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The Detroit Opera House
Announces Details of
2006/2007 DaimlerChrysler Dance Series
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DETROIT, Michigan, March 1, 2006…The Detroit Opera House is pleased to announce the details of the 2006/2007 DaimlerChrysler Dance Series. The 10th season of dance at the Detroit Opera House, 2006/2007 will celebrate the diversity of ballet with classic works, contemporary masterpieces and acclaimed companies.
Ticket information and complete schedule
The 2006/2007 Daimler Chrysler Dance Series opens September 28 with the spectacular Royal Winnipeg Ballet presenting Dracula. Burned into the public psyche over the last one hundred years, the name Dracula evokes dread and horror, but most of all, fascination. A legend, a classic novel and the subject of countless movies, the story is now brought to life in the first full-length ballet by Mark Godden—one of Canada’s foremost young choreographic talents.
Godden’s Dracula is firmly based in the tradition of Bram Stoker’s famous novel, but uses expressive dance and a unique sequence of events to tell the chilling tale of Lucy Westenra, Mina Murray, Jonathan Harker and the, now infamous, Count. The production features exceptional sets and costumes by Paul Daigle and lighting by David Morrison.
Founded in 1939 by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet holds the dual distinction of being Canada’s premier ballet company and also the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. The company’s repertoire embraces a wide range of dance styles, and features works by acclaimed choreographers including Jirí Kylián, George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Hans van Manen and Sir Frederick Ashton.
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet first toured Canada in 1945, and subsequently launched its first American tour in 1954. In the decades since, the company has performed in South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and every province of Canada. Under the leadership of Artistic Director André Lewis the company continues to tour extensively, spending more than 20 weeks on tour annually. 2006 will mark the company’s Detroit Opera House debut.
Dracula will haunt the stage of the Detroit Opera House for four performances; September 28 at 7:30 p.m., 29 at 8:00 p.m., 30 at 8:00 p.m., and October 1 at 2:00.
For 2006, the Detroit Opera House will again usher in the holiday season with the acclaimed Joffrey Ballet’s enchanting Nutcracker. One of Detroit’s most beloved holiday traditions, this magical tale will captivate audiences with Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s incredible score, and more than 50 of the world’s finest dancers.
The ballet was created by Robert Joffrey, and includes choreography by Gerald Arpino, artistic director and co-founder of the Chicago-based company. Based on ETA Hoffman’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” published in 1816, the Joffrey Ballet’s production is set in America, on Christmas Eve, 1850, and features elaborate Victorian scenery by Oliver Smith and costumes by John David Ridge. The Nutcracker also features puppets by Kermit Love, perhaps best known for his work with Muppet creator Jim Henson. The Nutcracker will include more than 60 young local dancers, and will be accompanied by the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra. Local high school choirs will also accompany the production and sing Christmas carols at intermission.
The 2006 Nutcracker engagement will again feature special family matinee packages including box lunches, face painting, photos with Santa and the Nutcracker, and the Sugar Plum Parade—a special opportunity to meet Nutcracker dancers on the stage of the Detroit Opera House.
The Joffrey Ballet Nutcracker will enchant Detroit audiences in eight performances; November 30 at 7:30 p.m., December 1 at 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., 2 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and 3 at 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
The Detroit Opera House’s 2007 dance programming will begin February 10 and 11 with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, presenting The Jacob Lawrence Project.
The work of Jacob Lawrence, perhaps the greatest African-American painter of the 20th century, has been praised as “full of rhythm, energy, life, color and motion.” It is in the celebration of Lawrence’s work that the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) brings together four of the most exciting choreographers working today. Donald Byrd, Rennie Harris, Reggie Wilson and DCDC Artistic Director Kevin Ward have collaborated to create a ballet with a keen sense of the visual arts. Together, the work of these four visionaries weaves an evening that will move audiences with Lawrence’s humanity and the visual imagery that they have witnessed.
The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company returns to the Detroit Opera House stage just two years after debuting as part of A Celebration of Contemporary African-American Dance (February 2005). Founded in 1968 by Jeraldyne Blunden, the company has received international acclaim for both their classical and contemporary works, as well as for their educational and outreach activities, which have brought the art of dance to countless youths. Hailed as one of the leading contemporary dance companies in the nation, DCDC is renowned for maintaining the world’s largest collection of works by African-American choreographers, including Warren Spears, Bill T. Jones, Bebe Miller, Ronald K. Brown and Donald McKayle, among many others.
The Detroit Opera House stage will play canvas to the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s Jacob Lawrence Project on February 10 at 8:00 p.m. and 11 at 2:00 p.m. The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s presentation of The Jacob Lawrence Project is funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding provided by the Ford Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
March 15, 2007, will mark the return of the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) to the Detroit Opera House, with an exceptional production of Swan Lake. A long-standing staple of the ballet repertoire, Swan Lake is perhaps the most popular of all classical works. This relatively new production, premiered at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on March 24, 2000, featuring stunning choreography by ABT Artistic Director Kevin Mckenzie, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanonv. Swan Lake will feature the breathtaking music of Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky played by the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, as well as scenic designs by Zack Brown and lighting by Duane Schuler.
The classic fairytale ballet Swan Lake is the story of the beautiful princess Odette. Cursed by the wicked sorcerer Von Rothbart, she is transformed into a swan by daylight, to be freed only by the true love of a gallant prince. Tricked into marrying another, the chivalrous prince Siegfried realizes too late that he is the victim of Von Rothbart’s plot, and the two young lovers choose death over a cursed life apart. Siegfried and Odette are united in life after death.
The American Ballet Theatre is recognized as one of the great dance companies of the world. Few ballet companies equal ABT for its combination of size, scope and outreach. Recognized as a living national treasure since its founding in 1940, ABT annually tours the United States, performing for more than 600,000 people each year. The company has toured internationally more than 30 times, visiting a total of some 42 countries. ABT was launched by Lucia Chase and Oliver Smith in 1939, and directed by the pair until 1980, when Mikhail Baryshnikov took over as Artistic Director. In 1990, Jane Hermann and Oliver Smith succeeded Baryshnikov, leading the company until 1992, when former principal dancer Kevin McKenzie was appointed Artistic Director. Throughout its history, the company has acquired an extraordinary repertoire, ranging from classical works to contemporary masterpieces, and featuring the choreography of many of ballet’s great artists.
Swan Lake will grace the stage of the Detroit Opera House for five performances March 15 at 7:30 p.m., 16 at 8:00 p.m., 17 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and 18 at 2:00 p.m. The March 17 family matinee will feature a special pre-performance visit by Angelina Ballerina.
The final presentation of the Detroit Opera House’s 2006/2007 DaimlerChrysler Dance Series will be a special children’s ballet, Where the Wild Things Are, based on the book by Maurice Sendak, and danced by The Grand Rapids Ballet Company. Monsters, mischief and magic abound as Sendak’s classic tale of Max and the wonderful Wild Things he encounters springs to life on the opera house stage. Featuring sets and costumes designed by Maurice Sendak, and choreography by Septime Webre, Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet, the ballet presents families with a special opportunity to see literature come to life through live theatre.
Founded in 1971, as the Grand Rapids Civic Ballet, The Grand Rapids Ballet Company has strove to fulfill its mission “to lift the human spirit through the art of dance.” The company, Michigan’s only professional ballet, has grown to encompass 13 full-time dancers, two apprentices and the School of the Grand Rapids Ballet Company which has an enrollment of more than 250 students. Under the artistic direction of Chartel Arthur, the company has toured extensively, expanded it’s repertoire and presented more than 40 world premieres.
Where the Wild Things Are will enchant young and old alike in two performances, March 30 at 11:00 a.m. and 31 at 2:00 p.m.
Ticket information and complete schedule
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