Texas Ballet Theater
Presents
The Sleeping Beauty
The 2006-07 Season continues as Prince Florimund awakens Aurora with
the kiss that inspired the phrase “…happily ever after!”
North Texas – Ben Stevenson, artistic director of Texas Ballet Theater, is proud to present the second production of the 2006-07 Season, The Sleeping Beauty, at Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall on Friday, October 20 at 8 p.m., Saturday, October 21 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday, October 22 at
2 p.m. The Sleeping Beauty is a Texas Ballet Theater premiere, as the Company has never before performed the entire full-length ballet. Tickets are on sale now from $18 - $74 and can be purchased by calling 1-877-212-4280 or by visiting www.texasballettheater.org.
Stevenson staged The Sleeping Beauty for the first time in 1967 for the English Festival Ballet – with Dame Margot Fonteyn in the role of Aurora. He chose to keep much of Russian choreographer Marius Petipa’s original work as Petipa worked closely with Tchaikovsky to prepare for the world premiere of the ballet in 1890.
October’s Texas Ballet Theater premiere of The Sleeping Beauty will feature Julie Gumbinner as Aurora in the Friday, October 20, 8 p.m. performance and the Sunday, October 22, 2 p.m. matinee. Jayme Autrey Griffith will dance the role of Aurora in the Saturday, October 21, 8 p.m. performance and Carolyn Judson will perform the lead role in the Saturday, October 21, 2 p.m. matinee.
Texas Ballet Theater offers Ben Stevenson’s The Sleeping Beauty complete with lavish sets and costumes created by Tony Award winner Desmond Heeley. Heeley’s sets transform the stage with fairy tale wonder, enrapturing the audience and inviting all to join in the story of Aurora and her prince. The original lighting design by Duane Schuler will be recreated by Christina R. Giannelli. The story continues over three acts, culminating with a Grand Pas de Deux that transports all who watch to a world where magic becomes real. The Sleeping Beauty is accompanied by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Jack Buckhannan, Texas Ballet Theater’s Music Director, will conduct.
Immediately prior to the Friday, October 20 performance, Texas Ballet Theater hosts a Fort Worth Opening Night Dinner at City Club of Fort Worth, 301 Commerce Street. Event details follow.
The Sleeping Beauty
Bass Performance Hall
Friday, October 20, 2006 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, October 21, 2006 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, October 22, 2006 at 2 p.m.
Pre-Performance Lectures open to all audience members are held on the Mezzanine 45 minutes prior to curtain for each performance.
Performance Information
Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography by Ben Stevenson after Marius Petipa’s 1890 original
Set and Costume Design by Desmond Heeley
Lighting Design by Duane Schuler
Recreated by Christina R. Giannelli
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jack Buckhannan
Performance Tickets
Single tickets $18-$74
Toll-free 1-877-212-4280 or www.texasballettheater.org
Subscription packages start at $30
214-369-5200, ext. 121
817-763-0207, ext. 121
www.texasballettheater.org
Fort Worth Opening Night Dinner
Friday, October 20, 2006
Ballroom, City Club of Fort Worth, 301 Commerce Street
Laila Minder Gleason, Chair
Cocktail Attire
Individual Dinner Ticket: $65
For further information or reservations, call 817.763.0207, ext. 104 or 214.369.5200, ext. 104.
ABOUT TEXAS BALLET THEATER
Founded in 1961, Texas Ballet Theater is the premier resident professional ballet company of North Texas. Under the direction of artistic director Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., the Ballet brings unprecedented talent, beauty and artistic expression to the stages of Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall and Dallas' Music Hall at Fair Park and Historic Majestic Theatre in downtown Dallas. Texas Ballet Theater will become the resident ballet company for the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts when it opens in 2009. Season sponsors include the Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, WRR Radio, TACA, the City of Dallas and Texas Commission on the Arts, American Airlines and The Arts Council of Fort Worth & Tarrant County. For more information, go to www.texasballettheater.org.
Photo Credit
Artist: Carolyn Judson. Photo: Ellen Appel.