Works by Frenette, Huggins & McEwen Set for Eglevsky Ballet's 2017 Student Workshop Performance

Executive Artistic Director Maurice Brandon Curry has announced details for the Eglevsky Ballet's Annual Student Workshop Performance to be held at The Olmstead Theater at Adelphi University on June 8 at 6:30 p.m.

This year's Student Workshop will include world premiere works choreographed by Patrick Frenette, Christopher Huggins and Morgan McEwen. The event will also feature works choreographed by members of the Eglevsky Ballet Academy resident faculty.

Patrick Frenette's new ballet is entitled "Elysium" with music by Cesar Franck. Christopher Huggins dance is entitled "Chaos" with music by Karl Jenkins, and Morgan McEwen's work uses Aaron Copeland's score for "The Lincoln Portrait."

Additionally, a performance of the "Tarantella" from August Bournonville's ballet, Napoli will be showcased and there will be an appearance by the professional dancers of the Eglevsky Ballet.

Tickets for the Annual Student Workshop are $30 and may be purchased at the studio offices of the EGLEVSKY BALLET at 700 Hicksville Road, Bethpage, NY. For further details call (516) 746-1115.

"The Annual Student Workshop Performance was created for our students to showcase their year-long studies in both classical and contemporary repertoire," said Mr. Curry. "By working with established and emerging choreographers as well as our own celebrated faculty, the dancers not only reveal the mastery of their technique, but their technique of performance. All things considered, dance is a performing art. By allowing the students from the graded levels in the Academy to perform in a professional production, the focus of their aspirations to become professional dancers becomes all the more clear."

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Patrick Frenette was born in Vancouver, Canada. He began his early training at the Goh Ballet Academy under the instruction of Ms. Fiona Smith. In 2008, his family relocated to California to further his professional ballet training with former ABT dancer Chris Martin and former Bolshoi Ballet dancer Dmitri Kulev. He was a two-time recipient of the Senior Grand Prix award at the Youth America Grand Prix's regional competitions. In 2011, he was also awarded the Mary Day Award for Outstanding Artistry.

Frenette began studying full time at SAB in 2012, and was awarded The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation Scholarship while there. He studied with Jock Soto and Suki Schorer, and also performed in New York Choreographic Institute workshops. He performed a principal role in George Balanchine's Divertimento No. 15 in his graduation performance.

Frenette joined ABT as an apprentice in 2013 and became a member of the corps de ballet in January 2014. His repertoire has included the Cockerel and Notary's Clerk in La Fille mal gardée, Wilfred in Giselle, the Recruit, Butler and Majordomo in Alexei Ratmansy's The Nutcracker, a Fairy Cavalier in The Sleeping Beauty, the Spanish Dance in Swan Lake, a role in After You and roles in all of the Company's full-length ballets.

Christopher L. Huggins is a former member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and works in Europe, Japan, the Caribbean, and throughout the U.S. as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Born in Boston, Huggins trained under Andrea Herbert-Major, Danny Sloan, and Martha Gray. He attended SUNY Purchase and The Juilliard School and was a scholarship student at The Ailey School. Mr. Huggins is a 2002 and 2008 recipient of the Alvin Ailey Award for Best Choreography from the Black Theater Alliance in Chicago for Enemy Behind the Gates and Pyrokinesis, respectively, and has also worked on several projects for Disney in Orlando, Florida. He was a silver medalist for the 4th International Contemporary Dance Competition in Seoul, Korea. In addition to commissions for Ailey II and The Ailey School, he has also set works on universities and high schools throughout the U.S. Anointed is Mr. Huggins' first ballet for the Company.

New York City native Morgan Claire McEwen began her professional ballet career at age 17 with the Richmond Ballet. Ms McEwen then continued on to BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio. During her time at BalletMet she had the opportunity to dance many soloist roles and was also co-recipient of the Violetta Boft award. Her repertoire there was extensive ranging from classic Balanchine to works by Stanton Welch. In 2009 Morgan moved back to New York to dance with the Metropolitan Opera. Here she has had the opportunity to dance in the several Metropolitan Opera premiers including Rossini's Armida and Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann; as well as the world premier of Enchanted Island. Morgan has performed on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in Brigadoon. Ms McEwen has also danced with Neos Dance Theatre, Syracuse City Ballet, and Gleich dances. She has guested with Ballet Yuma, Pennsylvania Classical Ballet, and Albany Berkshire Ballet. Ms McEwen launched her own ballet company, MorDance in January 2013. She serves as the director and resident choreographer of the company. Ms McEwen has been sighted by the New York Times as having "an eye for shaping the arc of a dance as carefully as the transitions and details within it." MorDance has performed in multiple dance festivals as well as holding their own seasons at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center and the Sheen Center in New York City. The company has also been invited to hold short-term residencies at both the Silo and Mana Contemporary. Ms McEwen has been commissioned to choreograph for Columbia Ballet Collaboritive and is currently creating a new ballet for Eglevsky Ballet.

Eglevsky Ballet was founded in 1961 by legendary New York City Ballet principal dancer Andre' Eglevsky, one of the greatest dancers of his generation. For over 50 years, Eglevsky Ballet has been bringing artistry of the highest caliber to Long Island and has long been recognized as both a prominent, professional company and dance academy.

To find out more about the Eglevsky Ballet and Executive Artistic Director Maurice Brandon Curry, visit www.eglevskyballet.org.

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