham (Étoile), Mathias Heymann (Étoile)
Pas de Trois: Hannah O'Neill, Sae Eun Park, François Alu

Rubies, New York City Ballet
Leading Couple: Megan Fairchild (Principal), Joaquin De Luz (Principal)
Soloist: Teresa Reichlen (Principal)
Four Men: Harrison Coll, Spartak Hoxha, Ralph Ippolito, Giovanni Villalobos
Eight Women: Sara Adams, Likolani Brown, Baily Jones, Meagan Mann, Jenelle Manzi,
Kristen Segin, Sarah Villwock, Claire Von Enck

Diamonds, Bolshoi Ballet
Leading Couple: Alena Kovaleva (Prima Ballerina), Jacopo Tissi (Principal)
Soloists: Olga Marchenkova, Yulia Grebenshchikova, Ana Turazashvili, Angelina Karpova,
Vladislav Kozlov, Artemy Belyakov, Klim Efimov, Ivan Alekseev

Saturday, July 22 at 7:30pm

Emeralds, Paris Opera Ballet
First Pas de Deux: Dorothée Gilbert (Étoile), Hugo Marchand (Étoile)
Second Pas de Deux: Léonore Baulac (Étoile), Germain Louvet (Étoile)
Pas de Trois: Valentine Colasante, Sae Eun Park, Marc Moreau

Rubies, New York City Ballet
Leading Couple: Megan Fairchild (Principal), Joaquin De Luz (Principal)
Soloist: Teresa Reichlen (Pricipal)
Four Men: Harrison Coll, Spartak Hoxha, Ralph Ippolito, Giovanni Villalobos
Eight Women: Sara Adams, Likolani Brown, Baily Jones, Meagan Mann, Jenelle Manzi,
Kristen Segin, Sarah Villwock, Claire Von Enck

Diamonds, Bolshoi Ballet
Leading Couple: Olga Smirnova (Prima Ballerina), Semyon Chudin (Principal)
Soloists: Olga Marchenkova, Yulia Grebenshchikova, Ana Turazashvili, Alena Kovaleva,
Vladislav Kozlov, Artemy Belyakov, Klim Efimov, Ivan Alekseev

Sunday, July 23 at 2:30pm

Emeralds, Paris Opera Ballet
First Pas de Deux: Laëtitia Pujol (Étoile), Mathieu Ganio (Étoile)
Second pas de Deux: Myriam Ould-Braham (Étoile), Mathias Heymann (Étoile)
Pas de Trois: Hannah O'Neill, Sae Eun Park, François Alu

Rubies, Bolshoi Ballet
Leading Couple: Ekaterina Krysanova (Principal), Vyacheslav Lopatin (Principal)
Soloist: Olga Marchenkova
Four Men: Mikhail Kemenov, Batyr Annadurdyev, Anton Savichev, Mikhail Kochan
Eight Women: Margarita Shrainer, Xenia Zhiganshina, Anastasia Denisova, Daria Lovtsova,
Ilona Matsiy-Kiryushkina, Xenia Kern, Bruna Cantanhede Gaglianone, Victoria Litvinova

Diamonds, New York City Ballet
Leading Couple: Sara Mearns (Principal), Tyler Angle (Principal)
Soloists: Emily Gerrity, Laine Habony, Mary Elizabeth Sell, Lydia Wellington, Devin Alberda,
Daniel Applebaum, Aaron Sanz, Andrew Scordato

Casting is subject to change.

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ABOUT THE COMPANIES:

The Bolshoi Ballet
One of the oldest and largest ballet companies in the world, the Bolshoi Ballet, now celebrating its 241st season, is renowned for its unique style, characterized by true virtuosity and incredible stage presence, and for combining great classical tradition with a fresh approach. Known throughout its illustrious history for championing new work, the Bolshoi Ballet was the first company to stage Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Minkus's Don Quixote, and continues to expand its repertory in current times with new works such as The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and Hero of Our Time . The hallmark of the company are the dancers, whose range and artistic virtuosity harken back to legends such as Galina Ulanova, Vladimir Vasiliev, Maya Plisetskaya, and Ekaterina Maximova. Much of the Bolshoi's legacy can be attributed to Yuri Grigorovich, who was the artistic director for more than 30 years and who will celebrate his 90th birthday this season. Today's Bolshoi artists, Svetlana Zakharova, Ekaterina Krysanova, Olga Smirnova, Vladislav Lantratov, Artem Ovcharenko, Semyon Chudin, Denis Rodkin, and others-coached by Liudmila Semeniaka, Marina Kondratieva, Svetlana Adyrchayeva, Nikolai Fadeechev, Boris Akimov, Alexander Vetrov, and others-ensure that under the leadership of Makhar Vaziev the Bolshoi's standards are held as high as ever. The Bolshoi last performed in New York in 2014 as part of Lincoln Center Festival, when they danced Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and Spartacus. This will be the company's first U.S. appearance since Vaziev, former director of the Mariinsky and La Scala Ballet, was appointed Ballet Director in 2016.

New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is one of the foremost dance companies in the world, with an unparalleled repertory of ballets-most of them created for NYCB-many of which are considered modern masterpieces. The company was founded in 1948 by arts patron Lincoln Kirstein and the legendary choreographer George Balanchine, who served as Ballet Master of NYCB from its inception until his death, in 1983, and created a company of dancers known for their speed and musicality. In 1949, Jerome Robbins joined the company as associate artistic director. In 1964 NYCB moved to its current home at Lincoln Center's New York State Theater (now the David H. Koch Theater), which was built especially for Balanchine and NYCB. Now under the direction of Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins and Executive Director Katherine Brown, the company has more than 90 dancers, a 62-member orchestra, an official school (School of American Ballet), an institute for choreography (New York Choreographic Institute), and an annual 21-week season in New York City. Widely acknowledged for its enduring contributions to dance, NYCB is committed to promoting creative excellence and nurturing a new generation of dancers and choreographers. For more information, visit NYCBallet.com.

Paris Opera Ballet
The origins of the Paris Opera Ballet date to 1661 when Louis XIV established the Royal Academy of Dance and later merged it with the Royal Academy of Music in 1669. It was here that theatrical dance flourished and evolved during the 18th- and early 19th-centuries, and the forms and techniques of classical ballet emerged, to be shaped and honed by generations of virtuoso dancers and choreographers. While maintaining its great historic traditions and classical ballets by such eminent dancers and choreographers as Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, and 20th-century works by innovators such as Maurice Béjart, Serge Lifar, and Rudolf Nureyev, the company has over the last 20 years built a large repertory of works created for it by celebrated contemporary choreographers, including Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Ji?í Kylián, Susanne Linke, Édouard Lock, Wayne McGregor, Benjamin Millepied, Angelin Preljocaj, Alexei Ratmansky, Saburo Teshigawara, and Sasha Waltz, to name a few. The Paris Opera Ballet is composed of 154 dancers, drawn, for the most part, from the Paris Opera Ballet School directed by Elisabeth Platel. The average age is around 25, making this one of the most youthful of today's companies. Aurélie Dupont, a former étoile retired in 2015, officially became Paris Opera's Director of Dance in August 2016. The festival performances will mark the company's first U.S. appearance since she assumed the directorship. For more information, visit OperaDeParis.fr/en/artists/ballet.

Lincoln Center Festival has received worldwide attention for presenting some of the broadest and most original performing arts programs in Lincoln Center's history. The festival has presented some 1,465 performances of opera, music, dance, theater, and interdisciplinary forms by internationally acclaimed artists from more than 50 countries. To date, the festival has commissioned more than 44 new works and offered some 145 world, U.S., and New York premieres. It places particular emphasis on showcasing contemporary artistic viewpoints and multidisciplinary works that challenge the boundaries of traditional performance. LincolnCenterFestival.org

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community engagement, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 16 series, festivals, and programs, including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Career Grants and Artist program, David Rubenstein Atrium programming, Great Performers, The Performing Arts Hall of Fame at Lincoln Center, Lincoln Center at the Movies, Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Awards, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival, the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS, and Lincoln Center Education, which is celebrating 40 years enriching the lives of students, educators, and lifelong learners. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

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