Kings of the Dance Make Their Debut with Five World Premiere Works
Four of the world's greatest dancers will take center stage for an incomparable display of power and prowess in the world premiere of Kings of the Dance from February 16-19, 2006 in Segerstrom Hall. Angel Corella and Ethan Stiefel from American Ballet Theatre, Johan Kobborg of The Royal Ballet and Nikolay Tsiskaridze of the Bolshoi Ballet will each dance a world premiere solo created by acclaimed choreographers, plus a never-before-seen piece for all four dancers. Additionally, a special guest artist will partner with a different "King" each night to dance Le Jeune Homme et la Mort by Roland Petit. Kings of the Dance is a co-production of the Orange County Performing Arts Center and Ardani Artists.
Tickets to Kings of the Dance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center are $20 - $75, and went on sale January 8, 2006. They will be available at The Center's Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, by calling CenterTix at (714) 556-2787 or online at www.ocpac.org. For inquiries about group ticket discounts, call The Center's Group Sales office at (714) 755-0236. The Center's TTY number is (714) 556-2746.
Kings of the Dance features four of today's most brilliant male dancers - Angel Corella, Johan Kobborg, Ethan Stiefel and Nikolay Tsiskaridze - performing together for the first time ever. Each "King" will perform a world premiere solo created specifically for him by a leading choreographer of our time - Nils Christe (Ethan Stiefel), Roland Petit (Nikolay Tsiskaridze), Tim Rushton (Johan Kobborg) and Stanton Welch (Angel Corella). Additionally, the "Kings" will join artistic forces in an original dance choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to music by Franz Schubert.
The program will also include filmed interviews with former stars of the dance world; Variations for Three
featuring choreography by George Balanchine, August Bournonville and Marius Petipa; and Roland Petit's Le Jeune Homme et la Mort. A different "King" will perform Le Jeune Homme et la Mort each night with a special guest. After its world premiere in Orange County, Kings of the
Dance will move to City Center in
New York for four performances from February 23-26, 2006.
ANGEL CORELLA
Angel Corella joined the American Ballet Theatre as a soloist in 1995 and was promoted to a principal dancer in 1996. His repertoire with the company includes some of the best-loved roles in ballet - Prince Siegfried in "Swan Lake," Albrecht in "Giselle," Solor in "La Bayadère" and many more. Born in Madrid, Corella has won First Prize in the National Ballet Competition of Spain, the Grand Prix and Gold Medal at the Concours International de Danse de Paris, the Prix Benois de la Dance, and in 2003 he received the National Award of Spain. He has appeared as a guest artist with The Royal Ballet, The Australian Ballet and at La Scala. For his solo, Corella will be dancing a piece created by Stanton Welch, whose signature work is Madame Butterfly.
JOHAN KOBBORG
Trained by the Royal Danish Ballet School, Johan Kobborg left the Royal
Danish Ballet (where he debuted in "Giselle") in 1999 to become a principal dancer for The Royal Ballet. In his career, Kobborg has created a number of roles, including Peter Schaufuss' "Hamlet" and roles in "The Crucible" and "This House Will Burn." His repertoire includes Crown Prince Rudolf in "Mayerling," Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet," Basilio in Rudolph Nureyev's "Don Quixote" and many more. He has appeared as a guest artist with several ballet companies in Europe, the United States and Japan, including La Scala. For his solo, Kobborg will be dancing a new piece by Tim Rushton.
ETHAN STIEFEL
Born in Pennslyvania and raised in Wisconsin, Ethan Stiefel joined the corps de ballet of New York City Ballet at age 16. By 1995, he was named a principal dancer. He stayed at the company Balanchine founded until 1997, when he joined American Ballet Theatre as a principal dancer. His repertoire includes Lensky in "Onegin," Cassio in "Othello," Franz in "Coppelia" and many more. He has had works created for him by such choreographers as William Forsythe, Kevin O'Day, David Allan and Robert La Fosse. In 2000, Stiefel starred in the film "Center Stage," finding a whole new audience. In 2004, he was named artistic director of Ballet Pacifica in Orange County. For his solo, Stiefel will be dancing a premiere work by Nils Christe.
Nikolay Tsiskaridze
A native of Tbilisi, Georgia in the former Soviet Union, Nikolay Tsiskaridze started dancing at age 11. After studying at the Moscow Academy of dance, he was invited in 1992 to join the Bolshoi Ballet. Since becoming a principal dancer, his repertoire has included Mercutio in Yuri Grigorovitch's "Romeo and Juliet," James in "La Sylphide," Taor in "The Pharoah's Daughter" and many more. He has won the Silver Medal at the Osaka Competition and the Gold Medal at the Moscow Competition, along with receiving such accolades as the Golden Mask, the Russian National Organization of Dance's Best Dancer award and le Benois de la Danse. For his solo, Tsiskaridze will be dancing a new piece choreographed by Roland Petit to music from Bizet's opera "Carmen."
KINGS OF THE DANCE
Orange County Performing Arts Center - Segerstrom Hall
Thursday-Saturday, February 16-18, 2006 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 19, 2006 at 2 p.m.
ACT I
Christopher Wheeldon: New work for four dancers *
George Balanchine, August Bournonville & Marius Petipa: "Variations for Three"
ACT II
Roland Petit: "Le Jeune Homme et la Mort" (Corella on Feb. 16; Kobborg on Feb. 17; Stiefel on Feb. 18; Tsiskaridze on Feb. 19)
ACT III
Stanton Welch: Untitled Solo
(Angel Corella) *
Tim Rushton: Untitled Solo
(Johan Kobborg) *
Nils Christe: Untitled Solo (Ethan Stiefel) *
Roland Petit: Solo to music from Bizet's opera "Carmen" (Nikolay Tsiskaridze) *
* Starred works are World Premieres.
Theater: Orange County Performing Arts Center - Segerstrom Hall
600 Town Center Drive,
Costa Mesa, CA
Tickets: $20, $35, $50, $60, $75
In Person -The Center Box Office
Online - www.ocpac.org
Phone - CenterTix (714) 556-2787
TTY number -(714) 556-2746
Groups - Group Services office at
(714) 755-0236
Artists and programs are subject to change. The Orange County Performing Arts Center is a private, non-profit organization."Orange County Performing Arts Center" is a California registered trademark.