Centenary Stage Hosts The NJ Ballet's Season Opener With A Tribute To Balanchine And Robbins

This October, the New Jersey Ballet will open their season in Hackettstown with not one, but two unique performances at Centenary Stage Company's Lackland Center. Saturday, October 26th at 8 pm will feature highlights from two legendary choreographers in A Balanchine/Robbins Evening and Sunday, October 27th at 2 pm, families can enjoy a favorite fairy tale brought to life in Cinderella.

The state's premier Dance Company will fill the theatre on Saturday night with a celebration of two towering giants of the 20th century who helped set the course of ballet in America. Styled as the father of the American ballet, George Balanchine co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its balletmaster for more than 35 years. Five-time Tony Award winner Jerome Robbins' work ranged from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater, known for such works as The King and I and West Side Story. Highlights of the evening include: Jerome Robbins' jazzy, sassy Interplay; George Balanchine's neo-classical masterpiece Allegro Brillante; and lastly Ballanchine's superb matchup with George Gershwin in a piece entitled Who Cares?

Also on the program are Balanchine's Glinka Pas de Trois and Minkus Pas de Trois. Both of which premiered at the New York City Ballet in the 1950s with Andre Eglevsky dancing the male role, and have long been a part of NJ Ballet's repertory.

Audiences can then spend Sunday afternoon with New Jersey Ballet's beloved Cinderella. This is a colorful, richly realized re-telling of the tale of the good-hearted maiden who loses a dancing slipper and finds true love with a prince. The production includes all the characters everyone knows and loves: the wickedly silly stepsisters, a glittering Fairy Godmother and the Fairies of the Four Seasons, a handsome Prince who falls hopelessly in love and searches the kingdom to find Cinderella, and - a character in its own right - a pumpkin that magically turns into a coach fit for a princess right on stage.

Tickets for each performance are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, with discounts for children under 12. To purchase tickets or to find more information on any of other CSC events, visit www.centenarystageco.org or call the Lackland Center box office at (908) 979-0900. The Lackland Center is located at 715 Grand Avenue in Hackettstown. The Box Office on 217 Main Street is open once again Monday through Friday from 3-6 pm. The NJ Ballet performances are sponsored by Fulton Bank and the New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet.

The 2013-14 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, and CSC sponsors, including Premier Sponsor Heath Village Retirement Community, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, The Holiday Inn in Budd Lake, and Fulton Bank, Bronze Sponsors The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and Wells Fargo Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.

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