 Eight weeks of performing on the stage of the New
York State Theater should exhaust even the most committed New York
City Ballet dancer. Not necessarily. At least not NYCB Principal
Peter Boal who, renowned for his princely elegance as a performer,
was simultaneously preparing for the debut of Peter Boal & Company
at The Joyce Theater, March 16–21. He’s also snagged
fellow City Ballet dancers Wendy Whelan, Sean Suozzi and Carla Körbes
to join him for the engagement. Talk about devotion.
Season highlights include the duet from William Forsythe’s
1992 “Herman Schmerman” and Boal’s first performance
of Twyla Tharp’s now classic solo, “Pergolesi,”
originally choreographed for Mikhail Baryshnikov. Two world premieres–one
by John Alleyne and the other by Marco Goecke–complete the
program.
Marking its first performance by a dancer other than Baryshnikov,
the 1993 Tharp solo features Boal slyly teasing classical ballet
technique through choreographed missteps and fancy footwork. The
dance, brimming with Tharp’s cheeky wit, is set to music by
18th century composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Boal’s
costume is adapted from the original design by Isaac Mizrahi; the
lighting is by David Moodey.
Also possessing a playful spirit is the pas de deux from William
Forsythe’s “Herman Schmerman,” the full version
of which was commissioned by New York City Ballet in 1992. Peter
Boal and Wendy Whelan perform this exhilarating work, set to an
electronic score by Thom Willems, a frequent Forsythe collaborator.
The dancers’ stylishly angular movements are complemented
by Gianni Versace’s costumes and lighting by Mark Stanley.
Boal, who admired Marco Goecke’s work for Sean Suozzi at City
Ballet’s 2002 New York Choreographic Institute, decided to
invite the German choreographer to create a new work for Suozzi
for The Joyce performances. The result is “Mopey,” which
Goecke, winner of Hamburg’s 2003 Prix Dom Perignon Choreographic
Competition, choreographed to C.P.E. Bach’s Cello Concerto
and music by 80’s rock band The Cramps. The costumes are designed
by Mark Zappone; the lighting is by David Moodey.
The world premiere of John Alleyne’s “2nd Prologue,”
a trio for Carla Körbes, Boal and Suozzi and set to a score
by Timothy Sullivan, willl complete the evening. Alleyne, Artistic
Director of Ballet British Columbia since 1992, has choreographed
several works for NYCB including “The New Blondes” in
the early ‘90’s. The costumes for the ballet are by
Mark Zappone and the lighting by David Moodey.
New York-born Peter Boal began ballet classes at the School of American
Ballet at the age of 10. At 16, he received an offer from Mikhail
Baryshnikov to join American Ballet Theatre, but declined at the
request of George Balanchine. He became an apprentice at City Ballet
in 1983, and later that year became a member of the corps. He was
promoted to Principal in 1989.
In addition to performing major roles in over sixty ballets with
NYCB, including Balanchine’s “Apollo,” “Prodigal
Son” and as Oberon in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream;”
Jerome Robbins’s “Dances at a Gathering” and “Opus
19/The Dreamer;” and in Peter Martins’s “Swan
Lake,” Boal originated new roles in works by John Alleyne,
Ulysses Dove, Lar Lubovitch, William Forsythe, Kevin O’Day,
Twyla Tharp and Christopher Wheeldon, among others.
Boal has guested with Ballet Du Nord
in France, Royal Birmingham Ballet, Norwegian Ballet, The Metropolitan
Opera, Wendy Perron Dance Company and with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet
at the Kennedy Center, among others. “Peter Boal: Solos,”
a program of three world premieres, debuted during The Joyce Theater’s
2003 Altogether Different Festival. The recipient of the 1996 Dance
Magazine Award, Boal has also received a New York Dance Award a.k.a.
“Bessie” for his performance of Molissa Fenley’s
“State of Darkness” at The Kitchen in 2000.
Wendy Whelan, born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, began her
dance training at the School of American Ballet in 1981. She became
a member of the corps at New York City Ballet in January, 1986 and
was promoted to Soloist in 1989. Two years later she was made Principal.
At City Ballet, Whelan became known for her dancing in Balanchine’s
“Agon,” “Apollo,” “Ballade,”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Symphony
in C;” Jerome Robbins’s “The Cage,” “Dances
at a Gathering,” “In Memory Of…” and “In
the Night;” and Martins’s “Fearful Symmetries,”
“The Sleeping Beauty” and “Swan Lake.” She
has guested with The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden in the pas de
deux from “Herman Schmerman,” as well as with The Kirov
Ballet in St. Petersburg, performing the “Rubies” section
of Balanchine’s “Jewels.” She has also performed
at The Joyce Theater as a guest with Judith Fugate and Medhi Bahiri’s
DanceGalaxy and with Karole Armitage.
Sean Suozzi, born in New York, began studying dance at the age of
seven with Joyce DiLauro, and trained for four years at the Nutmeg
Ballet in Torrington, Connecticut. After studying at the School
of American Ballet, Suozzi became an apprentice with New York City
Ballet in April 1999 and joined the company as a member of it corps
in February 2000, dancing featured roles in Balanchine’s “The
Nutcracker,” “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” and “Tschaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 2,” as well as in Robbins’s “The
Four Seasons” (Winter) and “Interplay.” He has
also originated roles in Melissa Barak’s “Telemann Overture”
and “Suite in E Minor,” Mauro Bigonzetti’s “Vespro,”
Eliot Feld’s “Organon,” Peter Martins’s
“Burleske” and Richard Tanner’s “Soiree.”
Carla Körbes, who was born in Brazil, began her dance training
at the age of five. At 11 years old, she began studying at Ballet
Vera Bublitz. In 1996, Boal guested with the Company, performing
with Körbes, whom he encouraged to come to New York to study
at the School of American Ballet. Three years later, Körbes
became an apprentice with NYCB and in 2000 was made a member of
its corps de ballet, where she has danced featured roles in Balanchine’s
“Divertimento No. 15,” “Episodes,” “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Titania and Helena) and “Tchaikovsky
Suite No. 3;” Peter Martins’s “Sinfonia”
and “The Sleeping Beauty” (Fairy of Generosity); and
Jerome Robbins’s “Antique Epigraphs,” “Fanfare”
and “Interplay.” She originated featured roles in Albert
Evans’s 2002 Diamond Project ballet, “Haiku,”
Richard Tanner’s “Soiree,” Eliot Feld’s
“Organon” and Martins’s “Burleske.”
Körbes was a 1999 recipient of the Mae L. Wien Award and the
Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for 2001–2002.
Following its Joyce engagement, Peter Boal & Company will be
perform at the Biennale Dance Festival in Venice, Italy, July 30
& 31 and at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, MA
in August 4–8.
The evening curtain for Peter Boal & Company at The Joyce Theater,
Tuesday through Saturday, is at 8pm; the Sunday evening curtain
is at 7:30pm. There will also be a 2pm matinee on Sunday. Tickets
are $40, and are available at The Joyce Theater box office or by
calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org.
The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.
Peter Boal & Company is a Joyce Theater presentation.
###
Leadership support for The Joyce Theater's 2003-2004 season has
been received from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.
This Joyce presentation is
made possible, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment
for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state
agency, and with private funds from The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels
Foundation, Inc. to encourage the performance of New York City-based
companies at The Joyce Theater.
022304
Peter
Boal and Dancers
Company Bios
PETER BOAL (Dancer), born in Bedford,
NY, began training at the School of American Ballet at the age of
10. He is now a full-time faculty member at the School. Mikhail
Baryshnikov invited him to join American Ballet Theatre when Boal
was 16 years old. George Balanchine requested that the offer be
declined. In January of 1983, Boal received an apprenticeship with
the New York City Ballet (NYCB). In May of that same year, he became
a member of the corps de ballet and in 1989, he was promoted to
principal dancer.
Boal has performed leading roles in over 60 ballets with New York
City Ballet, among them are George Balanchine’s “Apollo,”
“Prodigal Son,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream;”
Jerome Robbins’s “Dances at a Gathering” and “Opus
19/The Dreamer;” Peter Martins’ “Swan Lake;”
and over 30 original roles. At the NYCB, he has worked with John
Alleyne, Ulysses Dove, Lar Lubovitch, William Forsythe, Kevin O’Day,
Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Jerome Robbins and Peter Martins.
As a guest artist, Boal has performed with Ballet Du Nord in France,
Royal Birmingham Ballet, Norwegian Ballet, Metropolitan Opera, Ballet
Arizona, Wendy Perron Dance Company and Suzanne Farrell Ballet.
In 1996, he received the Dance Magazine Award and in 2000, he received
a Bessie Award for his performance in Fenley’s “State
of Darkness” at The Kitchen.
The 2003 “Altogether Different” festival at the Joyce
Theater in Manhattan marked the debut of “Peter Boal: Solos”,
a program of three world premiere solos. Peter lives in Pound Ridge,
New York with his wife, former NYCB soloist Kelly Cass, and their
three children, Sebastian, Oliver, and Sarah.
CARLA KÖRBES (Dancer) was born in Porto Alegre,
Brazil, and began her ballet training at age five with local teachers.
From age 11 she studied at Ballet Vera Bublitz with Giane Teixeira
and Carla Bublitz. In 1996 Körbes performed with guest artist
Peter Boal who encouraged her to return to New York to study at
the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York
City Ballet. After three years at the school, Körbes became
an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the
corps de ballet in June 2000. Since joining New York City Ballet,
Ms. Körbes has danced featured roles in George Balanchine’s
“Divertimento No. 15,” “Episodes,” “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Titania and Helena) and “Tchaikovsky
Suite No. 3;” Peter Martins’s “Sinfonia”
and “The Sleeping Beauty” (Fairy of Generosity); Jerome
Robbins’s “Antique Epigraphs,” “Fanfare”
and “Interplay;” Miriam Mahdaviani’s “Appalachia
Waltz;” Angelin Preljocaj’s “La Stravaganza;”
Richard Tanner’s “Ancient Airs and Dances;” Christopher
Wheeldon’s “Polyphonia” and “Carnival of
the Animals;’ and Susan Stroman’s “Double Feature.”
As a student at the School of American Ballet, Körbes originated
a role in Wheeldon’s “Scenes de Ballet,” and as
an apprentice with the Company she originated a role in his “Mercurial
Manoeuvres.” As a member of the New York City Ballet she orginated
featured roles in Albert Evans’s 2002 Diamond Project ballet,
“Haiku,” Tanner’s “Soiree,” Eliot
Feld’s “Organon” and Martins’s “Burleske.”
Körbes is a 1999 recipient of the Mae L. Wien Award and is
the Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for 2001-2002.
SEAN SUOZZI (Dancer), born in Glen Cove, NY, began his dance training
at the age of seven with Joyce DiLauro. Suozzi trained for four
years at the Nutmeg Ballet in Torrington, CT, with Sharon Dante,
Joan Kunsch, Eleanor D’Antuono and Alexei Tchernichov. After
attending the 1997 summer session at the School of American Ballet
(SAB), Suozzi was invited to continue his studies there with as
a scholarship student. At SAB, he studied with Stanley Williams,
Andrei Kramarevsky, Peter Boal, Jock Soto and Susan Pillare. In
1999, Suozzi was invited to become an apprentice with New York City
Ballet and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet
in 2000. Since joining NYCB, he has danced featured roles in George
Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker,” “Slaughter
on Tenth Avenue,” “Prodigal Son” and Jerome Robbins’
“The Four Seasons (Winter)” and “Interplay.”
Suozzi also originated roles in Melissa Barak’s “Telemann
Overture Suite in E Minor,” Mauro Bigonzetti’s “Vespro,”
Eliot Feld’s “Organon,” Peter Martins’ “Burleske”
and Richard Tanner’s “Soiree.”
WENDY WHELAN (Dancer), born and raised in Louisville,
KY, became a student at the School of American Ballet in 1981. She
joined the New York City Ballet’s corps de ballet in 1986
and was promoted to soloist during in 1989, and principal in 1991.
Whelan has performed many roles from the NYCB’s repertoire
including George Balanchine’s “Agon,” “Apollo,”
“Ballade,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,”
and “Symphony in C;” Jerome Robbins’ “The
Cage,” “Dances at a Gathering,” “In Memory
Of….,” and “In the Night;” Peter Martins’
“Fearful Symmetries,” “The Sleeping Beauty,”
and “Swan Lake.” Additional roles created for Whelan
include works by John Alleyne, Christopher d’Amboise, Stephan
Baines, Ulysses Dove, William Forsythe, Peter Martins, Kevin O’Day,
Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp and Christopher Wheeldon. Whelan appeared
as Coffee in the film version of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.
In 2002, she appeared in the nationally televised Live From Lincoln
Center broadcast “New York City Ballet’s Diamond Project:
Ten Years of New Choreography” on PBS, dancing in Ulysses
Dove’s “Red Angels.” As a guest artist, Whelan
performed with The Royal Ballet in London in the pas de deux from
William Forsythe’s “Herman Schmerman.” She recently
performed with The Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg, performing the
“Rubies” section of George Balanchine’s “Jewels.”
Whelan has performed at The Joyce as a guest for Dance Galaxy (Ballet
NY) and for Karole Armitage.
JOHN ALLEYNE (Choreographer) was born in Barbados
and trained at the National Ballet School in Toronto. After graduating
in 1978, he joined Stuttgart Ballet, drawing praise for his expressive
and bold dancing. There he also began his choreographic career,
creating a variety of works for the company’s workshops, such
as “Phases” and “In Variation on a Theme.”
In 1984, Alleyne joined The National Ballet of Canada as a first
soloist, performing roles such as Solor in “La Bayadere”
and Oedipus in “Sphinx.” He went on to become resident
choreographer at The National Ballet, creating “Blue-Eyed
Trek” (1988), “Split House Geometric” (1989–90),
“Interrogating Slam” (1991). From 1988 to 1991, he choreographed
several works for Ballet British Columbia, including “vision.flection”
(1988), “Flying To Paris” (1989) and “Talk About
Wings” (1991). Currently, Alleyne is Artistic Director of
Ballet BC, where he focuses on expanding the company’s contemporary
repertoire. Since 1992, he has created 12 additional new works;
and in Spring 2004, Ballet BC will premiere his newest ballet “Carmina
Burana,” complete with live orchestra and a 100-voice choir.
Alleyne has also been commissioned to create works for internationally
renowned companies and festivals, including New York City Ballet,
San Francisco Ballet, Canada Dance Festival, Les Ballets de Monte
Carlo, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Stuttgart Ballet. He has also
received a number of awards, including the Best Choreographer Award
at the 1990 Jackson, Mississippi International Ballet Competition,
the 1992 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Choreography,
the 1993 Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence from The
Black Business and Professional Association, and an honorary Doctorate
in Fine Arts from Simon Fraser University.WILLIAM FORSYTHE (Choreographer),
born in New York City, studied dance at Jacksonville University,
FL, and later at the Joffrey Ballet School. In 1973 Forsythe joined
Germany’s Stuttgart Ballet as a dancer and later began choreographing
works for the company. It was there that he made his first piece,
“Urlicht,” a duet to the music of Gustav Mahler. Over
the next years, Forsythe made numerous ballets for Stuttgart as
well as other leading companies, including the Basel Ballet, Munich
Ballet, the Deutsche Opera Ballet in Berlin, Paris Opera Ballet,
Joffrey Ballet and Netherlands Dance Theater. In 1984 Forsythe became
Artistic Director of Ballett Frankfurt, a year after creating his
full-length work for the company, “Gänge.” Forsythe’s
key works over the last 20 years include “Artifact”
(1984), “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated” (1987), “Impressing
the Czar” (1988), “Limb’s Theorem” (1991),
“The Loss of Small Detail” (1991), “A L I E/N
A (C)TION” (1992), “Eidos:Telos” (1995), “Endless
House” (1999) and “Kammer/Kammer” (2000). Forsythe
continues to stage pieces for companies around the globe, and his
work is in the repertoire of the NYCB, The National Ballet of Canada,
The Royal Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, Boston Ballet, Houston
Ballet, among others. Since 1999, the Ballett Frankfurt has also
performed at the Bockenheimer Depot (TAT) in Frankfurt, a performance
space housed in a converted tramway depot, where Forsythe continues
to develop site-specific work like “Endless House.”
In January 1999 Forsythe became Director of both Ballett Frankfurt
and TAT.MARCO GOECKE (Choreographer), born in Wuppertal, Germany,
started his ballet education in 1988 and then danced with the Deutsche
Staatsoper Berlin and the Theater Hagen Ballet, where he created
his first choreographic work “Loch,” which was later
performed at the International Choreography Competition in Hannover.
In 2001, Goecke created “Chicks,” his first of many
works for the Stuttgart Ballet. In 2002, Marco was invited by the
Choreographic Institute of New York to create a work for the Diamond
Project at the New York City Ballet. Also in 2003, Goecke entered
the Prix Dom Perignon choreographic competition in Hamburg where
he won first prize for “Blushing,” a piece for 8 dancers,
which is now performed by the Stuttgart Ballet and Hamburg Ballet.
Most recently, Goecke was commissioned to create a pas de deux for
a special Christmas Gala performance at the Staatstheater in Stuttgart.
TWYLA THARP (Choreographer) has choreographed more
than 125 dances, five Hollywood movies, directed and choreographed
two Broadway shows, written two books and received one Tony Award,
two Emmy Awards, 17 honorary doctorates and numerous grantsm including
the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. She is a member
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an Honorary Member
of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1965, Tharp founded
Twyla Tharp Dance. In 1988, the Company merged with American Ballet
Theatre, where she created more than a dozen works. Since that time,
Tharp has choreographed dances for many companies, including Paris
Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet,
Hubbard Street Dance and Martha Graham Dance Company. In 1991, Tharp
regrouped Twyla Tharp Dance and created a program with Mikhail Baryshnikov
called “Cutting Up,” which went on to become one of
contemporary dance’s most successful tours. Since 1999, the
Company has been touring internationally to critical acclaim. Tharp’s
work first went to Broadway in 1980 with “When We Were Very
Young,” followed in 1981 by her collaboration with David Byrne
on “The Catherine Wheel.” In 2002, Tharp and Billy Joel’s
award-winning dance musical “Movin’ Out” premiered
on Broadway and a national tour began in January 2004. The recipient
of a 2003 Tony Award for “Movin’ Out,” Tharp was
also honored with the 2003 Astaire Award, the Drama League Award
for Sustained Achievement in Musical Theater, and both the Drama
Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography.
In film, she has collaborated with directors Milos Forman on Hair
(1978), Ragtime (1980) and Amadeus (1984), with Taylor Hackford
on White Nights (1985) and with James Brooks on I’ll Do Anything
(1994). Her television credits include choreographing “Sue’s
Leg” for the inaugural episode of PBS’ Dance In America,
co-producing and directing Making Television Dance, which won the
Chicago International Film Festival Award, and directing The Catherine
Wheel for BBC Television. Tharp co-directed the television special
Baryshnikov By Tharp, which won two Emmy Awards as well as the Director’s
Guild of America Award for Outstanding Director Achievement. Tharp
wrote her her autobiography Push Comes To Shove in 1992. Her second
book, The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life was published
in October 2003.
TIMOTHY SULLIVAN (Composer) creates music that traces
back to his many musical inspirations: European classical and avant-garde
music, the music of India, Africa and Bali, experimental electronics,
new jazz, and minimalism. His scores include orchestral, choral
and chamber works, as well as electronic and multimedia works for
ballet, Indian dance, opera, film and theater. Sullivan has created
four scores for John Alleyne: The Archeology of Karl, The Don Juan
Variations, Adrian (Angel on Earth) and In the Course of Sleeping.
Other dance and ballet scores include: entre-deux (ballets jazz
de Montréal/Dumais), Namaskar (Toronto Dance Theatre/Chandralehka),
Revealed by Fire (Sampradaya/Pada) and On Earth (Moonhorse/Moore).
His scores for three operas have been premiered in New York by the
Centre for Contemporary Opera (Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Dream Play
and Josephine) and in 2003, Sullivan received an Artist Development
Grant from Opera America for the creation a multimedia opera about
Marshal McLuhan for his company OperaMedia.
THOM WILLEMS (Composer), born in Arnhem, Netherlands,
studied electronic and instrumental composition at the Royal Conservatory,
The Hague. Willems has composed works for European television, radio
and movies. His work has been performed by Frankfurt Ballett, L’Opera
de Paris, San Francisco Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Royal
Danish Ballet, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet and Netherlands Dance
Theatre.
DAVID MOODEY (Lighting Design) recently worked on
a new opera by Robert Ashley that premiered in 2003. He was also
part of last year’s successful run of Ashley’s “Dust,”
performed in both New York and Paris. Moodey has designed and toured
with Molissa Fenley since 1986, and his design for her “State
of Darkness” earned him a Bessie Award for lighting design.
He has also designed and toured numerous shows for Paul Lazar and
Annie-B Parson and their company Big Dance Theater. Moodey received
his MA in lighting design from NYU’s Tisch School for the
Arts. He also works for the Metropolitan Opera as construction supervisor
for the Electric Department
MARK ZAPPONE (Costume Design) has designed and constructed
costumes for Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater,
San Francisco Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte
Carlo, Finnish National Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Caracas, Wear
Moi Dancewear of London, and Holiday On Ice-Switzerland. He worked
with the Pacific Northwest for five seasons as resident costume
designer, shop supervisor, and wardrobe master. Zappone has collaborated
with internationally known choreographers and designers such as
Lucinda Childs, Nuno Corte-Real, Kent Stowell, Boris Eifman, Kevin
O’Day, Maurice Sendak, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Karole Armitage,
Bernard Perris, Lynn Dally, Martin Pakledinez, Roberto Rosello,
Donald Byrd, Christopher Stowell, Jorge Gallardo, David Guthrie,
Christina Giannini, Alfonse Cata and Theoni V. Aldredge.
250 West 57th Street Suite
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