NYC Ballet Returns to Paris for Three Week Tour, Starting Today

This summer New York City Ballet will return to Paris, France for the first time since 2008, for three weeks of performances at the Théâtre du Châtelet -- today, June 28, through July 16, 2016. The engagement will mark the 12th edition of Les Etés de la Danse, the annual summer dance festival that since 2005 has presented international dance companies for three weeks of performances in the French capital, and will also mark the tenth time that NYCB has performed in Paris since the Company's founding in 1948.

For NYCB's first-ever appearance at the festival, the Company will present 20 different ballets, including 14 works by NYCB's Co-Founder George Balanchine, one work by Co-Founding Choreographer Jerome Robbins, two works by the Company's Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins, one work by the Company's Resident Choreographer Justin Peck, as well one work each by choreographers Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon.

Each year since 2005, Les Etés de la Danse and its President Marina de Brantes, have invited internationally renowned dance companies, choreographers and artists to perform at some of Paris' most prestigious venues. During the past 11 seasons more than 350,000 spectators from around the world have attended performances at the summer festival. New York City Ballet will be the largest company and most extensive repertory ever presented by Les Etés de la Danse.

Leadership support for the New York City Ballet engagement has been provided by the Paulson Family Foundation, with generous corporate support from Bank of America. The Travelers Companies, Inc., is the Global Sponsor of New York City Ballet.

The season will take place at the historic Théâtre du Châtelet, which is under the direction of JeanLuc Choplin. Designed by Gabriel Davioud and constructed between 1860 and 1862, the Théâtre du Châtelet has a long and storied history, and was where Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes presented its first season in 1909, and most recently was the venue where Christopher Wheeldon's acclaimed production of An American in Paris, now on Broadway, premiered in 2014.

The season will also mark New York City Ballet's tenth engagement in Paris. The Company has previously performed in the French capital in 1952, 1955, 1956, 1965, 1980, 1983, 1989, 1995, and 2008.

The opening week of performances will be exclusively devoted to works by George Balanchine, with ten Balanchine works presented on three different programs. The Opening Night performance on Tuesday, June 28 will feature an All Stravinsky program consisting of Apollo, Agon, Duo Concertant, and Symphony in Three Movements. The second program, on Thursday, June 30, will be a one-time-only Gala Performance consisting of Mozartiana, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Walpurgisnacht Ballet, and Symphony in C. The third program of the week, debuting on Friday, July 1, will be an All Tschaikovsky program consisting of Serenade, Mozartiana, and Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2.

The second week will introduce two additional programs. The first will premiere on Monday, July 4, and will feature Balanchine's Western Symphony and Tarantella, Jerome Robbins' West Side Story Suite, and Peter Martins' Barber Violin Concerto and The Infernal Machine. The second will feature ballets created since 2010 by three contemporary choreographers: Christopher Wheeldon's Estancia (2010) Alexei Ratmansky's Pictures at an Exhibition (2014), and Justin Peck's Everywhere We Go (2014).

The third and final week of the season will introduce an additional All Balanchine program to the music of French composers, which will premiere on Wednesday, July 12, and feature Walpurgisnacht Ballet (music by Gounod), Sonatine and La Valse (music by Ravel), and Symphony in C (music by Bizet). This program will also be performed as the final performance of the engagement as a tribute to Marina de Brantes, the President of Les Etés de la Danse,

Launched in July 2005 with a three week season by the San Francisco Ballet at the Archives Nationales, Les Etés de la Danse has since featured engagements by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (2006, 2009, 2012, 2015), Ballet Nacional de Cuba (2007), Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (2008), Ana Laguna and Mikhail Baryshnikov in Three Solos and a Duet (2010), Le Ballet de Novossibirsk (2010), Miami City Ballet (2011), Mikhail Baryshnikov and Anna Sinyakina in In Paris (2011), Paul Taylor Dance Company (2012), the Vienna State Opera Ballet (2013), and a return engagement by the San Francisco Ballet (2014).

Tickets for New York City Ballet's performances are available beginning Thursday, January 28 at 10 a.m. through the Théâtre du Châtelet website at www.Chatelet-theatre.com. For more information on New York City Ballet, visit www.nycballet.com

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