Segerstrom Center for the Arts and American Ballet Theatre Announce Partnership

The American Ballet Theatre has been named the official dance company of Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Segerstrom Center for the Arts President Casey Reitz and American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Executive Director Kara Medoff Barnett announced today a three-year partnership combining the resources of America's National Ballet Company and one of the nation's leading presenters of dance.

The partnership will commence in December 2021 with three additional years of the co-presented annual productions of Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker and continue with World and West Coast Premieres and engagements each spring through 2024.

"We are proud to designate the renowned American Ballet Theatre as the Official Dance Company of Segerstrom Center for the Arts. This partnership reflects the extended history and long-term commitment between Segerstrom Center for the Arts and ABT, a company that has graced our stage and entertained patrons with exciting and inspiring performances since 1987. The Center is committed to these premieres because we recognize each has been beautifully and uniquely crafted to provide enjoyment to dance audiences throughout Southern California for many years to come." says Casey Reitz.

The three-year partnership between American Ballet Theatre and Segerstrom Center for the Arts will include three Premiere works. Beginning March 2022, ABT and the Center will present a mixed repertory program to include a World Premiere by Alonzo King and West Coast Premieres of Ratmansky's Bernstein in a Bubble and Lang's ZigZag, featuring songs recorded by Tony Bennett.

In March 2023, American Ballet Theatre will give the North American Premiere of Like Water for Chocolate at the Center. From the award-winning team of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and composer Joby Talbot, with costumes by Bob Crowley, this co-production with the Royal Ballet is inspired by Laura Esquivel's bestselling novel of the same name. The evening-length production tells the story of Tita, a young Mexican woman whose restrictive upbringing prevents her from marrying until her mother dies. Overwhelmed by a sense of duty and family tradition, Tita's only form of expression is through cooking, but her life takes an unexpected turn when she falls in love with her wealthy neighbor Pedro. Their forbidden passion has far-reaching-and devastating-consequences. Laura Esquivel comments, "Having Christopher and his team transform my story into a ballet is truly magical for me. It was a great pleasure to have them visit Mexico for extensive research and to develop the scenario together. I am amazed at how Christopher can translate deep emotions into movement, and I can't wait to see this wonderful creative adventure unfold."

ABT and the Center's partnership in 2024 will include a third World Premiere. Details to follow at a later date.

"I am so pleased to continue our long relationship with Segerstrom Center for the Arts, a place I consider a second home to ABT," said Kevin Mckenzie, ABT Artistic Director. "This partnership will allow ABT to expand our programming and experiment with new ways of telling stories. In our first collaboration with renowned dance maker Alonzo King, ABT dancers will stretch their wings with King's unique form of expression and brand of movement. I am excited to see the results. And from page to stage, Christopher Wheeldon will bring Laura Esquivel's celebrated novel Like Water for Chocolate to life for its U.S. Premiere at Segerstrom Center."

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts also houses the ABT Gillespie Ballet School. The school offers unrivaled training, performing opportunities, Master Classes, lectures by visiting artists, and the highest quality of classical ballet training through the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum. Forty students are featured annually in ABT's production of The Nutcracker; and have performed alongside ABT dancers in the World Premiere productions of The Sleeping Beauty (2015) WhippedCream (2017), and the West Coast premiere of ABT's Harlequinade (2019).

Article image by Doug Gifford

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