The Joyce Presents THE SARASOTA BALLET

The Joyce Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) is pleased to present the return of The Sarasota Ballet, following its highly successful, critically acclaimed 2016 Joyce debut, from August 14-19, 2018. Under the Artistic Direction of Iain Webb, The Sarasota Ballet will present two programs featuring works by Tony Award-winner Christopher Wheeldon, Sarasota Ballet Resident Choreographer and Principal dancer Ricardo Graziano. and Sir Frederick Ashton, whose work the company has become renowned for executing with such skill and strength. Indeed, one of the programs has been designed to celebrate Ashton, commemorating the 30th anniversary of his death, and will include a guest performance by Marcelo Gomes.

Tickets, ranging in price from $10-$66, can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

Founded in 1990, The Sarasota Ballet has long been the Gulf Coast of Florida's only professional ballet company, and is also seen as a rising star in the international ballet scene. Now celebrating its 28th season under the leadership of Director Iain Webb, Executive Director Joseph Volpe and Assistant Director Margaret Barbieri, The Sarasota Ballet will present two mixed bill programs at The Joyce Theater, one of which will celebrate and commemorate the 30th anniversary of the passing of Sir Frederick Ashton. Program 1, performed August 14 - 17 and August 19, will feature Ashton's Monotones I & II, Ricardo Graziano's Symphony of Sorrows, and Christopher Wheeldon's There Where She Loved. Program 2 - August 18, both performances - will open with Wheeldon's There Where She Loved, and then, to commemorate the 30th Anniversary on the very day of Sir Frederick Ashton's death, the program will feature Ashton's Monotones I & II and divertissements and extracts from some of Ashton's ballets-La Chatte Métamorphosée en Femme; the pas de trois from Les Patineurs; Méditation from Thaïs; and the final pas de deux from The Two Pigeons, performed by Sarasota Ballet's Victoria Hulland joined by guest artist Marcelo Gomes.
Both programs will be performed with live music. Christopher Wheeldon's There Where She Loved will be accompanied by pianist Cameron Grant and sopranos Stella Zambalis and Michelle Giglio. Grant will also accompany Sir Frederick Ashton's Monotones I & II and Ashton's La Chatte Métamorphosée en Femme.

Since 1990, the mission of The Sarasota Ballet has been enriching lives, captivating emotions, and strengthening the community through the art of dance. Under the leadership of Director Iain Webb, Executive Director Joseph Volpe, and Assistant Director Margaret Barbieri, The Sarasota Ballet has received national and international recognition for its diverse repertoire of rarely performed ballets, as well as the integrity and artistry of its performances.

The Company's expanded repertoire includes works by world-renowned choreographers such as Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Sir Matthew Bourne, Dame Ninette de Valois, Michel Fokine, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Rudolf Nureyev, Jerome Robbins, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Antony Tudor, and Christopher Wheeldon. During Webb's tenure, The Sarasota Ballet has been invited to perform twice at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and twice at the Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center, as well as week-long residencies at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and The Joyce Theater in New York. In May 2017 The Sarasota Ballet performed at the inaugural National Choreographic Festival in Salt Lake City and in August of 2018 will return to The Joyce Theater for another week-long residency.

The Joyce Theater Foundation ("The Joyce," Executive Director, Linda Shelton), a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community for over three decades. Under the direction of founders Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, Ballet Tech Foundation acquired and The Joyce renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea. Opening as The Joyce Theater in 1982, it was 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 build the theater. Ownership was secured by The Joyce in 2015. The theater is one of the only theaters built by dancers for dance and has provided an intimate and elegant home for over 400 U.S.-based and international companies. The Joyce has also presented dance at Lincoln Center since 2012, and launched Joyce Unleashed in 2014 to feature emerging and experimental artists.

To further support the creation of new work, The Joyce maintains longstanding commissioning and residency programs. Local students and teachers (K-12th grade) benefit from its school program, and family and adult audiences get closer to dance with access to artists. The Joyce's annual season of about 48 weeks of dance now includes over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 150,000.

Performances of The Joyce Theater Foundation's presentation of The Sarasota Ballet will take place from August 14 to August 19 at The Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street) according to the following schedule:

Program 1 Monotones I & II by Sir Frederick Ashton Symphony of Sorrows by Ricardo Graziano There Where She Loved by Christopher Wheeldon Tuesday, August 14 - 7:30pm Wednesday, August 15 - 7:30pm Thursday, August 16 - 8:00pm Friday, August 17 - 8:00pm Sunday, August 19 - 2:00pm

Program 2, A Celebration of Sir Frederick Ashton There Where She Loved by Christopher Wheeldon Monotones I & II by Sir Frederick Ashton Divertissements and Extracts from Sir Frederick Ashton's La Chatte Métamorphosée en Femme; the pas de trois from Les Patineurs; Méditation from Thaïs; and the final pas de deux from The Two Pigeons, performed by Victoria Hulland and guest artist Marcelo Gomes. Saturday, August 18 - 2:00pm Saturday, August 18 - 8:00pm

There will be an engaging post-performance Curtain Chat with members of The Sarasota Ballet on Wednesday, August 15, open to all patrons attending that evening's performance. Tickets, ranging in price from $10-$66, can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, please visit www.Joyce.org.

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