Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Announces ITS 2008-2009 INTERNATIONAL DANCE series

Extraordinary Line-up Includes Performances by Kirov Ballet and Orchestra, Batsheva Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Nederlands Dans Theater and The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg

CHICAGO — Brett Batterson, executive director of the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University (ATRU), today announced the Auditorium Theatre’s 2008-2009 International Dance Series. Highlights include the Kirov Ballet and Orchestra’s spectacular staging of the classic Giselle; the first Chicago performances of the world-renowned Israeli Batsheva Dance Company in more than a decade; and the critically acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater.  The series also includes the return of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, celebrating the company’s 50^th Anniversary with a new piece danced to a live performance by the vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, and the Chicago premiere of The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg’s full-length Eugene Onegin.  New subscription orders will be available beginning Thursday, May 1.

“We are tremendously proud of the vibrant and diverse range of world class dance companies coming to Chicago for the Auditorium Theatre’s 2008-2009 season,” said Batterson. “A performance by the Kirov Ballet is always thrilling, bringing the company’s quintessential poise, strength and elegance to our stage. Batsheva Dance Company showcases Artistic Director Ohad Naharin’s exhilarating Deca Dance, a signature work that ranges from opulent and extravagant to warm and intimate.  Nederlands Dans Theater’s dancers utilize their classical technique as a springboard from which they can perform innovative and inspiring contemporary dance, while The Eifman Ballet’s Eugene Onegin delivers a unique combination of agility, spectacle and drama to our stage.  I am also particularly excited that Alvin Ailey returns to our stage next year to celebrate the company’s 50^th anniversary with a new piece, complete with a live performance by the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock.”

 2008-2009 DANCE SERIES

Kirov Ballet and Orchestra

October 2-5, 2008

Giselle

The world-renowned Kirov Ballet, which garnered tremendous critical accolades when the company performed in Chicago in 2006, returns to the Auditorium Theatre with Giselle.  This classic nineteenth century ballet tells the magical story of a dashing nobleman Albrecht’s ill fated romance with the peasant girl Giselle, and the redeeming power of love and forgiveness.  Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot’s original choreography, revised by Petipa for the ballet’s 1884 Kirov debut, will be performed by the company’s peerless dancers as the 66-piece Kirov Orchestra fills the acoustically perfect Auditorium Theatre with Adolphe Adam’s sumptuous score.

Founded in St. Petersburg in 1783, the Kirov (officially known as St. Petersburg Maryinsky Ballet after its home theater) is under the artistic direction of Valery Gergiev,   The company’s history is inexorably linked with the entire history of the development of Russian choreographic art.  The Kirov’s alumni list reads like a roster of the Russia’s finest dancers, and includes Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov.  “When it comes to grand and glorious, the Kirov Ballet may well rank atop the world,” according to the Chicago Tribune.   

Batsheva Dance Company

February 7-8, 2009

Deca Dance

Since its founding in 1964 by Martha Graham and Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild, Batsheva Dance Company has become one of the most influential cultural institutions in Israel.  First performed in 2000, Deca Dance is a celebration of Artistic Director Ohad Naharin’s work with the company.  Highlighting the many facets of his repertoire, Naharin reconstructs his oeuvre by reorganizing sections of existing works into a new experience. Deca Dance provides an exhilarating view of Naharin’s work, from its most extravagant to its most intimate and touching.  The New York Times raves, “The Naharin style… is certainly infections.  His fluid, hyperathletic, gestural vocabulary is bigtent:  Mr. Naharin doesn’t squelch his dancers’ creativity; rather their individual styles fold comfortably into his.”

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

April 1-5, 2009

Mixed Repertory & 50^th Anniversary Celebration

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrates its 50^th anniversary of bringing African-American cultural expression and the American modern dance tradition to the world’s stages. The legacy of founder Alvin Ailey lives on today through the remarkable vision of Artistic Director Judith Jamison, and the extraordinary talents and artistry of the world-renowned Ailey dancers. The company will perform repertory classics and new works during this exclusive Chicago engagement, including a new piece created in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, who will perform live on stage.

Nederlands Dans Theater

June 17-21, 2009

Mixed Repertory

Since its founding in 1959, Nederlands Dans Theater has been recognized as one of the most innovative and exciting companies in the world. The 30-member company brings classical training and technique to a world of innovative and inspiring modern dance, creating an environment that fosters adventure and originality. Their unique and

non-traditional dance accomplishments have led them to numerous international venues, including a performance at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. For the company’s Chicago engagement, Artistic Director Anders Hellström will compile a program replete with masterworks from the company’s repertoire by such choregraphers as Jirí Kylián and Lightfoot León, as well as creations by other internationally renowned choreographers and newer talents.  

The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg

May 14-17, 2009

Eugene Onegin

Visionary choreographer Boris Eifman’s full-length ballets combine dramatic stagecraft, exquisite technique and powerful dramatic interpretation.  For this Chicago premiere, Eifman will bring Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin’s story of Eugene Onegin, a pompous dandy who lives to regret his rejection of a young woman’s love and irrationally engages in a fatal duel with his best friend.  Pushkin’s classic Russian story as told through Eifman’s widely acclaimed contemporary choreography will pave the way for a stunning and imaginative performance.  Eugene Onegin will be offered as a special add-on option to the regular subscription series. 

Family Matinee Series

The Family Matinee Series is designed specifically to awaken children’s interest in live performance and plant the seed for developing an appreciation of the arts. This unique opportunity allows patrons to receive a free children’s subscription with the purchase of a full-price adult subscription.  This year’s Family Matinee Series will introduce children to an eclectic mix of dance and music offerings, including classical ballet with the Kirov Ballet and Orchestra’s Giselle (Oct. 4), the Auditorium Theatre’s annual Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah (Dec. 14), and innovative modern dance with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (April 4). Each family matinee performance is followed by a question and answer session with members of the shows’ artistic teams.  This interactive experience can dramatically change the impact of the performing arts on its viewers, and with the involvement of families it can also empower youth to express themselves.

General Information

Subscriber renewals and group tickets are currently available.  Subscription sales for new subscribers begin May 1.  Subscribers will receive a 20% discount off full ticket price through June 20, and a 10% discount thereafter.  Single tickets will go on sale at a later date to be announced. For more information about the Auditorium Theatre’s 2008-2009 International Dance Series call (312) 431-2357 or visit www.auditoriumtheatre.org. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more are also available at (312) 431-2357.

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, located at 50 E. Congress Parkway, is an independent, not-for-profit organization committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural and community programming to Chicago, and to the continued restoration and preservation of the National Historic Landmark Auditorium Theatre.  For more information about programming, volunteer and donor opportunities or theatre tours, call (312) 922-2110 or visit auditoriumtheatre.org, now featuring Chicago’s Landmark Stage, a comprehensive online history of the Auditorium from 1889 through today, made possible by the generous support of the American Express Performing Arts Fund.

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