Los Angeles Ballet Celebrates Charismatic Choreographers In Dynamic Summer Repertoire With Balanchine, Bournonville, Backhaus And Lubovitch May 3, 2008

Los Angeles Ballet [LAB] Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary announced that the Company will celebrate charismatic choreographers of various styles of dance during its dynamic summer repertoire, including the legendary George Balanchine, Danish romanticist August Bournonville, distinguished Southern California artist Jennifer Backhaus and American visionary Lar Lubovitch. Tickets go on sale today for five performances taking place April 25-May 24 at venues across Los Angeles--including for the first time Irvine Barclay Theatre in Orange County.

Los Angeles Ballet will premiere The Evangelist, a spiritual duet choreographed by Lar Lubovitch with music by Charles Ives. Also being performed is Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, a bravura piece for five couples danced to an exhilarating score by Tchaikovsky and a World Premiere by Lester Horton Award winner Jennifer Backhaus of Backhaus Dance. Plus, back by popular demand, Bournonville's Napoli/ Pas de Six and Tarantella. The Irvine Barclay Theatre performance (5/17) will also include Balanchine’s Who Cares?, featuring a full corps de ballet, scored to traditional American music by George Gershwin, adapted and orchestrated by Hershey/Kay.

Additionally, Orlando Ballet Principal Dancer Eddy Tovar joins LAB with leading roles in both Allegro Brillante and Napoli Pas de Six and Tarantella in all the venues except Irvine Barclay (please see full performance schedule below).
This summer repertoire marks a particularly special occasion for LAB with the debut of The Evangelist, a piece inspired by the charismatic Los Angeles evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson who rose to notoriety in 1920s. The piece was originally choreographed by Lar Lubovitch for LAB artistic directors Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen while they were principal dancers with Pacific Northwest Ballet. Now Christensen and Neary are staging the piece themselves for LAB. The dramatic spiritual piece initially premiered as part of a larger piece called American Gesture at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1992, and was last performed in Seattle, Wash. that same year.
For more information, visit www.losangelesballet.org or call 310.998.7782.

**THE SUMMER 2008
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE**

The Alex Theatre, Glendale
216 North Brand Boulevard
Glendale, 91203
May 3, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Freud Playhouse, UCLA
405 Hilgard Avenue
Westwood, 90024
April 25, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
April 26, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center
1935 Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Redondo Beach, 90278
May 24, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Irvine Barclay Theatre
4199 Campus Dr # 680
Irvine, CA 92612
May 17, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.
** For this engagement only, Balanchine's Who Cares?, with a classical American score by Gershwin/Kay will replace Bournonville’s Napoli Pas de Six and Tarantella

Official Website: http://www.losangelesballet.org