MTI Launches New Licensing Division, MTI Concert Dance

Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International announced today the creation of a new licensing division, MTI Concert Dance.

MTI Concert Dance will license choreographed works from well-known choreographers across many genres of dance. For its launch, MTI has partnered with The Robbins Rights Trust to exclusively license the entire ballet repertory of the legendary Jerome Robbins. Among the more than 60 ballets Robbins created are Fancy Free; Afternoon of a Faun; The Concert; Dances At a Gathering; In the Night; In G Major; Other Dances; Ives, Songs; and Glass Pieces which are in the repertories of New York City Ballet and numerous dance companies throughout the world. Robbins’ last ballets include A Suite of Dances created for Mikhail Baryshnikov (1994), 2 & 3 Part Inventions (1994) created for the School of American Ballet, West Side Story Suite (1995) and Brandenburg (1996) both created for New York City Ballet.

Drew Cohen, CEO of Music Theatre International, said, “MTI is proud to bring its 70-plus years of experience as a global leader in performing rights licensing to the world of concert dance. After decades representing the theatrical work of Jerome Robbins in great musicals like West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, and Peter Pan, we are delighted to launch MTI Concert Dance by representing the catalogue of one of America’s foremost choreographers and a true artistic legend.”

“Following a decades-long partnership with MTI representing the Broadway work of Jerome Robbins, my colleagues and I are thrilled to expand that representation to include Mr. Robbins' ballet repertory. Just as MTI has actively kept musical theater classics alive and thriving, they will use those same talents to sustain the legacy and artistic vision of choreographers worldwide in a way that has never been attempted before,” stated Allen Greenberg, Trustee of The Robbins Rights Trust.  

Renowned dancer, choreographer, and educator Elizabeth Parkinson will take the reins of this new endeavor, becoming the Director of MTI Concert Dance.

“I could not be more excited about this brand-new opportunity for MTI,” said John Prignano, MTI’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of Development and Education. “We are so grateful to have Elizabeth leading this endeavor for us, and to offer world-class ballets from Jerome Robbins. We look forward to adding works from other renowned choreographers and to developing dance licensing for educational groups in the near future.”

Currently an adjunct professor of dance in the Musical Theatre BFA program at Western Connecticut State University Ms. Parkinson is a highly acclaimed performer recognized for her outstanding contributions in multiple genres of the dance world. Ms. Parkinson has performed worldwide as a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, Feld Ballet, Peridance Contemporary Ballet Company, Donald Byrd/The Group, Mark Dendy and Dancers, and Twyla Tharp Dance. In 1999, Elizabeth segued to Broadway and received tremendous praise as a lead in Fosse and later in the hit Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel musical Movin’ Out, where she earned a 2003 Tony Award nomination and highly coveted Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer on Broadway.

“It is an honor to bring my history as a concert and theatre dance artist to MTI and to contribute to the creation and development of MTI Concert Dance. I look forward to facilitating the presentation of the works of Jerome Robbins and other master choreographers on stages around the world, and to creating educational programs and initiatives for dancers and dance enthusiasts of all ages and abilities,” shared Elizabeth Parkinson.

Additional information about MTI Concert Dance can be found here.

About Music Theatre International

Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.

MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 100,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 150 countries worldwide.

MTI is particularly dedicated to arts in education, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior® shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.

About Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins is world renowned for his work as a choreographer of ballets as well as his work as a choreographer and director in theater, movies and television. His Broadway shows include On the Town, Billion Dollar Baby, High Button Shoes, West Side Story, The King and I, Gypsy, Peter Pan, Miss Liberty, Call Me Madam, and Fiddler on the Roof. His last Broadway production in 1989, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, won six Tony Awards including best musical and best director.

In addition to two Academy Awards for the film West Side Story, Mr. Robbins has received four Tony Awards, five Donaldson Awards, an Emmy Award, the Screen Directors’ Guild Award, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Mr. Robbins was a 1981Kennedy Center Honors Recipient and was awarded the French Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur. Mr. Robbins died in 1998.

About Elizabeth Parkinson

Elizabeth Parkinson is a highly acclaimed performer and educator recognized for her contributions in multiple genres of dance from classical ballet to Broadway. Her concert dance credits are extensive including The Joffrey Ballet, Feld Ballets NY, Donald Byrd/The Group, and Twyla Tharp and Dancers. Elizabeth has been involved in the reconstruction of historical works, and the creation of new works with many choreographers including but not limited to Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Donald Byrd, John Cranko, Ulysses Dove, Eliot Feld, Jiří Kylián, Leonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, Vaslav Nijinski, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp.

After an extensive career in concert dance, Elizabeth studied in depth Fosse repertory and style with Gwen Verdon and Ann Reinking. Elizabeth appeared in the Broadway musicals Movin' Out (Original Broadway Cast, Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer on Broadway) and Fosse (Outer Critics Circle Nomination for Best Featured Actress, FANY Award for Best Broadway Debut). In 2014 Elizabeth appeared opposite Bernadette Peters in the City Center/Lincoln Center Jazz production of A Bed and A Chair, directed by John Doyle.

Elizabeth is an adjunct professor at Western Connecticut State University where she helped develop the dance curriculum for the musical theatre BA and BFA degree programs. Her teaching credits include but are not limited to The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, The West Coast Dance Explosion, North Carolina School of the Arts, and The Joffrey Ballet School Summer Intensives.  Elizabeth was twice awarded the Kennedy Center College Musical Theatre Festival Award for best choreography for the WCSU production of Parade in 2015 and the WCSU production of The Drowsy Chaperone in 2016.

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