Damian Woetzel's DEMO Series to Celebrate Jerome Robbins at The Kennedy Center

Continuing to unite artists from across fields around a common theme, Damian Woetzel's innovative series, DEMO, enters into its third season with a special performance, October 20-21, 2017 in the newly renovated Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

This unique DEMO will celebrate the legendary choreographer Jerome Robbins's centennial in a lecture-demonstration style performance hosted by Woetzel. Revealing the genius behind the work of one of America's greatest dance visionaries, the evening will highlight the magnificent reparatory created for ballet and Broadway, from Fancy Free to West Side Story. Woetzel, who worked closely with Robbins during his career at New York City Ballet from 1985 until his passing in 1998, performed a wide range of his ballets.

"The artistic legacy of Jerome Robbins is extraordinary, but it isn't just the dances themselves," said DEMO director Damian Woetzel. "It is also the way he moved the art form forward through his work with us in rehearsal, and I am looking forward to sharing that side of Jerry's genius as we examine a selection of his masterpieces from ballet and Broadway."

The cast of Jerome Robbins-American Dance Genius features New York City Ballet (NYCB) dancers Tyler Angle (principal; last seen in DEMO: Song & Dance), Joseph Gordon (soloist), Tiler Peck (principal; star of the Kennedy Center's Little Dancer and last seen in DEMO: Song & Dance), Unity Phelan (soloist), Amar Ramasar (principal); and Daniel Ulbricht (principal). The cast also features singer/songwriter Kate Davis; music director and conductor for the hit musical Hamilton on Broadway, Kurt Crowley; and additional insights will be shared by special guest, Heather Watts, former NYCB principal dancer who worked extensively with both Balanchine and Robbins during her career.

World renowned for his work as a choreographer of ballets as well as his work as a director and choreographer in theater, movies, and television, Jerome Robbins's influence on movement and the stage was revolutionary, in particular with extending the boundaries of what musicals could achieve. His numerous Broadway shows include On the Town, Billion Dollar Baby, High Button Shoes, West Side Story, The King and I, Gypsy, Peter Pan, Miss Liberty, Call Me Madam, and Fiddler on the Roof. He created more than 60 ballets including Fancy Free, Afternoon of a Faun, The Concert, Dances At a Gathering, In the Night, In G Major, Other Dances, Glass Pieces and Ives, and Songs, which are in the repertories of New York City Ballet and other major dance companies throughout the world. He was a recipient of many awards including two Academy Awards (West Side Story), four Tony Awards, and was also a 1981 Kennedy Center Honoree.

Previous DEMO performances have centered on the themes of time and place, song and dance as well as paid tribute to heroes. Featured artists have included iconic dancer and actress Carmen De Lavallade, Broadway and New York City Ballet star Robert Fairchild, Grammy-nominated tabla player Sandeep Das, Tony Award-winning Hamilton actor (George Washington), Chris Jackson, and Memphis jookin' pioneer Lil Buck, among others.

This sense of gratitude and tribute to this visionary artist is what positions the performance within JFKC: A Centennial Celebration of John F. Kennedy, the Kennedy Center's continuing programming initiative marking the 100th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's birth and legacy. JFKC is inspired by five ideals frequently attributed to America's 35th President: Courage, Freedom, Justice, Service, and Gratitude.

The program is also part of a month-long suite of performances celebrating the re-opening of the Terrace Theater, the Center's most versatile and intimate performance spaces.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

New York City Ballet principal dancer turned director, choreographer, and producer Damian Woetzel curates and directs DEMO. Woetzel is currently the artistic director of the Vail Dance Festival and the director of arts programs for the Aspen Institute. Dubbed "the matchmaker" by The New York Times, Mr. Woetzel has earned acclaim over the past years for creating unusual combinations of music, dance, and theater-often engaging with the world of ideas-in venues varying from China's National Performing Arts Center to New York's Delacorte Theater in Central Park. In 2009 President Barack Obama appointed Mr. Woetzel to his President's Committee on Arts and Humanities, where he worked on issues including arts education until January 2017. Mr. Woetzel holds an M.P.A. from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Harvard Arts Medal. In July 2018, Woetzel will become the 7th President of The Juilliard School.

Tyler Angle was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and began his dance training at the age of nine with Deborah Anthony at the Allegheny Ballet Company. He entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, full time in the fall of 2001. In the fall of 2003 Mr. Angle became an apprentice with New York City Ballet. As an apprentice he danced a featured role in Michel Fokine's Chopiniana, performed by SAB as part of New York City Ballet's winter 2004 season. He joined New York City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in June 2004. He was promoted to the rank of soloist in December 2007 and in October 2009 was promoted to principal dancer.

Kurt Crowley is currently the music director and conductor of Hamilton on Broadway. Previous work in theater includes Hamilton (The Public Theater); Bring It On (Broadway); Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Off-Broadway); In The Heights (National Tour); Carmen La Cubana (Théâtre du Châtelet); FLY (Dallas Theater Center); and Somewhere (Hartford Stage). He took part in Vail Dance Festival's ReMixNYC, conducting Stravinsky's Apollo. He has written arrangements and played for numerous cabaret venues in New York City and also has written music for a song on Sesame Street. After studying music and comparative religion at Harvard University, he received a fellowship to study classical and devotional music in North India. He was also part of the creative team of Carmen: El Amor Cubano, one of the first professional productions of musical theater in Cuba in decades.

The music of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Kate Davis has been turning heads in New York's music scene since 2012. Whether she is crooning rootsy ballads or plucking bright riffs from her bass, the gutsy songstress from Portland, Oregon, puts a fresh spin on the standards and brings a canonical sensibility to her own lush tracks. Lauded by MTV as one of 2014's 15 Fresh Females Who Will Rule Pop, Ms. Davis has performed at illustrious venues including the Bowery Ballroom, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall, among others. Recently she has shared the stage with such diverse artists as Alison Krauss, Josh Groban, Ben Folds, Sara Bareilles, and Renée Fleming. Her accolades include a Robert Allen Award from the ASCAP Foundation and her arts advocacy work includes a presentation at TEDx Portland and participation in the 2010 National Arts Policy Roundtable. She is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music.

Joseph Gordon was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and began his dance training at the age of five at The Phoenix Dance Academy. Mr. Gordon began studying at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet (NYCB), during the 2006 summer course and enrolled as a full-time student that fall. In August of 2011 Mr. Gordon became an apprentice with NYCB, and in July of 2012, he joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet. In February 2017 Mr. Gordon was promoted to soloist.

Tiler Peck has been a principal dancer with New York City Ballet since 2009. Broadway: On The Town (Ivy), The Music Man (Gracie Shinn). Regional: Marie in the Kennedy Center's production of Little Dancer. Television: Kennedy Center Honors tribute for 2012 and 2014 honorees Natalia Makarova and Patricia McBride; Louise Bigelow in New York Philharmonic's Live From Lincoln Center production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel choreographed by Warren Carlyle and directed by John Rando; Dancing with the Stars; Live >From Lincoln Center's George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. Film: Ballet 422, A Time for Dancing, Geppetto, Donnie Darko, and Jerome Robbins's NY Export: Opus Jazz. Recipient of the Princess Grace Statue Award and named one of Forbes 30 under 30 in Hollywood/Entertainment. Former artist-in-residence at Vail International Dance Festival. Ms. Peck was seen as a guest star on Julie Andrews's new Netflix series Julie's Greenroom. She received the 2016 Dance Magazine Award, and this past July, she was the artistic curator for the Los Angeles Music Center's production of BalletNOW. Spokesperson for Body Wrappers and designer of Tiler Peck Designs.

Unity Phelan was born in Princeton, New Jersey and began her dance training at the age of five at the Princeton Ballet School, where her teachers included Douglas Martin, Maria Youskevitch, and Mary Barton. During the summers of 2008 and 2009 Ms. Phelan attended the summer sessions at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet (NYCB), and enrolled as a full-time student in fall of 2009. She became an apprentice with NYCB in December 2012 and joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2013. In February 2017 Ms. Phelan was promoted to soloist.

Amar Ramasar was born in the Bronx, New York. He began his studies at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in 1993. In addition he studied at the American Ballet Theatre summer program and The Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet. In July 2000 Mr. Ramasar was invited to become an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and in July 2001, he joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet. In March of 2006 he was promoted to soloist and in October 2009 was promoted to principal dancer.

Daniel Ulbricht was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, and began his dance training at the age of 11. In 2000 he became an apprentice with New York City Ballet and in 2001, he joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet. In 2005 Mr. Ulbricht was promoted to the rank of soloist and principal dancer in 2007. He is a guest teacher at the School of American Ballet, Ballet Academy East, as well as a number of well-known national dance schools, private schools, and universities throughout the United States and is currently the artistic advisor of Manhattan Youth Ballet. Mr. Ulbricht is also the artistic director of New York State Summer School for the Arts and is founder and director of Stars of American Ballet, a touring group focusing on high art, education, and outreach. Mr. Ulbricht is the co-founding director and producer of Dance Against Cancer.

Heather Watts joined New York City Ballet (NYCB) in 1970, and was one of the last of the famed Balanchine ballerinas. Watts worked closely with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins at NYCB, retiring from the stage in 1995. She has been a contributing editor at Vanity Fair since 1995, has created academic courses on Balanchine's life and work at Harvard University, was a visiting lecturer in dance at Princeton University, and has led residencies on Balanchine and Robbins at UC Santa Barbara and Dance Education Laboratory NYC. Watts was a fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU in 2014 and is currently an affiliate fellow there. She has received numerous awards, including a Doctorate Honoris Causa from Hunter College.

Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased online, at the Kennedy Center box office or by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324. For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540. For more information about the Kennedy Center visit www.kennedy-center.org.

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