Venues
Events
MediaDance
Dance Landmark
The American Ballet Theatre Celebrates It’s 70th Year
| | More
In our fast food culture where fresh ideas hold for about as long as a play through a Lady Gaga song, a seventieth anniversary is cause for major celebration. The American Ballet Theatre company is a major cultural institution and decidedly deserves a major celebration. The company is a machine unfazed by attrition, touring the United States annually, performing for more than 600,000 people. Furthermore, the Ballet Theatre has represented American ballet in over forty-two countries on fifteen tours.
For the sake of longevity and the spirit of renewal the American Ballet Theatre aims to contribute to the production of contemporary choreography as well as perform timeless classics. For the 70th anniversary celebration the company does not stray from this course. From May 17 through July 10, ABT performs dance that spans two-centuries.
After the opening night gala featuring ABT’s Principal Dancers on May 17, the American Ballet Theatre performs La Bayadère. This restaging of the 1877 original was first choreographed for the ABT beginning in the late 1970’s, and first performed on May 21, 1980. It is fitting that the 70th anniversary would open with the 30th anniversary of one the companies most celebrated productions. The following week the company premiers Lady of the Camellias, a ballet originally produced in 1978 by the Stuttgart Ballet of Germany. The classic Don Quixote opens on the First of June. Sir Fredrick Ashton’s Birthday Offering closes the celebration on June 10.
All performances will be held Metropolitan Opera House. Tickets and showtimes are available on American Ballet Theater’s website, www.abt.org.