American Repertory Ballet Presents PRIDE AND PREJUDICE At Philadelphia's Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts

American Repertory Ballet (ARB) brings its acclaimed full-length ballet adaptation of Jane Austen's beloved novel Pride and Prejudice to the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Friday and Saturday, March 2nd and 3rd at 8:00 p.m.

Artistic Director Douglas Martin first conceived of this ambitious project five years ago while having lunch with a friend. "We were hashing out ideas for a new full-length ballet, and we both thought of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice," says Martin. As the ballet percolated in Martin's mind, he was drawn to the four main relationships in the story, not only of Elizabeth and Darcy.

"It's hard to write a great love story, and Pride and Prejudice has many different kinds of relationships at its heart. The story provided me with several lead couples and all kinds of ideas about how people can interact with each other," says Martin.

Martin's choreography incorporates period dances, such as jigs, reels, and the minuet. "When characters are meeting or having a romantic moment, classical ballet is used in the midst of period dance steps, for example, during one of the ballroom scenes," says Martin. The ballet features sets and costumes designs by Christina Giannini, whose lush designs are tailored to showcase the fashions of the English Regency Period from 1790-1820.

In addition to being known for technique and athleticism, ARB dancers also need to be strong actors to convey the emotional life of the characters they portray - an added challenge for the dancers.

"Dance is a language. It's all about the expression of energy, relationship and emotions, so we can't use any of the words," says Martin.

Regarding the arc of Darcy's character (portrayed by Mattia Pallozzi), Martin explains: "Darcy goes from disliking country people in the story, to being kind of intrigued by the strength of Elizabeth, to falling in love with her but being unhappy with himself, to realizing that he had the wrong idea about who he was. That's a lot of range to go through."

In approaching the role for a second time, Pallozzi says, "I've had the time to do my research and be even more specific in the way that I express Darcy's emotions into body language that is understandable to an audience without the use of words."

The 2017 world premiere of this production earned critical acclaim. Critical Dance reviewer Dance praised the work: "A new, original full-length story ballet is rare enough, but one based on the classic Jane Austen novel is a particularly ambitious undertaking. That Douglas Martin and his company carried it off at all is a monumental achievement, as well as a cause for celebration...it's a must see for anyone interested in viewing a ballet that's new and different and extraordinarily ambitious, and that ultimately will prove to be a source of pride for the company."

"The fact that none of Jane Austen's stories have been used for a full-length ballet, to my knowledge, made it an attractive challenge," Martin adds. He hopes this beautiful story will take its place among the great "love story" ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.

In an interview for Pointe magazine, Martin explains how he chose the music for the ballet: "No one has written a ballet score for this story so I needed to find something that was not only beautiful to dance to but also reinforces the libretto. I did some research and found out that Jane Austen collected Schubert and Mendelssohn, and one of her particular favorites, the music of the Austrian-born French composer Ignaz Pleyel."

Jane Austen's novel remains one of the most beloved works of fiction ever written. For over 200 years, the story of the proud, rich Mr. Darcy and the independent, free-spirited Elizabeth Bennet continues to entertain and enchant readers. In addition, the numerous film and television adaptations - the 1940 film starring Laurence Olivier; Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC version; the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley - have earned Jane Austen legions of devoted fans across the globe.

Tickets, ranging from $45-$65, can be purchased by calling the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts ticket office at (215) 898-3900, online at www.annenbergcenter.org or at the Annenberg Center box office, located at 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

American Repertory Ballet's mission is to bring the joy, beauty, artistry and discipline of classical and contemporary dance to New Jersey and nationwide audiences and to dance students through artistic and educational programs. The organization comprises: the preeminent professional classical and contemporary ballet company in the state; Princeton Ballet School, one of the largest and most respected non-profit dance schools in the nation; and ARB's Access & Enrichment initiatives, including the long-running and acclaimed DANCE POWER program. The performing company is a classical and contemporary ballet company committed to presenting ballets from the 19th and 20th centuries alongside new and existing works by choreographers from today. Founded in 1963, the company is currently under the artistic leadership of Douglas Martin, former principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet. To learn more, visit arballet.org.

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