The Washington Ballet Opens 2018/19 Season With International Guest Artists & Expanded Program

The Washington Ballet is excited to launch its season opener TWB Welcomes at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. The program, which includes acclaimed highlights from choreographers Alexei Ratmansky and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, as well as iconic masterworks (likeSerenade and Les Sylphides), provides a highly curated production that defines ballet as an art form over the last century. TWB Welcomes is named so because the company will play host to the audience and also welcome internationally recognized stars of the dance world who will share the stage as guest artists alongside TWB dancers.

With two distinct "set lists," the production will differ for each performance, giving audiences the opportunity to see different casts and works that showcase the evolution of classical ballet covering the last 100+ years. Pairing this repertoire with The Washington Ballet's high caliber talent creates a powerful artistic exchange unique to the dance community and reflective of the diversity of the nation's capital. The marriage between TWB and other world class dancers creates a rich artistic landscape on a global scale, bringing ballet's best to the stage in the nation's capital.

Just announced: The program has been expanded to feature three pas de deux and four internationally acclaimed guest artists. The pas de deux include theBlack Swan pas de deux from Act III of Swan Lake, Ratmansky's Seven Sonatas, and Balanchine's Tarantella (© The George Balanchine Trust). Appearing in these masterworks will be Katherine Barkman, principal dancer with Ballet Manila; returning DC area native Connor Walsh, principal with Houston Ballet;Stella Abrera, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre; and Marcelo Gomes, former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre.

Program A: Serenade, Bolero, plus three pas de deux

Wednesday, September 26

Thursday, September 27

Saturday, September 29 (evening)

Sunday, September 30 (evening)

Program B: Les Sylphides, SOMBRERISIMO, plus three pas de deux

Friday, September 28

Saturday, September 29 (matinee)

Sunday, September 30 (matinee)

"As the ballet company of the nation's capital, we are thrilled to be one of the District's premier arts ambassadors, as Washington, DC experiences this inspiring cultural renaissance." said Artistic Director Julie Kent. "We look forward to welcoming back our dancers, our guest artists and ballet fans as we launch our 2018.19 season in a big way."

TWB Welcomes

Featuring The Washington Ballet Orchestra

September 26-September 30, 2018

Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at 8PM

Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 8PM

Friday, September 28, 2018 at 8PM

Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 2PM and 8PM

Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 2PM and 7PM

Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

Serenade

Choreography by George Balanchine

Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

"...all of the hallmarks of his choreography - fast footwork, voluminous attack within classical positions, and the fusing of music and movement..." The New York Times

George Balanchine's timeless classic, and the first ballet he choreographed after his arrival in America in 1934. Set to Tchaikovsky's lyrical and dramatic Serenade for Strings in C Op. 48, it continues to move audiences with its emotional and inherent narrative. It is a 'must-see' classic. "Many people think there is a concealed story in the ballet" wrote Balanchine. "There is not. The only story is the music's story, a serenade, a dance, if you like, in the light of the moon."

Bolero

Choreographyby Alexei Ratmansky

Music by Maurice Ravel

A vibrant and playful work for six dancers who sport athletic-inspired costumes, each affixed with a number. This hypnotic work is a reflection on modern society and its pressures revealing our inner demons and struggle in this sportive romp, which matches its competitive, relentless playfulness with vibrant structure.

SOMBRERISIMO

Choreographyby Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

Music by Banda Ionica, Titi Robin

A ballet created quite simply for six men ... and a bowler hat in an exploration of masculine self-identity and set to swirling flamenco guitar and raucous Spanish rap.The Latin music by Banda Ionica and Titi Robin sets a playful, sexy atmosphere.

Les Sylphides

Choreographyby Michel Fokine

Music by Frédéric Chopin

A one-act romantic reverie as a poet dances with exquisite sylphs in a forest. This gorgeous ballet is in the repertory of nearly every ballet company in the world.

****JUST ADDED****

Swan Lake - BLACK SWAN pas de Deux

Choreography by Marius Petipas

Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

This dramatic pas de deux of seduction is the show stopper in Swan Lake, Act III when Prince Siegfried falls under the beguiling spell of Odile, the BLACK SWAN, and is tricked into forsaking his true love for her.

Seven Sonatas (pas de Deux)

Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky

Music by Domenico Scarlatti

This intimate, abstract pas deux was created by one of the 21st centuries most sought after choreographers to express the beauty and fullness of Scarlatti's music. Full of neoclassical elegance and sensitivity, the dance exposes uncertainty in relationships. Ratmansky's work is not seen much in the United States. This ballet was hailed as "spellbinding" and "miraculous" in The Guardian.

Tarantella © The George Balanchine Trust (pas de Deux)

Choreography by George Balanchine

Music by Louis Moreau Gottschalk

Quick, fast paced and full of tight technical virtuosity, this explosive pas de deux is a high-speed burst of non-stop energy and fun to the finish.

GUEST ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Stella Abrera is from South Pasadena, California where she began her ballet training. She received the Gold Medal at the Royal Academy of Dancing's Adeline Genée Awards in London in 1995 and joined the corps de ballet of American Ballet Theatre in 1996. Ms. Abrera was appointed a Soloist in 2001 and promoted to Principal Dancer in August 2015.

Katherine Barkman started her dance training in Bucks County, PA when she was barely three years old. By age 14 she began extensive training with Nadia Pavlenko, a graduate of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. In 2014 Ms. Barkman received the Gold Medal at the Youth American Grand in Philadelphia and was a finalist at the Youth American Grand Prix in New York the same year. In 2015 she joined Ballet Manila as a guest principal and has appeared in international festivals, galas and full-length productions in Latvia, Hong Kong, Russia, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Marcelo Gomes is a native of Brazil where he began his dance studies. At age 12 he set off alone to study at the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida. By 18 he joined American Ballet Theatre and was quickly promoted to principal dancer in 2002 until 2017. He has appeared as a guest artist with the Mariinsky Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet and received the Dancer Of the Year Award from Dance Magazine in 2016. Mr. Gommes is also a choreographer and created The Outset which was performed as a World Premiere by The Washington Ballet last season.

Connor Walsh is from Fairfax, Virginia and began his dance studies at age 7 with his mother. He started training at the Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy in 2001 and joined the corps de ballet of the Houston Ballet in in 2004. He was promoted to soloist in March 2005 and principal dancer in 2007.

Tickets at kennedy-center.org and by phone at Instant-Charge 202.467.4600.

Full information at washingtonballet.org

The Washington Ballet (TWB) was founded as The Washington School of Ballet in 1944 and The Washington Ballet (TWB) was founded as The Washington School of Ballet in 1944 and incorporated as a professional company in 1976. At the helm is internationally acclaimed ballerina Julie Kent. As The Washington Ballet's Artistic Director, Kent's mission is to bring world-class ballet to the Nation's Capital, continuing the tradition of classical ballet and contributing to the evolution of the art form through contemporary works and new commissions.

As the ballet company of the nation's capital, The Washington Ballet reflects the diversity of the community and the nation through its dancers and its repertoire. Kent has introduced into the repertoire seminal works by George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins, Antony Tudor, Justin Peck and Alexei Ratmansky while embracing the work of emerging choreographers including Clifton Brown, Gemma Bond, and Ethan Stiefel, among others. Her commitment to the development of both the dancer and the art form is fulfilled through presentation of beloved classic 19th-century ballets and landmark 20th-century works while reaffirming a commitment to commissioned works that will contribute to the evolution of ballet and its relevance in our times.

TWB's three-part mission: ensuring excellence in its professional performance company; growing the next generation of dancers through its school, professional training programs, and Studio Company; and serving the community in which it resides through community engagement programs will continue to propel TWB to a more prominent place within the nation's capital and beyond.