Tickets Available Today for Spoleto Festival USA

Tickets for the 42nd season of Spoleto Festival USA go on sale to the public today at 10:00am. Tickets can be purchased anytime at spoletousa.org or by phone at 843.579.3100, Monday through Saturday, 10:00am to 6:00pm. On-site box office operations will be located at the Charleston Gaillard Center beginning May 1; tickets may then be purchased in person Monday through Sunday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Highlighting Spoleto Festival USA's dance offerings is a special program titled Celebration: The Art of the Pas de Deux. Performed by Miami City Ballet and hosted by artistic director Lourdes Lopez, the program commemorates Jerome Robbins's centenary and recognizes his long history with Spoleto. In 1958, Robbins was named a resident artist of the inaugural Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, where he premiered works including NY Export: Opus Jazz and MOVES and even established his ballet company, Ballets: USA. Fifteen years later, Robbins organized a performance Celebration: The Art of the Pas de Deux for the Italian festival, which featured five duets interspersed with his commentary. The program on May 25, 2018, at the Charleston Gaillard Center resurrects this landmark event. Miami City Ballet also presents a variety of company repertory in three additional performances: Justin Peck's Heatscape (which features backdrops by Charleston native Shepard Fairey), Alexei Ratmansky's Concerto DSCH, and George Balanchine's Walpurgisnacht Ballet.

College of Charleston's Emmett Robinson Theatre houses One of Sixty-Five Thousand Gestures/NEW BODIES-a double bill produced by Works & Process at the Guggenheim that features New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns in collaboration with choreographer Jodi Melnick. In this program's debut outside of the Guggenheim, Mearns, along with Melnick and fellow NYCB dancers Jared Angle and Gretchen Smith, perform in the experimental quartet NEW BODIES, while One of Sixty-Five Thousand Gestures is a solo work for Melnick that she created with the late Trisha Brown.

A.I.M and Dorrance Dance complete the Festival's 2018 dance series. A.I.M presents a varied program of Kyle Abraham's The Quiet Dance, Drive, and an excerpt from Dearest Home, along with Doug Varone's Strict Love. In two programs each presented four times, Dorrance Dance presents two of Michelle Dorrance's newest creations-ETM: The Double Down, which incorporates electronic floor boards that allow dancers to manipulate their sounds, and the exhilarating Myelination-as well as Jungle Blues and Three to One.

Monday, January 22, also marks the public availability of this year's Go Spoleto! accommodation and ticket packages, created in partnership with five premium Charleston hotels. More than 50 percent of Spoleto Festival USA attendees are visitors to Charleston, and these packages offer unique savings opportunities on select festival performances and prime area lodging. Go Spoleto! information can be found at spoletousa.org/gospoleto.

Founded in 1977, Spoleto Festival USA is an annual 17-day performing arts festival that presents leading artists in classical and popular music, jazz, dance, and theater, contributing to the rich cultural fabric of Charleston, SC. The 2018 season includes more than 160 ticketed events in a dozen locations on the downtown peninsula, including the historic Dock Street Theatre and the grand Charleston Gaillard Center.

A release outlining the entire 2018 season, including additional artist details and a complete lineup, can be found HERE.

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