Auditorium Theatre Celebrates Anniversary of Re-Opening with A GOLDEN CELEBRATION OF DANCE

On November 12, 2017, the Auditorium Theatre, The Theatre for the People, commemorates the 50th anniversary of its grand re-opening with A Golden Celebration of Dance, a one-night-only mixed repertory program featuring dancers from the world's premier dance companies: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Dutch National Ballet, Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, MOMIX, New York City Ballet, Parsons Dance, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and The Washington Ballet. In addition, the evening will feature special performances by finalists from the Youth America Grand Prix, the next generation of great dancers.

In 1941, the Auditorium Theatre closed its doors to the public in the wake of the Great Depression. Aside from when it was used as a servicemen's center during World War II, the theatre sat unused and in disrepair, until a 7-year-long fundraising campaign - led by Beatrice Spachner and the Auditorium Theatre Council - covered the costs of theatre renovation, culminating with a grand re-opening on October 31, 1967. That historic evening, the Auditorium Theatre hosted New York City Ballet for A Midsummer Night's Dream, starring principal dancers Edward Villella and Suzanne Farrell, who will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs of the 50th anniversary celebration.

While the Auditorium Theatre has presented dance since its opening in 1889 (including performances by Anna Pavlova and Isadora Duncan), the re-opening in 1967 began an unprecedented new dance chapter that continues to this day. The theatre has since hosted companies including the Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and Martha Graham Dance Company, as well as many of the companies represented at A Golden Celebration of Dance.

"The Auditorium Theatre's grand re-opening 50 years ago helped usher in one of the most exciting eras of dance in Chicago," says Tania Castroverde Moskalenko, Auditorium Theatre CEO. "I am thrilled to commemorate this momentous occasion with such a special evening that will bring so much talent from around the world to our historic stage. This is an amazing opportunity for our patrons to experience an incredible array of top-tier performances over the course of one unforgettable night."

Dancers for the Golden Celebration performance include American Ballet Theatre principal dancers Daniil Simkin and Maria Kochetkova, performing the grand pas de deux from Marius Petipa's Don Quixote, with Simkin also performing the solo piece Les Bourgeois by Ben Van Cauwenbergh; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Solomon Dumas performing Robert Battle's Takademe; and The Joffrey Ballet's Victoria Jaiani and Temur Suluashvili performing a pas de deux from Yuri Possokhov's Bells. New York City Ballet principal dancers Daniel Ulbricht and Megan Fairchild will perform a pas de deux from the company's repertory. The Washington Ballet's Brooklyn Mack also will perform.

Other program highlights include dancers from the acclaimed Dutch National Ballet performing a pas de deux from Ted Brandsen's Mata Hari, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performing Crystal Pite's Solo Echo, dancers from The Suzanne Farrell Ballet performing a pas de deux from George Balanchine's Meditation, members of the dance-illusionist company MOMIX performing the piece Skiva, and dancers from Parsons Dance performing David Parsons' work Caught (set to music by Robert Fripp). Dancers from Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg also will perform.

Many of the companies whose dancers will present pieces during A Golden Celebration of Dance have a rich history with the Auditorium Theatre: American Ballet Theatre first performed at the Auditorium in 1969 and returned for many engagements, their most recent in the fall of 2014; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater began its Chicago residency with the Auditorium in 1969; and The Joffrey Ballet began performing at the theatre in 1968 before becoming the theatre's resident company in 1998. New York City Ballet, who performed at the theatre's re-opening, first appeared on the theatre's stage in 1941. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performed at the theatre multiple times throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and returns for its first full-evening engagement in 20 years in March 2018. Eifman Ballet had its first engagement at the Auditorium in 2000.

The Auditorium Theatre's 2017 Annual Gala will take place immediately preceding the performance at the Standard Club. The gala includes tickets to the Golden Celebration of Dance performance. The Auditorium Theatre honors Sonia Florian of the NIB Foundation with the second annual Adler and Sullivan Award, recognizing her dedication to the arts and the Auditorium Theatre.

Tickets start at $41 and are available online at AuditoriumTheatre.org, by phone at 312.341.2300, or in person at the Auditorium Theatre Box Office (50 E Congress Parkway). A Golden Celebration of Dance is part of the International Dance Series, which offers a 30% discounted subscription. The evening may also be added to the Select Your Own subscription, discounted at 20-25%. Discounts available for groups of 10+.

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