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.