Houston Ballet Presents A Weekend Of Premieres For Houston

Houston Ballet is delighted to present a mixed repertory program of ballets never before seen in Houston, Premieres. The program includes works by three of the most respected choreographers working today: Aszure Barton, Ji Kyli n and Justin Peck. Designed to showcase the extraordinary talent and exceptional proficiencies of Houston Ballet dancers, Premieres is a program not to be missed.

Few dance companies have the depth of male talent to present Aszure Barton's Come In, which features 13 male dancers. With its strong corps of men, Houston Ballet will not disappoint. Described as brilliant by the San Francisco Chronicle and audacious by The New York Times, celebrated choreographer Barton has worked with many notable names including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, English National Ballet and Sydney Dance Company, to name just a few. Houston audiences who experienced her Angular Momentum in 2012 are sure to come back for more.

Houston Ballet is excited to introduce another work by acclaimed choreographer Ji Kyli n into its repertoire. Kyli n's Dream Time, originally created on the Nederlands Dans Theater, is the second Houston Premiere on the program. Danced to a gorgeous score by the legendary Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, Dream Time beautifully captures the power of dance to transcend time and communicate across all barriers. Kyli n, one of the world's most influential choreographers, has wowed Houston audiences with works like Petite Mort and Wings of Wax.

Following the tremendous response to Justin Peck's Year of the Rabbit, Houston Ballet is pleased to welcome the Tony Award-winning choreographer back to create a world premiere on the company, Reflections. For this ballet, Peck will collaborate again with American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, a Grammy and Academy-award nominee who uses a variety of instruments to achieve his Signature Sound. Peck, Soloist, Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor with New York City Ballet, is one of the most sought-after dancer makers in America. Since 2009, he has created more than 30 ballets. His works have been performed by Companies such as New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Joffrey Ballet. After his Tony for choreographing Carousel, the Rodgers & Hammerstein Broadway revival directed by Jack O'Brien, he is working on Steven Spielberg's film West Side Story.

Three premieres in one spectacular program, this is ballet at its very best. See Premieres for one-weekend-only March 21-24 at Wortham Theater Center. Secure seats now at HoustonBallet.org or 713.227.ARTS(2787).

Houston Ballet has evolved into a company of 60 dancers with a budget of $33 million, making it the country's fifth largest ballet company. With a state-of-the-art performance space built especially for the company also the largest professional dance facility in America Houston Ballet's $46.6 million Center for Dance opened in April 2011, with an endowment of just over $74.1 million (as of July 2017).

Australian choreographer Stanton Welch AM has served as Artistic Director of Houston Ballet since 2003, raising the level of the company's classical technique and commissioning works from dance makers such as Christopher Bruce, Alexander Ekman, William Forsythe, Ji Kyli n, Trey McIntyre, Julia Adam, Edwaard Liang, and George Balanchine. Executive Director James Nelson serves as the administrative leader of the company, a position he assumed in February 2012 after serving as the company's General Manager for more than a decade.

Houston Ballet has toured extensively both nationally and internationally. Over the past fifteen years, the company has appeared in renowned theaters in Dubai, London, Paris, Moscow, Spain, Montr al, Ottawa, Melbourne, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and in cities large and small across the United States.

Houston Ballet's Education and Community Engagement Program reaches more than 60,000 individuals in the Houston area annually. Houston Ballet Academy teaches more than one thousand students every year, and approximately 50 percent of the current company was trained by the Academy.

For more information on Houston Ballet, visit www.houstonballet.org.

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