Ballet Stars of New York at the Koger Center
April 10, 2013
COLUMBIA, SC – April 19, 2013
The University of SC Department of Theatre and Dance will welcome
six of the world’s top ballet talents to Columbia April 19 as they present
the 8th Annual Ballet Stars of New York Gala Performance at the Koger Center.
Show time is at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the performance are $35 for
Orchestra seating, $25-$30 for balcony seating, and $15 for students.
To purchase tickets, call the Koger Center box office at 803-777-5112
or charge by phone at 803-251-2222. The Koger Center is located at 1051 Greene St.
Six principal dancers from the NYC Ballet, the country’s preeminent ballet company, will grace the stage alongside the USC Dance Company to perform works by George Balanchine, the founder of the NYC Ballet who is widely considered to be the father of the art in America. This year’s guests include Columbia native Sara Mearns, Jared Angle, Ask la Cour, Megan Fairchild, Rebecca Krohn and Adrian Danchig-Waring. All six dancers have progressed to the rank of principal dancer, the highest level of promotion within the NYCB. Live musical accompaniment for the evening will be provided by the USC Symphony, under the direction of Donald Portnoy.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform with these principal dancers, who really are the top of the top, says Concert Director Stacey Calvert. It’s like being an aspiring baseball player and getting to play in a game with the NY Yankees.
Calvert should know. Over seventeen years, she ascended the heights of the NYCB, performing as a soloist with the venerable company.
The University of SC Dance Company is the only collegiate-level company in the country to perform alongside NYCB principal dancers. It’s great for our students, because they get to interact with these professionals on a personal level, take class with them, and see how amazing they are technically, says Calvert. It’s also inspiring for them to see that these exceptional dancers are really just regular people like them who pursued their art to the highest levels.
The evening’s program will include three of Balanchine’s signature works, including:
Serenade (1935), the first ballet Balanchine choreographed in America. Set to the music of Tschaikovsky, Serenade began simply as a lesson in stage technique; Balanchine even worked unexpected rehearsal events, such as one student’s fall and another’s lateness, into the choreography. The ballet was recently described by Toni Bentley of The Wall Street Journal as the Rosetta Stone for a new kind of dancer, the American classical dancer. Serenade features a large corps de ballet, performed entirely by USC dance students, with principal roles performed by NYCB guest artists.
An excerpt from Apollo (1928), one of Balanchine’s earliest international successes, and his first major collaboration with the composer Igor Stravinsky. Principal dancers from the NYCB will perform a solo and pas de deux from the iconic piece.
The 2nd and 4th Movements from Balanchine’s Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (1966), the first abstract ballet he choreographed for the stage of the NY State Theatre (now the David H. Koch Theatre), which became the home of the NYCB in 1964. The ballet is set to a piece of chamber music by Brahms (Piano Quartet No. 1), with additional orchestration by composer Arnold Schoenberg. Its rousing 4th Movement, described by Stacey Calvert as a lively, Hungarian romp, features the USC Dance Company alongside principals from the NYCB.
Attendees for the evening will also have the chance to mix and mingle with the stars at a gala fundraiser to be held after the performance. Gala guests will enjoy a live auction, dancing to the sounds of The Sensational Epics, and sumptuous delicacies from Loosh Culinaire. Proceeds from the gala support scholarships for dance majors in the exponentially growing dance program.
Gala tickets are $125 per person and include a pre-show cocktail party, premiere seating during the concert, and admittance to the post-performance party. Tickets for the gala must be purchased directly from the USC Dance Program by contacting Rona Walstra at (803) 777-1001 or via email at [email protected].
For more information about the 8th Annual Ballet Stars of New York Gala Performance or the dance program at the University of SC, please contact Kevin Bush by phone at (803) 777-9353 or via email at [email protected].
