Australia's Expressions Dance Company - USA Tour 07'

Hong Kong Ballet announces John J. Ying as new Board Chairman

USA's Ballet Memphis - Joyce Debut

The Who's Tommy Ballet to have World Premiere at Dayton Ballet

South African International Ballet Competition for Cape Town, South Africa- January 14-19, 2008

USA's Columbia City Ballet - Dancing Under the Stars

Dance Video Search Engine "New Addition"

If you are a MySpace user then click here to visit our MySpace listing.

Expressions will soon start their 2007 U.S.A tour performing Virtually Richard3 in the nation’s capital Washington, before heading to Hawaii to perform the work in Hilo, Kamuela and Kahuli. Maggi Sietsma’s 20th Anniversary work Score! will also be performed in Miami, Florida during the tour. Following successful performances in Albuquerque 2005, and San Francisco 2006, this tour firmly stamps Expressions as a touring force in the U.S.A.

Dates and Venues are as follows:
Washington Performing Arts Society
Atlas Performing Arts Center
Friday 23 and Saturday 24 March, 8pm
Virtually Richard3
 

Miami Dade College (MDC)
Colony Theater
Cultura del Lobo Performance Series
Friday 30 and Saturday 31 March, 8pm
Score!

UH Hilo Performing Arts Centre, Hilo, Hawaii
Tuesday 3 April, 7:30pm
Virtually Richard3
 

Kahilu Theatre, Kamuela, Hawaii
Thursday 5 April, 7pm
Virtually Richard3
 

Hong Kong Ballet is pleased to announce that Mr. John J. Ying has succeeded Mrs. Cissy Pao Watari, BBS as Chairman of Board from 22 March 2007. Mr. John J. Ying has extensive experience in merchant banking, with business established mainly in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the United States. He is currently the Managing Director of Peak Capital and was the former Managing Director - Asia of The Carlyle Group and one of the founding partners of Carlyle Asia. Prior to joining Carlyle, he was a Director and head of Thailand Investment Banking for Merrill Lynch & Co..

Mr. Ying is also an active member of the community. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong International School, a member of the Graduate Executive Board of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Friends' Committee of the Asian Cultural Council.

Mr. Ying served as the Board member of the Company and the Co-chairman of the Hong Kong Ballet Annual Gala Organising Committee since 2003.

Mr Ying said, "I am honored to become Chairman of one of the flagship institutions of Hong Kong. The Company is at an extremely interesting point of its development - the cusp of being a leading cultural icon that fully reflects the diverse and cosmopolitan nature of Hong Kong. I am particularly looking forward to work with the Artistic Director, Mr. John Meehan, who brings to us a diverse viewpoint and a wealth of experience from the American Ballet Theatre in New York. The Company is visually attractive, technically strong and artistically cohesive, signs of an institution that is moving rapidly towards its goal of becoming one of the leading classical ballet companies in the world.

On behalf of the entire board, I also would like to express both my gratitude and respect for Mrs. Cissy Pao Watari who was my predecessor as Chairman. Under her leadership during the past 10 years, the Hong Kong Ballet has grown tremendously, and I hope that I shall be able to continue as successfully."

Mrs. Cissy Pao Watari, BBS, now Board Chairman of Hong Kong Arts Centre, will remain in the Board of the Hong Kong Ballet as Emeritus Chairman and will continue to assist in guiding the future development of the Company.

Mrs. Watari said, "It has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to witness the Hong Kong Ballet's rapid growth in the last decade. The Board is very proud for the Company, which has gained its international reputation and impressed audiences around the world with its distinctive identity, excellent dancers and superb productions.

Ballet Memphis will be making their Joyce Theatre debut this week in New York City. The dynamic Ballet Memphis will be performing two separate programs of original works that were created for them-five works never before seen in New York City.

Opening Tuesday, April 3rd at 7:30 pm
Program A: The Naughty Boy (Choreography: Trey McIntyre; Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), A Curtain of Green (Choreography: Julia Adam) Mercurial Balance (Choreography: Thaddeus Davis; Music: Acoustica (after Aphex Twin), Mista Ian and Yo Gotti, Spoken Word: Poetry by J’malo Torriel and Ed Torriel

Other program A performance dates and times: Thursday, April 5, 8pm; Saturday, April 7, 8pm; Sunday, April 8, 2pm

Program B – Wednesday, April 4th at 7:30 pm: The Awakening (Choreography: Julia Adam; Music: Frederic Chopin) In Dreams (Choreography: Trey McIntyre; Music: Roy Orbison) Mercurial Balance. Program B performances are: Friday, April 6, 8pm; Saturday, April 7, 2pm.

After a year and a half of planning, sketching and inspiration, Dayton Ballet and its pool of talented dancers, artistic, technical and production staff and award-winning costume designer, will premiere The Who's Tommy ballet, April 26-29, 2007, at the Victoria Theatre in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Intrigued by the spiritualism and self realization of the original Tommy soundtrack-- not the Hollywood film version of The Who's Tommy-- Dayton Ballet (OH) Director, Dermot Burke, decided it was time to create a ballet version of Tommy. Well aware of the demands of creating a brand new rock ballet, Burke commissioned world-renowned choreographer, Christopher Fleming of The Rock School (PA), to collaborate with him on the world premiere ballet production. Fleming has previously choreographed contemporary pieces for Dayton Ballet based on the music of Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Pink Floyd and Bob Marley, among others. “I am particularly excited about this production due to its exceptional artistic merit, long historical context and the success of Tommy in its many previous iterations, says Fleming. Both Fleming and Burke strove to create a ballet that remained faithful to the original Tommy story and soundtrack, composed by Pete Townshend, and recorded and performed by The Who in 1969. The storyline sticks to Mr. Townshend's innovative concept for the album before Hollywood altered the chronicle of deaf, dumb and blind Tommy Walker's life.

Fans will be pleased to know that Dayton Ballet has secured the rights to the original soundtrack of Tommy, as performed and recorded by The Who. Rather than try to reproduce the sound and magic of The Who and fail, we decided to preserve the soundtrack by using a recording of the Tommy album, confirms Burke. Unfortunately, The Who will be recuperating from their US tour and preparing for their European tour during our world premiere, so a live performance or appearance is not possible. Keep your eyes and ears open, however, for a slight chance to purchase some autographed memorabilia, signed by Mr. Townshend himself.

Dayton Ballet's production of The Who’s Tommy, will certainly cause the audience to experience Tommy in a different light. No matter to what generation you belong "Baby Boomers or Gen X The Who's Tommy is a world premiere performance you will not want to miss!

An added feature for the audience will be located on the balcony level of the Victoria Theatre. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has graciously loaned the Dayton Ballet artifacts from their Tommy collection. The exhibit will be on display during the run of the show, exclusively for ballet patrons. Exhibition pieces include promotional t-shirts, photos of Tommy, sheet music, LP's, and posters. Admission to view the exhibit is free, upon purchase of a ticket to the ballet. World premiere The Who's Tommy ballet shirts will also be available for purchase in both youth and adult sizes at the Ballet Boutique.

The Who's Tommy will make its world premiere April 26-29, 2007, at the Victoria Theatre. Producing sponsors are the Eastman Kodak Company and National City with additional presenting support by Fifth Third Bank, the Dayton Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council. The creation and production of The Who’s Tommy was also made possible by Dayton Ballet's Vision 20/20 fund, established through the help of many Dayton foundations, corporations and individuals. The fund enables Dayton Ballet to be one of the only ballet companies in the country to fully fund and create new full-length ballets.

The Artscape Opera House in Cape Town is to play host to a prestigious international ballet competition, to be known as the South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC). It will take place in January 2008 and is the initiative of Dirk Badenhorst, the former CEO of the South African Ballet Theatre in Johannesburg.

Providing an international showcase for local and foreign dancers, this competition, like its counterparts at Varna in Bulgaria, Jackson in the USA and the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, will typically enable directors of various dance companies in SA and abroad to seek out new and exciting talent. The alumni of the afore-mentioned international competitions include Rudolph Nureyev, Sylvie Guillem and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Mr. Badenhorst, the CEO of the SAIBC, has appointed the following members to his competition Board, all experts in their various fields. They are Boniswa Peziswa, the Executive Director of Network BBDO, Andrew Gilder, an environmental lawyer and former dancer, Ann Wixley, an Activation Director at Notabene and a former ballerina, Suzie Frankel, a ballet teacher and administrator, Rita van den Heever, the Head of the University of Johannesburg's Arts Centre and Academy and Allison Foat, a publicist and former ballerina. The panel of judges will consist of high profile dance personalities from South Africa and overseas and includes Denise Schultze, the former Co-Artistic Director of PACT Ballet, Ballet West in Salt Lake City, and a guest teacher with ballet companies and schools in SA and around the world.

This competition will be a boost to tourism and income in the Mother City, providing another showcase opportunity for South Africa and the nation’s culture, to foreigners and will enhance Cape Town's status as the cultural gateway to Africa. It will furthermore place the city and the country on the Arts & Culture map, specifically with regard to the fine art of classical and contemporary ballet and dance. The SAIBC will also serve as a platform to draw existing amateur and professional dance companies together to learn from each other through competitive engagement and enabling them to grow their audiences through event attendance. Additionally, the organisers of the SAIBC will arrange workshops by visiting and local professionals that will benefit young dancers from historically disadvantaged communities as they interact with contestants and visiting teachers. The SAIBC will specifically target the growing number of dance projects that are currently being run throughout the City and its surrounds.

The competition categories are divided into a Junior/Amateur Division (15-18 years) and a Senior/Professional Division (19- 28 years). The judging criteria for the two categories will differ and each will work on a point system per round. There will be cash prizes in all divisions, with the winner in the senior category receiving ZAR100, 000 and the winner in the junior section being awarded ZAR80,000. The Guernsey-based Michel Tesson Performing Arts Trust will be donating most of the prize money.

Cape Town Tourism has come onboard as official visitor services partner to the event and will collaborate with Cape Town Routes Unlimited to welcome delegates to the destination, offer pre and post tour options to showcase the destination along with its regions and help promote the event through its network of Visitor Centres, website and collateral. Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, General Manager of Cape Town Tourism, commented that events like these contribute significantly in establishing Cape Town as a world-recognized cultural mecca. “Already in 2002, Newsweek proclaimed Cape Town to be one of the new creative and cultural world meccas. This event will further stimulate the local development of talent and continue to add to our cultural appeal and offering, whilst showcasing our beautiful City,” she concluded.

Put on your dancin' shoes and come up to the rooftop of the Meridian Building with the Columbia City Ballet! The night will include a silent auction, music and dancing on the rooftop. All proceeds will benefit Columbia City Ballet.

DATE: Friday, May 11
TIME: 7:30 pm
LOCATION: Rooftop of the Meridian Building, 1320 Main Street, 17th floor
ATTIRE: Cocktail
TICKETS: $50 per person
 

Dancing Under the Stars Host Committee: Lisa Arnold, Suzanne Benson, Hunter Boyle, Marvin Chernoff, Meb Eady, Coralee Harris, Cyndi Johnson, Nancy Kress, Janet Mason, Sally McKay, Swing Meyer, Aneita Moses, Zoe Sanders Nettles, William Portnoy, Will Shrader, William Starrett, Zeke Stokes, Tre Tailor