Joyce Theater Selects Pacific Northwest Ballet for Nureyev Prize

The Joyce Theater Foundation today announced the selection of Pacific Northwest Ballet as its second recipient of The Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance, a $25,000 commissioning grant established for the purpose of creating new works from large ballet companies, many of whom rarely perform in New York. The prize allows companies accustomed to performing large scale work to create new pieces for a smaller venue. In turn, the award provides audiences with the opportunity to experience these companies in the Joyce's intimate setting.

Granting this award is the second time that The Joyce has made it possible for Pacific Northwest Ballet to create new work; the first occurred nearly four years ago when the company received a Joyce 25th Anniversary commissioning grant. Using the Joyce commissioning grant as a model, The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation developed the concept for its award.

Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater, presented The Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance to Peter Boal, Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet, in Seattle on March 16, 2012. The award will also be presented to Peter Boal at The Joyce Theater's 2012 Spring Gala on April 4 at the David H. Koch Theater. At its Gala, The Joyce will also honor The Boeing Company with its 2012 Award for Corporate Philanthropy.

Pacific Northwest Ballet will use the award to create a new work by Alejandro Cerrudo, resident choreographer for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, which will make its New York premiere at The Joyce during its 2013/14 season. "This award is the kind of stuff Artistic Directors' dreams are made of," says Peter Boal. "Funding for premieres is a constant challenge and The Joyce and The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation have just given us a green light, making one more dream one step closer to reality. We are grateful for and thrilled with this opportunity."

Pacific Northwest Ballet, one of the largest and most highly regarded ballet companies in the

United States, was founded in 1972. In 2005, Peter Boal became artistic director, succeeding Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, artistic directors since 1977. The Company of 46 dancers presents more than 100 performances each year of full-length and mixed-repertory ballets at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall and on tour. The Company has toured to Europe, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada, and throughout the United States. Under the direction of Peter Boal, Pacific Northwest Ballet has continued to expand and diversify its repertory to include works by Ulysses Dove, Marco Goecke, Jiri Kylian, Edwaard Liang, Susan Marshall, Benjamin Millepied, Mark Morris, Victor Quijada, Susan Stroman, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, and others.

Alejandro Cerrudo was born in Madrid, Spain and received his training at the Real Conservatorio Professional de Danza de Madrid. After becoming a professional dancer in 1998 Cerrudo's dance career has been shaped and enriched by various dance companies including Victor Ullate Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 2 and, since 2005, by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In 2008 Cerrudo was named Hubbard Street Choreographic Fellow and became the company's first Resident Choreographer in 2009. Cerrudo has created several works for Hubbard Street and for the company's unique collaborations with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Nederlands Dans Theater. Cerrudo's works are being performed by dance companies around the U.S. and the world, including Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands and Australia. Always dancing and constantly creating, Cerrudo was honored with an award from The Boomerang Fund for Artists in 2011.

The Rudolf Nureyev® Dance Foundation - In tribute to Rudolf Nureyev, whose love of the new in dance sprang from a profound faith in ballet's traditional past, The Rudolf Nureyev® Dance Foundation seeks to preserve and protect the history and tradition of dance while simultaneously encouraging its progress and development. It also seeks to perpetuate Nureyev's name and carry on the legacy he left behind. The Foundation provides grants for ballet and modern performances, funds dance schools and dance scholarships, provides financial assistance for the creation of new choreography and restaging of the productions Nureyev created, and supports the establishment of dance collections and film archives to preserve the history, tradition, and appreciation of dance.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, a nonprofit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences since 1982. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater. The Joyce Theater is named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to establish the theater. One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant New York home for more than 310 domestic and international companies. The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992. The organization has long maintained a dance education program for schools, families, and adults, as well as residency and advisory programs for dancers and choreographers. In 1996, The Joyce created Joyce SoHo, a dance center providing highly subsidized rehearsal and performance space to hundreds of dance artists. Since 2009, The Joyce has also been responsible for Dance Art New York (DANY) Studios, nine affordable studios, located at 38th Street and Eighth Avenue, that are appropriate for creation, rehearsals, auditions, and workshops. The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 330 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000.

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