Corella Ballet Castilla y León Makes Its US Debut At New York City Center

Choreographer Angel Corella has announced the U.S. debut of Corella Ballet Castilla y León, March 17 - 20 at New York City Center. The engagement will feature the U.S. premiere of String Sextet, Mr. Corella's first choreography, performed to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. The four-performance engagement will also feature a world premiere pas de deux by the flamenco dancer and choreographer María Pagés, featuring Angel Corella and Carmen Corella; the U.S. premiere of Epimetheus by company dancer by Russell Ducker; and Christopher Wheeldon's DGV .

Corella Ballet dancers who will be performing at City Center include Principals: Adiarys Almeida, Carmen Corella, Natalia Tapia, Ángel Corella, Herman Cornejo and Iain Mackay ; First Soloists: Kazuko Omori and Joseph Gatti; Soloists: Cristina Casa, Ashley Ellis, Mª José Sales, Fernando Bufalá, Kirill Radev and Yevgen Uzlenkov.
Angel Corella's String Sextet (2009), inspired by Tchaikovsky's String Sextet, "Souvenir of Florence" Op. 70, 1892, is choreographed for the full company in four movements. The piece had its world premiere on July 30, 2009 at the Peralada Festival in Barcelona.

Christopher Wheeldon's DGV (Danse à Grande Vitesse, 2006) is an imaginative meditation on travel set to Michael Nyman's MGV : Musique à Grande Vitesse Musique. The piece premiered at London's Royal Ballet in 2006 and was nominated for an Oliver Award that year. London's Guardian hailed it as "stunning...a thing of grand scale and hurtling momentum."

María Pages' new pas de deux will feature principal dancers Angel Corella and Carmen Corella.

Russell Ducker's Epimetheus (2009), set to The Music of the Spheres by Mike Oldfield (who is known for Tubular Bells, featured in the film The Exorcist) was inspired by the fifth moon of the planet Saturn. The piece had its world premiere on August 1, 2009 at the Noches Mágicas Festival in La Granja-Spain.
About The Choreographers:

Angel Corella was born in Madrid in 1975. He was awarded First Prize in the National Ballet Competition of Spain in 1991, and the Grand Prix and Gold Medal at the Concours International de Danse de Paris in 1994. Mr. Corella joined the American Ballet Theatre as a soloist in 1995 and in 1996 was promoted to Principal Dancer. His repertoire includes all the principal roles of the leading classical, neoclassical and contemporary ballets. Mr. Corella has also been a guest star with the worlds' leading dance companies, including The Royal Ballet, Australian Ballet, Ballet of Georgia, Bolshoi Ballet, New York City Ballet and Kirov Ballet. In 2000, Mr. Corella received the Benois de la Danse Award for his work in Other Dances by Jerome Robbins, and in 2002, he was awarded "The National Dance Prize of Spain" as "an exceptional dancer and representative of a generation which enhances Spanish dance in the most outstanding international companies. In 2001, he formed a foundation to promote classical dance in Spain and to provide the finest professional training to all dancers, regardless of their economic or social condition.
Russell Ducker began his training at the Royal Ballet of London, joining the Royal Ballet Upper School in 2004. He has been awarded the MacMillan, De Valoais and Ursula Morton Prizes and has received an award from the NFL Choreographic Foundation. Mr. Ducker is also a dancer with the Corella Ballet.

María Pagés is internationally renowned for her personal esthetic concept of the art of flamenco. She started her professional career as a member of the Antonio Gades Company and in 1990 established the María Pagés Company, which has toured the most prestigious stages throughout Europe, Asia and the United States.

Christopher Wheeldon is Artistic Director and co-founder of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company. He has created ballets for companies all over the world, including The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Boston Ballet, to name a few. He is most closely associated with the New York City Ballet, where he held the position of Resident Choreographer from 2001 to 2008, where he created 17 ballets.

Corella Ballet Castilla y León was founded in April 2008 at the Royal Palace of La Granja in Segovia-Spain. Corella Ballet, under Angel Corella's artistic direction, is currently the only classical ballet company in Spain. Corella Ballet's wide repertoire incorporates classical, neoclassical and contemporary choreography. The company consists of 60 dancers from 13 countries: Spain, Cuba, United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Ukraine, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Russia, Argentina, the Republic of Georgia and Kazajstán. Corella Ballet Foundation projects include the creation of a dance school which will also be the base for future Corella Ballet dancers. One of the company's missions is to provide a professional career for classical dancers in Spain, so that Spanish born dancers do not have to leave the country to further their careers, as Corella and many others have done. The Spanish National Heritage Department has granted the Foundation Angel Corella use of the Santa Cecila Palace in the Royal Place of La Granja de San Ildefonso, Spain. This location will be the future home of the company as well as the boarding school.

Corella Ballet will play for four performances, at New York City Center, 55th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, according to the following schedule: March 17 at 7:30, March 19 at 8 pm and March 20 at 2 & 8 pm. (no performance Thursday, March 18) Tickets range from $25 - $75 and can be purchased by calling CityTix® at 212-581-1212, online at www.nycitycenter.org or at the City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues).

The Performance Schedule is as Follows:

Wednesday, March 17 at 7:30 pm; Friday, March 19 at 8 pm; Saturday, March 20 at 8 pm

STRING SEXTET (U.S. Premiere, 2009)
Choreography: Ángel Corella
Music: Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, String Sextet, "Souvenir of Florence" Op. 70

NEW WORK (World Premiere)
Choreography: María Pagés
Pas de deux performed by Angel Corella & Carmen Corella

DGV: DANSE À GRAND VITESSE (2006)
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Music: Michael Nyman, MGV: Musique à Grande Vitesse

Saturday, March 20 at 2 pm
STRING SEXTET (U.S. Premiere, 2009)
Choreography: Ángel Corella
Music: Peter Tchaikovsky, String Sextet, "Souvenir of Florence" Op. 70

EPIMETHEUS (U.S. Premiere)
Choreography: Russell Ducker
Music: Mike Oldfield, The Music of the Spheres

DGV: DANSE À GRAND VITESSE (2006)
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Music: Michael Nyman, MGV: Musique à Grande Vitesse

Funding for the Corella Ballet season is made possible, in part, by Junta de Castilla y León; SOTUR (Tourism of Castilla y LEÓN), Instituto Nacional de Artes Escénicas y de la Música INAEM, and Ayuntamiento del Real Sitio de San Ildefonso (Segovia-Spain). Official Carrier: Iberia

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