Terrence Mann & More to Join New York City Ballet's 75th Anniversary Performances

New York City Ballet has revealed number of guest artists who will perform with the Company during its ongoing 75th Anniversary Season.  The guest artists will include dancers from four American ballet companies with close ties to New York City Ballet; as well as the acclaimed actor Terrence Mann, who will perform the role of the Narrator in Christopher Wheeldon’s Carnival of the Animals on Friday, March 1 at 8pm, Saturday, March 2 at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday, March 3 at 3pm. 

The dancers will include Alexandra Hutchinson of Dance Theatre of Harlem, which was founded in 1969 by former NYCB Principal Dancer Arthur Mitchell.  Hutchinson will perform the role of Dewdrop in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® on Friday, December 15 at 8pm and Sunday, December 17 at 1pm.   
During the Company’s 2024 Winter Season Ashton Edwards of Pacific Northwest Ballet will perform a featured role in Justin Peck’s The Times Are Racing on Saturday, January 27 at 8pm and Sunday, January 28 at 3pm.  Since 2005 Pacific Northwest Ballet has been under the artistic direction of Peter Boal, a former Principal Dancer with NYCB, and from 1977 to 2005 the company was under the leadership of founding artistic directors Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, both former soloists with NYCB.  

The 2024 Spring Season will feature Gillian Murphy and Aran Bell from American Ballet Theatre who will perform Jerome Robbins’ Other Dances.  ABT and NYCB both make their homes in New York City and over the years a number of dancers and other artists have worked with both companies, including Robbins, who danced and choreographed for ABT before joining NYCB as associate artistic director in 1949.  Robbins created Other Dances for the legendary dancers Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov while they were both dancers with ABT in 1976.  

During the final week of the 2024 Spring Season Taylor Naturkas and Brooks Landegger of Miami City Ballet will perform the Divertissement in the second act of Balanchine’s full-length production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (dates to be announced).  Miami City Ballet has been under the artistic direction of former NYCB Principal Dancer Lourdes Lopez since 2012, and when the company was founded in 1985, former NYCB Principal Dancer Edward Villella served as its founding artistic director.

“We are thrilled to welcome these wonderful dancers to our stages during New York City Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Season to showcase their artistry as well as the close connections between NYCB and these great American companies,” said NYCB Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan in making the announcement.  “In addition, we are delighted that Terrence Mann will join us for Carnival of the Animals during the winter season.  A member of New York City Ballet’s extended family, Terrence is the son-in-law of former Principal Dancer Jacques d’Amboise and the father of current corps de ballet member Shelby Mann.”

Subscription packages and single tickets for NYCB’s 75th Anniversary Season are currently available online at nycballet.com, by phone at 212-496-0600, or in person at the David H. Koch Theater box office.  All performances will take place at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, which is located at West 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue.  For more information, visit nycballet.com.

Terrence Mann

Appearing as the Narrator in Christopher Wheeldon’s Carnival of the Animals
on Friday, March 1 at 8pm, Saturday, March 2 at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday, March 3 at 3pm. 

Throughout a multi-decade career, Emmy Nominee and three-time Tony Award Nominee Terrence Mann has established himself as one of the most sought-after leading men in the industry.

Mann can be seen opposite Jared Harris and Lee Pace in the upcoming Apple TV+ series Foundation, a compelling futuristic epic saga based on Issac Asimov’s award-winning novel of the same name. Executive Produced by David S. Goyer, Mann plays Brother Dusk, the eldest member of the ruling dynasty being forced to reckon with the reality of losing his legacy. He was recently seen as Whispers in the hit Netflix series Sense8, though horror fans know him as Ug, the interstellar bounty hunter in all four Critters movies.
Additional film and television credits include A Chorus Line, Big Top Pee Wee, Solar Babies, SMASH, 30 Rock, Love Monkey, Law & Order, Mrs. Santa Claus, American Revolution, and One Life to Live, as well as his memorable roles as Bob in Sci-Fi’s The Dresden Files and Jester in As the World Turns, for which he received an Emmy Nomination.

Onstage, Mann has originated some of the most iconic roles in recent theatrical history: from the rock ‘n roll Rum Tum Tugger in CATS, Leon Czolgosz in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins, Chauvelin in The Scarlet Pimpernel, to his critically acclaimed Tony Award-nominated turns as Inspector Javert in Les Misérables and the Beast in Beauty and The Beast, the latter of which garnered him Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations. In 2013, he received his third Tony Award nomination and won the Outer Critics Circle award for his portrayal as King Charlemagne in the Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin.

Mann's additional Broadway credits include Finding Neverland (Charles Frohman/Hook), Tuck Everlasting (Man in the Yellow Suit), The Addams Family (Mal Bienekie), Lennon (Lennon and Others), The Rocky Horror Show (Frank ‘N’ Furter), Getting Away With Murder (Greg), A Christmas Carol (Scrooge), Rags (Saul), Barnum (Ringmaster, matinee Barnum on tour), Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (Narrator), and the pre-Broadway workshop of Jekyll and Hyde (title roles).
 

Off-Broadway, he was most recently seen onstage as Jerry Springer in The New Group’s New York premiere of Jerry Springer: The Opera at the Signature Theatre, which garnered him a Lucille Lortel Nomination, and in Promises, Promises at New York City Center’s ENCORES!  His regional acting credits include the 5th Avenue Theatre’s Little Dancer as Degas, Tuck Everlasting (the Alliance Theatre), and The Studio (South Coast Repertory). As a director and composer, Mann made his debut with a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet for the Ordway Center for The Performing Arts.

Mann was the founding Artistic Director of the Carolina Arts Festival and also served as Artistic Director of the North Carolina Theatre for 10 years. He previously served as the endowed chair of Musical Theatre at Western Carolina University and was Artistic Director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Nutmeg Summer Theater Festival. He and his wife, Charlotte d’Amboise, are currently the Co-artistic Directors of the Triple Arts Musical Theatre intensive for young performers at Western Carolina University.

Alexandra Hutchinson

Appearing as Dewdrop in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
on Friday, December 15 at 8pm and Sunday, December 17 at 1pm.   

Alexandra Hutchinson is a company artist with Dance Theatre of Harlem. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, she trained at The Washington School of Ballet and Wilmington Academy of Dance, in addition to attending summer intensives with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Alonzo King, Carolina Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and Nashville Ballet 2. She has previously performed with the Nashville Ballet and holds a Bachelor of Science in Ballet from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. 

In her four seasons with DTH, her repertory has included works by George Balanchine, Robert Garland, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Darrell Grand Moultrie, and Stanton Welch. Her awards include The Pierians Foundation Incorporated 2018 Emerging Young Artist Award, Virginia Johnson Scholar, and the Washington School of Ballet Professional Training Program tuition stipend (2010, 2011, and 2012). She is also a co-coordinator of DTH Social Media.

Hutchinson previously performed with New York City Ballet as a guest artist in Pam Tanowitz’s Gustave le Gray No. 1 during the 2022 Spring Season. 

Ashton Edwards

Appearing in Justin Peck’s The Times Are Racing 
on Saturday, January 27 at 8pm and Sunday, January 28 at 3pm

Ashton Edwards is a member of the corps de ballet of Pacific Northwest Ballet. Originally from Flint, Michigan, they studied at the Flint School of Performing Arts and Pacific Northwest Ballet and attended summer courses at Joffrey Ballet Chicago, Houston Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet.  
Edwards joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2021 and was promoted to the corps de ballet in 2022. While a student at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Edwards performed in Company productions of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® and Kent Stowell’s Cinderella. They performed leading roles in Christopher D’Ariano’s Follower and Joshua Grant’s Bright Young Things for PNB’s NEXT STEP choreographer showcase. Since joining PNB, their repertory includes leading roles in works by Balanchine, Jiří Kylián, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Justin Peck. Their awards include the 2021 Princess Grace Award, and they have performed with Amanda Morgan’s The Seattle Project and were on the cover of the July 2021 Dance Spirit Magazine.

Gillian Murphy

Appearing in Jerome Robbins’ Other Dances
on Sunday, May 26 at 3pm

 Gillian Murphy is a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre. Raised in Florence, South Carolina, Murphy was a member of Columbia City Ballet before attending high school at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) where she danced principal roles in several of the school’s ballet productions including George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Western Symphony, Tarantella, and Theme and Variations. Murphy joined ABT as a member of the corps de ballet in 1996, was promoted to Soloist in 1999, and to Principal Dancer in 2002. Her repertory includes leading roles in ABT’s productions of La Bayadère, Cinderella, Coppélia, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Manon, Raymonda, Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Sylvia, as well as numerous ballets by Frederick Ashton, Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Jiří Kylián, Harald Lander, Lar Lubovitch, Agnes De Mille, Mark Morris, John Neumeier, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Antony Tudor, Stanton Welch, and Christopher Wheeldon, among others.

Her awards include the Prix de Lausanne Espoir, the National YoungArts Foundation Award, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA grant, and the Princess Grace Foundation’s Statue Award. Murphy holds an Honorary Doctorate from UNCSA, where she established the Gillian Murphy Scholarship, to fund a full-tuition scholarship each year, in perpetuity. Murphy has performed as a guest artist with the Mariinsky Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, The Australian Ballet, the Staatsballett Berlin, the Kiev Ballet, and the Royal New Zealand Ballet, in addition to many other international and national guest appearances.

Aran Bell

Appearing in Jerome Robbins’ Other Dances
on Sunday, May 26 at 3pm

Aran Bell is a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre. He was born in Bethesda, Maryland, and began studying ballet at age 4, receiving the majority of his early training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and with Denys Ganio in Rome, Italy. He continued his training with Fabrice Herrault in New York City and Magaly Suarez in Florida. He spent several summers at The Royal Ballet School in London, and at American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive in New York City. Bell joined ABT Studio Company in 2014, joined the main Company as an apprentice in 2016, and became a member of the corps de ballet in 2017. He was promoted to Soloist in 2019 and to Principal Dancer in 2020. His repertoire includes leading roles in ABT’s productions of Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake, as well as additional ballets by Jiří Kylián, Jessica Lang, Cathy Marston, Wayne McGregor, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Antony Tudor, and Christopher Wheeldon.

Bell’s awards include the Hope Award and the Junior Grand Prix at the Youth America Grand Prix, the Grand Prix at the Milan International Ballet Competition, the Premio Positano, the Premio Amalfi Young Talent Award, Gold Medal at Tanzolymp Berlin, Gold Medal and Audience Choice Award at Rieti International Ballet Competition, the Premio Roma Jia Ruskaja, and the Premio Capri Danza International Award. He has performed in galas throughout Europe and the United States.

Taylor Naturkas

Appearing in the Act 2 Divertissement in George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Dates to be announced

Taylor Naturkas is a Soloist with Miami City Ballet. She was born in Troy, MI and later grew up in Petoskey, MI where she began her ballet training at age 4. She studied at the Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet under the direction of Heather Raue for 11 years, and attended summer programs with Suzanne Farrell (Cedars Islands), Chautauqua Institution, Charlotte Ballet, and Miami City Ballet. 
Following her summer at MCB School in 2018, she was invited to attend the year-round program. Naturkas spent two years training at MCB School, where she performed with the company, including the role of Dewdrop in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® in 2019. She joined Miami City Ballet as corps de ballet member in 2020, and was promoted to soloist in 2022. Since joining MCB, she has performed in works by Balanchine, John Cranko, William Forsythe, Martha Graham, Pontus Lidberg, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, Claudia Schreier, and Durante Verzola.

Brooks Landegger

Appearing in the Act 2 Divertissement in George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Dates to be announced

Brooks Landegger is a member of the corps de ballet at Miami City Ballet. He began his dance training at the School of American Ballet under Jock Soto, Andrei Kramarevsky, Arch Higgins, Phoebe Higgins, and Peter Frame. As a student, he performed in numerous productions at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater and Metropolitan Opera House. 

At the age of 12, Landegger joined a touring production of the famed musical Billy Elliot, winning awards for his portrayal of the title character. At 16, he moved to Boston to train with longtime mentor Peter Stark and danced with Boston Ballet II, performing the lead role in George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante. Landegger joined MCB as a corps de ballet dancer in 2022. Since joining MCB, he has performed in works by Balanchine, John Cranko, Amy Hall Garner, Jerome Robbins, and Durante Verzola. Landegger is a 2021 YoungArts Winner in Dance.