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Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 4, 2014

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces its

2014-2015 BALLET SEASON Suzanne Farrell, Artistic Advisor for Ballet

Featuring Performances By

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet

Ballet West

Mariinsky Ballet

American Ballet Theatre

New York City Ballet

Scottish Ballet

The Royal Ballet

(WASHINGTON, D.C.)—The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its

2014-2015 ballet season, featuring performances in the Opera House. Some of the world’s finest

ballet companies from England, Russia, and Scotland will be featured, as well as American favorites.

American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and the Mariinsky Ballet make triumphant returns

while Ballet West’s The Nutcracker, the oldest American full-length version of the work, returns to

the Opera House to mark the Kennedy Center’s holiday season. The Center’s own The Suzanne

Farrell Ballet returns to the Opera House with a program including three company premieres in

November. In addition to attending performances, throughout the season audiences can take

advantage of free post-performance discussions, lectures, open rehearsals and demonstrations as part

of the Kennedy Center’s Explore the Arts program.

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The 2014-2015 Kennedy Center ballet season includes:

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky/Balanchine) 1951 version

Allegro Brillante (Tchaikovsky/Balanchine)

Monumentum & Movements (Stravinsky/Balanchine)

The Concert (Chopin/Robbins)

November 28-30, 2014

Opera House

The Kennedy Center’s own ballet company returns to the Opera House in November to kick off the

ballet season with three company premieres over four performances. The Suzanne Farrell Ballet

premieres Balanchine’s enchanting original 1951 version of Swan Lake, based on Lev Ivanov’s

choreography for Act II, and uses music from both Acts II and IV, the lakeside acts. The program is

completed with Balanchine’s Monumentum Pro Gesualdo and Movements for Piano and Orchestra. The

other company premieres include Allegro Brillante for 10 dancers set to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto

No.3, of which Balanchine said “it contains everything I know about the classical ballet in 13 minutes”

and Jerome Robbin’s The Concert (or The Perils of Everybody), set to music by Chopin. Performances

will be accompanied by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. Since 2001, The Suzanne Farrell

Ballet has performed annually at the Center and has toured both nationally and internationally.

Ballet West The Nutcracker (Tchaikovsky/Christensen)

December 10-14, 2014

Opera House

Ballet West returns to the Kennedy Center with Willam Christensen's beloved production of The

Nutcracker. After becoming artistic director of San Francisco Ballet, Christensen created the first full-

length American productions of Coppélia, Swan Lake, and this evergreen production of The Nutcracker.

Christensen’s Nutcracker was originally choreographed for San Francisco Ballet in 1944 after

conversations with Alexandra Danilova and George Balanchine The Nutcracker features Tchaikovsky’s

timeless score performed by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra.

Mariinsky Ballet

Le Sacre du printemps (Stravinsky/Hodson inspired by Nijinsky)

Le Spectre de la rose (Weber/Fokine)

Dying Swan (Saint-Saëns/Fokine)

Paquita Grand Pas (Minkus/Petipa)

January 27, 2015 – February 1, 2015

Opera House

The Mariinsky Ballet returns to the Opera House for the 13th consecutive season for seven

performances. The company brings Le Sacre du printemps, featuring a 90 piece orchestra performing

music by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. Created for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev’s

Ballets Russes, the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky, with stage designs and costumes by

Nicholas Roerich. Stravinsky was a young, virtually unknown composer when Diaghilev recruited him

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to create works for the Ballets Russes. Le Sacre du printemps was the third such project, after the

acclaimed The Firebird (1910) and Petrushka (1911). The company will also perform a mixed repertory

program featuring two works choreographed by Michel Fokine—Le Spectre de la Rose, featuring music

by Carl Maria von Weber, and Dying Swan, featuring music by Camille Saint-Saëns cello solo, Le

Cygne. Marius Petipa’s Paquita Grand Pas, set to music by Ludwig Minkus, fills out the program. This

engagement will be accompanied by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra.

American Ballet Theatre Full Length Ballet to be announced

and

Theme & Variations (Tchaikovsky/Balanchine)

Pillar of Fire (Schoenberg/Tudor)

Push Comes to Shove (Lamb and Haydn/Tharp)

March 24-29, 2015

Opera House

Since its inception in 1939, American Ballet Theatre has developed an unequalled repertoire spanning

19th century classics, early 20th century masterpieces, and acclaimed contemporary dances. Next

season, the company returns for performances of a full length ballet and a program of mixed repertory

that includes three works originally created for American Ballet Theatre: Balanchine’s Theme &

Variations, Tudor’s Pillar of Fire, and Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove. George Balanchine

choreographed Theme and Variations in 1947 for Ballet Theatre when the company was only eight years

old. The music for Antony Tudor’s Pillar of Fire, Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured

Night), was inspired by a 19th century two-character German poem Weib und die Welt (Woman and the

World). Twyla Tharp’s iconic Push Comes to Shove, her first work created for ABT in 1976 helped to

coin the term “crossover ballet.”

New York City Ballet 20th Century Classics

Serenade (Tchaikovsky/Balanchine)

Agon (Stravinsky/Balanchine)

Symphony in C (Bizet/Balanchine)

And one mixed repertory program to be announced at a later date

April 7-12, 2015

Opera House

New York City Ballet returns for seven performances two programs of mixed repertory, accompanied

by the New York City Ballet Orchestra. 20th Century Classics features three of George Balanchine’s

most iconic ballets: Serenade, Agon and Symphony in C Serenade, the first ballet Balanchine

choreographed in America, is a romantic work of immense sweep, set to a transcendent Tchaikovsky

score. Agon is said to have come as the climax of a Balanchine-Stravinsky collaboration in 1957.

Symphony in C features sparkling costumes created in collaboration with Swarovski, a cast of over 50

dancers, and a spectacular finale with the full cast onstage at once. New York City Ballet will present

another mixed repertory program that will be announced at a later date.

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Scottish Ballet A Streetcar Named Desire (Salem/Lopez Ochoa)

May 28-30, 2015

Opera House

In their Kennedy Center debut, Scottish Ballet presents an extraordinary adaptation of Tennessee

Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire. Award-winning theater and

film director Nancy Meckler, renowned for her work with the Royal Shakespeare Company,

collaborated with internationally acclaimed choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and composer Peter

Salem to create this full-length ballet. Scottish Ballet is Scotland’s national dance company and was

founded by Peter Darrell and Elizabeth West as Western Theatre Ballet in Bristol in 1957. The

Company moved to Glasgow in 1969 and was renamed Scottish Ballet in 1974. These performances will

be accompanied by members of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra.

The Royal Ballet Don Quixote (Minkus/Acosta)

and

Aeternum (Britten/Wheeldon)

Tetractys - The Art of Fugue (Bach/NEW McGregor)

New Work (TBD/NEW Scarlett)

June 9-14, 2015

Opera House

Based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, The Royal Ballet is Great Britain’s most

prestigious ballet company. The company’s wide-ranging repertory showcases the great classical ballets

including The Royal Ballets own heritage, and new works by the foremost international choreographers

of today and choreographers from within the company’s own ranks. The Royal Ballet presents a mixed

repertory program of works by Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon, and Liam Scarlett as well as

Carlos Acosta’s new full-length Don Quixote. Wheeldon’s Aeternum, which premiered in London

February 2013, is set to Benjamin Britten’s 1941 “Sinfonia da Requiem,” and was created in honor of

the composer. Aeternum recently won London’s 2013 Critics’ Circle/National Dance Award. Royal

Ballet Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor continues to explore the connections between the arts

in his new work Tetractys - The Art of Fugue. In this new ballet, which premiered in London February

2014, he teamed up with graphic artist Tauba Auerbach and choreographed to J.S. Bach’s “The Art of

Fugue.” Liam Scarlett was appointed The Royal Ballet’s first Artist-in-Residence in November 2012.

He is fast becoming a world-renowned choreographer, with acclaimed works created for The Royal

Ballet and other leading international companies. After years of dancing Petipa’s classic Don Quixote

with the Cuban Ballet and others, Acosta offers his own take, drawing inspiration from the original, and

with music by Ludwig Minkus. These performances will be accompanied by the Kennedy Center Opera

House Orchestra.

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The 2014-2015 Kennedy Center Ballet Season Schedule Dates Company Theater

November 28-30, 2014 The Suzanne Farrell Ballet

Opera House

December 10-14, 2014 Ballet West’s The Nutcracker

Opera House

January 27 – February 1, 2015 Mariinsky Ballet

Opera House

March 24-29, 2015 American Ballet Theatre

Opera House

April 7-12, 2015 New York City Ballet

Opera House

May 28-30, 2015 Scottish Ballet

Opera House

June 9-14, 2015 The Royal Ballet

Opera House

Artists and performances are subject to change.

ABOUT BALLET AT THE KENNEDY CENTER

Since opening its doors in 1971, The Kennedy Center has presented the world’s leading ballet

companies and ballet dancers each season. No other venue in the United States presents as many major

international ballet companies annually. The Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America, which started in

2008, is an exploration of the breadth and depth of the art form, showcasing ballet companies from

around the country. Protégés, which began in 2006, showcases rising stars from some of the world’s

greatest ballet academies. In addition to performances, patrons can attend Ballet 360° lectures, Explore

the Arts open rehearsals, and ballet teas for Kennedy Center members. The Kennedy Center offers a

number of educational and training opportunities for ballet. The Kennedy Center Ballet Class Series

offers advanced high school ballet students the unique chance to participate in master classes with

teachers from the nationally and internationally renowned ballet companies performing at the Kennedy

Center. Since 1993, ballet students from around the country have descended upon the nation's capital

for Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, a three week residency for dancers ages 14-18 with at least

five years of ballet training. The summer intensive is held annually and accepts both international

students and students from across the United States. During the three-week period, students take two

ballet technique classes a day with Ms. Farrell, six days a week. The program also offers a number of

cultural activities to enhance their experience in Washington, D.C., including museum visits, trips to

historical landmarks, and attending performances. Exploring Ballet for Adults, held twice yearly, is a

two-hour workshop for adults with little or no previous ballet training. The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, the

Center’s own company, has performed annually at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. since 2001,

and tours both nationally and internationally. The company has more than 40 ballets in its repertoire

including works by Ms. Farrell’s mentors George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, and Jerome Robbins.

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TICKET INFORMATION

To receive subscription information by mail, call the Subscription Office at (202) 416-8500.

Subscriptions may be purchased in advance of general on sale dates. Groups of 20 or more may contact

Kennedy Center Group Sales at (202) 416-8400. Dates for sales of individual tickets will be announced at

a later date.

FUNDING CREDITS:

The Kennedy Center’s Ballet Season is presented with the support of Elizabeth and Michael Kojaian.

Generous support for The Suzanne Farrell Ballet is provided by The Ted & Mary Jo Shen Charitable

Gift Fund.

American Ballet Theatre’s engagement is made possible through generous endowment support of The

Lee and Juliet Folger Fund.

The Mariinsky Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet engagements are presented with the

support of the State Plaza Hotel.

My Tix and Explore the Arts are part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, which are generously

funded by David and Alice Rubenstein.

Additional support for Explore the Arts is provided by The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the

Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

For more information about the Kennedy Center visit www.kennedy-center.org.

Please visit facebook.com/kennedycenter for behind-the-scenes news, special offers, advance notice of

events and other related Kennedy Center Facebook pages.

Follow @kencen on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news, offers and more.

Patrons 30 and under and active-duty members of the military are invited to join the Kennedy Center’s

MyTix program for special discount offers and chances to win free tickets.

For more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org/mytix.

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PRESS CONTACT*: TICKETS & INFORMATION:

Amanda Hunter (202) 467-4600; (800) 444-1324

(202) 416-8441 www.kennedy-center.org

aehunter@kennedy-center.org *please do not publish this information