Texas Ballet Theater Announces New Season

Texas Ballet Theater (TBT)'s Artistic Director, Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., announces the Company's 2017-2018 season, which includes a world premiere by Stevenson; a world premiere by TBT dancer, Carl Coomer; a moving tribute to soldiers of war; as well as classics such as Beauty and the Beast and Swan Lake.

"Our 2017-2018 season will bring our patrons a bit of everything - from storybook pieces to exciting new world premieres," said Vanessa Logan, TBT's executive director. "The mixed-repertoire productions are especially exciting with Ben's world premiere and Carl Coomer's Henry VIII. The talent within our Company is truly amazing."

Beauty and the Beast Choreographer: Lew Christensen Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Winspear Opera House Accompanied by The Dallas Opera Orchestra	Bass Performance Hall Accompanied by The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
September 7-10, 2017	September 29-October 1, 2017

TBT will launch their new season in Dallas with an aptly timed performance of Beauty and the Beast, September 7-10 at Winspear Opera House, and at Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall, September 29-October 1. The Company's performance will follow the classic storybook tale of Belle, the Beast and his enchanted servants.

Lew Christensen choreographed Beauty and the Beast in 1958 for the San Francisco Ballet's 25th anniversary, and says this about the original production: "The old moral reads that beauty is only skin deep. So, this ballet says, is beastliness. To love is to be human, and it is no less, to humanize."

The Nutcracker Choreographer: Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Winspear Opera House	Bass Performance Hall
November 24-26 and December 1-3, 2017	December 8-10, 14, 16-17, 20-24, 2017

The magic of the holiday returns with Ben Stevenson's The Nutcracker. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram you "go to TBT's Nutcracker for the best ballet dancing in the area, but you'll leave still laughing at the party scene, and wishing every Christmas party you attend were that entertaining."

The Nutty Nutcracker Choreographer: Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. Bass Performance Hall

December 15, 2017

An annual box-office sellout, Ben Stevenson's The Nutty Nutcracker, returns this year for a one-night only performance. TBT promises a hilarious take on current events and cultural happenings, performed by world-class Company dancers.

Mixed Repertoire
Henry VIII, world premiere Choreographer: Carl Coomer Composer: Gustav Holst	Seven Sonatas Choreographer: Alexei Ratmansky Composer: Domenico Scarlatti Accompanied by The Cliburn
Bass Performance Hall
March 2-4, 2018

In March 2018, TBT will bring two mixed repertory pieces to Bass Performance Hall. Henry VIII is a ballet from the creative mind of TBT's dancer, Carl Coomer. "It is a story of love, lust, life and death, and follows England's most famous monarch through his relationships with six wives and their six very different outcomes," said Coomer. "It is a dark and racy story."

Costumes for Henry VIII were designed in collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin (UT), using state-of-the-art projections and stage design.

Six of UT's costume design graduate students began creating the costumes in September of 2016. Coomer chose costumes from design student, Aaron Kubacak, who will design between 30 and 35 items for Coomer's production.

The second piece of the mixed-rep program is Seven Sonatas by Alexei Ratmansky, the resident choreographer at American Ballet Theatre, and features accompaniment by The Cliburn. Composer Domenico Scarlatti's delicate keyboard sonatas exude the weightlessness of a watercolor painting.

"Seven Sonatas is a classical, abstract and absolutely beautiful dance work, and the choreography is very technical which is a challenge for the dancers," said Stevenson.

Ratmansky was born in St. Petersburg, trained at the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, and has won numerous awards throughout his career. He was named artistic director for the Bolshoi Ballet in 2004, and the resident choreographer for American Ballet Theatre in 2009.

"Ratmansky choreographs all over the world so we're very fortunate to be performing one of his works," said Stevenson.

Mixed Repertoire
Mozart Requiem Choreographer: Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	Martin? Pieces, world premiere Choreographer: Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. Composer: Bohuslav Martin? Accompanied by The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Bass Performance Hall
March 29-31, 2018

The second of TBT's March mixed-repertoire programs features two productions choreographed by Stevenson. The first is Mozart Requiem, which was choreographed for TBT in 2008, and performed again in 2013. Stevenson was inspired to create this piece while watching a mother on the news reflect on the loss of her son, who was a soldier fighting overseas, but who aspired to be a musician.

"These men are more than just soldiers, they have dreams and aspirations," Stevenson said. "I tried to express the music with my feelings for soldiers who give up their lives for their countries."

Stevenson is choreographing a world premiere that will be the second piece in the mixed-repertoire program, which will feature three different pieces from composer, Bohuslav Martin?. He has chosen Martin?'s fifth symphony for the first movement, and "has always found Martin?'s music intriguing, but cannot settle on just one piece because his music is so diverse," said Stevenson.

Swan Lake Choreographer: Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Bass Performance Hall Accompanied by The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra	Winspear Opera House Accompanied by The Dallas Opera Orchestra
May 25-27, 2018	June 1-3, 2018

TBT will close the Company's 2017-2018 season with Swan Lake, featuring orchestral accompaniment in both Dallas and Fort Worth. This classic tale of a mischievous sorcerer, Von Rothbart, and his spell on Princess Odette is one performed by Companies around the world, but Stevenson's Swan Lake is condensed into two acts instead of four.

Stevenson admits this is his favorite classic to perform, and "there are two sides to one swan which makes it one of the most demanding roles for a ballerina, both technically and dramatically," he said.

TBT's 2018-2019 season will feature Pinocchio, a U.S. premiere and co-production with The National Ballet of Canada, featuring choreography by Will Tuckett and composition by Paul Englishby.

"We are delighted to be partnering with Ben Stevenson, Vanessa Logan and Texas Ballet Theater on this ambitious production, and together, creating a new family-friendly ballet that will entertain audiences for years to come," says Barry Hughson, Executive Director of The National Ballet of Canada.

Patrons who purchase a TBT 2017-18 season subscription will be first in line for Pinocchio tickets in 2019.

Full season subscriptions, with tickets to three productions in Dallas, and four in Fort Worth are now available and range in price from $72 to $276. Subscribers receive advanced selection of seats and location is guaranteed for as long as subscriptions are held. Throughout the season, subscribers can purchase additional tickets at up to a 20% discount, excluding The Nutty Nutcracker. To subscribe, call 877.828.9200 option 1 or purchase online at www.TexasBalletTheater.org.

Single tickets go on sale July 1, 2017, and may be purchased by calling 877.828.9200 option 1 or purchased online at www.TexasBalletTheater.org.

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