New Orleans Ballet Association Announces 2011-2012 Season

The New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA) launches its 2011-2012 season of dance with six exhilarating companies featuring some of the most significant and distinctive choreography today, including three New Orleans debuts and a world premiere. Single tickets for the 2011-2012 season go on sale Tuesday, September 6. Ticket prices range from $20-$125. Season ticket buyers save up to 20 percent off the single ticket price by purchasing a season ticket package.

The season, which features classical to contemporary dance, includes:

Mark Morris Dance Group October 22, 2011

Jacoby & Pronk Contemporary Dance Artists November 11-12, 2011

Shen Wei Dance Arts January 21, 2012

Stephen Petronio Company March 2-3, 2012

Complexions Contemporary Ballet April 21, 2012

The Joffrey Ballet May 12, 2012

Mark Morris Dance Group
Mahalia Jackson Theater - October 22, 2011
The season kicks off when the spellbinding dancers of the Mark Morris Dance Group return to New Orleans for the first time since 2002. The phenomenally gifted American dance icon Mark Morris celebrates 30 years of creating intensely musical, endlessly inventive and joyously exuberant dances. Morris spotlights his musical devotion by always touring with his own group of classical musicians. His long-awaited New Orleans return is no different, and his superb company brings a lush program of brand new dances and classic works set to live music.

Jacoby & Pronk Contemporary Dance Artists
NOCCA's Freda Lupin Memorial Hall - November 11 and 12, 2011
NOBA and The NOCCA Institute are honored to present the New Orleans premiere of Jacoby & Pronk Contemporary Dance Artists. Two of today's most extraordinary dancers, Drew Jacoby and Rubinald Pronk are internationally renowned for performing with such companies as the Dutch National Ballet, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, and Alonzo King Lines Ballet. In 2008, this elite duo, known for razor-sharp technique, sensual chemistry and physical beauty, launched an exciting new dance project, hand-picking international ballet stars and choreographers to join them in producing tailor-made evenings of contemporary ballet. Creating a sensation wherever they perform, Jacoby & Pronk are "breaking the ballet mold and giving it a whole new image," raves Dance Magazine.

Shen Wei Dance Arts
Mahalia Jackson Theater - January 21, 2012
Shen Wei Dance Arts brings a fantastical world that vividly fuses East and West by incorporating Chinese opera, Eastern philosophy, traditional and contemporary art, and dance. Led by visionary choreographer, designer, and artist Shen Wei, who created part of the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the company is known for "gorgeous visual imagery" (London Times). The breathtaking and poetic program includes the haunting and otherworldly masterpiece Folding, along with his newest creation.

Stephen Petronio Company
NOCCA's Freda Lupin Memorial Hall - March 2 & 3, 2012
NOBA once again partners with The NOCCA Institute to present Stephen Petronio Company. Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, Stephen Petronio is widely regarded as one of the leading dance-makers of his generation with an instantly recognizable style that combines fiercely kinetic movement with the most innovative collaborators from music, visual art, and fashion. His intrepid dancers move with whiplash speed and crystalline beauty. The program features Underland, a provocative work originally created for the Sydney Dance Company set to the dark, bitter-sweet songs of Australian rocker Nick Cave and City of Twist, an homage to New York City with an enigmatic commissioned score by performance art legend Laurie Anderson.

Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Mahalia Jackson Theater - April 21, 2012
Incomparable co-founders, choreographer Dwight Rhoden and superhuman dancer Desmond Richardson, bring their sleek, daredevil company back to New Orleans with the high-voltage Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Richardson, hailed by The New York Times as "one of the great modern dancers of his time," will be retiring from the company as a dancer this season. As a special tribute, NOBA has commissioned Rhoden to create a new duet to live New Orleans jazz for Richardson and New York City Ballet Principal dancer Wendy Whelan. This event marks the first time these beloved American superstars have danced together in their illustrious careers.

The Joffrey Ballet
Mahalia Jackson Theater - May 12, 2012
For more than a half-century, The Joffrey Ballet has been an American ballet treasure. Last seen in New Orleans at Dixon Hall, this sensational company returns to close the main stage season in grand style. The elegant program highlights the bold and refreshing talents of rising choreographic star Edwaard Liang with AGE OF INNOCENCE, an emotionally-charged new work inspired by the social complexities of life in the era of Jane Austen. Also on the program is Jerome Robbin's enchanting romantic masterwork IN THE NIGHT, a passionate ballet featuring a series of three pas de deux set to the live accompaniment of Chopin Nocturnes.

Single tickets for NOBA events go on sale September 6. Season tickets are currently on sale.

Single ticket prices for Mark Morris Dance Group, Shen Wei, Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Joffrey Ballet are $20-$125. The single ticket price for Jacoby & Pronk Contemporary Dance Artists is $65, and the single ticket price for the Stephen Petronio Company is $40. Single tickets may be purchased by calling NOBA at 504-522-0996 or Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000; individual ticket sales are also available online at www.nobadance.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

NOBA season ticket buyers save up to 20 percent off the single ticket price by purchasing a season ticket package. The Grand Plus Series package of all six events ranges from $154 to $490, while the Grand Series package, which includes all four performances at the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts, ranges from $68 to $424. The flexible Build-a-Series package allows season ticket holders to design their own season package and starts at $51. Discounts are also available for students with a valid ID. To purchase season tickets, call NOBA at 504-522-0996, Ext. 201.

For more information on the upcoming season, call NOBA at 504-522-0996, Ext. 201 or visit www.nobadance.com.

 

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