The line-up for New York City's 2016 Lincoln Center Festival has just been announced by director Nigel Redden, and includes five performances of The Winter's Tale by the National Ballet of Canada, from July 28-31 at the David H. Koch Theater. For more information visit the Festival website.
The Winter's Tale opens at Washington DC's Kennedy Center
Following its acclaimed North American premiere by the National Ballet of Canada in November, Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale has opened to positive reviews on a tour production by the company at Washington DC's Kennedy Center, with five remaining performances until Sunday 24 January. The principal cast includes NBC stars Piotr Stanczyk, Hannah Fischer, Jillian Vanstone, Naoya Ebe, Harrison James and Xiao Nan Yu.
One critic describes Joby's score — his second to be jointly commissioned for Wheeldon ballets by The Royal Ballet and National Ballet of Canada — as "rich and varied... both like an ancient discovery from a yet to be uncovered new tribe but absolutely modern" (Lisa Traiger, D.C. Metro Theater Arts); while The New York Times' Alastair Macaulay deems it "attractive".
JOBY AWARDED PRIX BENOIS DE LA DANSE
It has just been announced from Moscow that Joby, choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and principal dancer Ed Watson have all been awarded the prestigious Prix Benois de la Danse for their respective roles in the creation of The Winter's Tale.
The jury-based Benois de la Danse was founded by the International Dance Association in Moscow in 1991 and is awarded for lifelong achievement, ballerina, danseur, choreographer, composer and designer. Those for composition and design are not awarded every year; two composers who have previously received the honour are George Kouroupos and Michel Legrand.
A co-commission between The Royal Ballet and National Ballet of Canada, The Winter's Tale premiered in London in April 2014 and will have its Toronto premiere in November of this year.
Chroma to open in Amsterdam in June
Chroma will be performed by the Dutch National Ballet from 17 June as part of their 'Cool Britannia' triple bill.
Chroma will be both Wayne McGregor and Joby's debut with the Dutch National Ballet, on a programme featuring the best of contemporary British choreography from McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon and David Dawson.
Cool Britannia will run for seven performances, until 27 June. More information and ticket can be found here.
Everest premieres in Dallas and Chamber returns to The Hague
This week sees the premiere of Joby's first opera by the Dallas Opera, as well as the return to The Hague of Chamber, his 2012 collaboration with choreographer Medhi Walerski.
Everest, a one-act work, relates events surrounding the tragic deaths of several climbers on the mountain in 1996 and stars Kevin Burdette, Sasha Cooke, Andrew Bidlack and Craig Verm. Joby worked in close collaboration with librettist Gene Scheer and conductor Nicole Paiement; the production is directed by Leonard Foglia with set design by Robert Brill, costumes by David C. Woolard, lighting by Christopher Akerlind and projections by Elaine J. McCarthy. Following the premiere at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House on 30 January will be a further four performances on 2, 4 and 7 February.
Chamber, commissioned by Nederlands Dans Theater and the Norwegian National Ballet, returns to The Hague for four performances for the first time since its 2012 premiere. The work is choreographed to Joby's Chamber Symphony and was commissioned as part of worldwide celebrations for the 100th anniversary of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. It has been toured by NDT and will here be presented in a programme alongside works by Marco Goecke and Sol Léon and Paul Lightfoot. There are four performances from 28-31 January.
'Alice's Adventures' opens at the Royal Opera House
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has returned to Covent Garden for 20 shows over the 2014/15 festive season.
Joby wrote the score — the first in 20 years to be commissioned by The Royal Ballet for a full-length narrative work — at the request of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. The production, a co-commission with the National Ballet of Canada, premiered in early 2011 and has since returned to both houses twice or more. Joby and Christopher produced a second full-length narrative work for the same two companies in 2014, an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.
The Royal Ballet's performance on 16 December will be broadcast live to cinemas internationally. Alice's Adventures is at the Royal Opera House until 16 January 2015.
For those unable to attend live or cinema shows, both productions are available on DVD — Alice as either a regular or special edition release, and The Winter's Tale as a special edition available for pre-order, to be released on 1 January 2015.
Nederlands Dans Theater takes Chamber to China
On 7 November the Nederlands Dans Theater will begin its tour of China with a programme that includes Medhi Walerski's Chamber, choreographed in 2012 to Joby's Chamber Symphony. The company will give two performances at the Opera House in Beijing on 7 and 9 November; one on 12 November at the Suzhou Culture and Arts Centre; and one at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on 15 November.
The programme also includes works by Crystal Pite and Sol Léon and Paul Lightfoot.