Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School Showcases Rising Talent

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CONTACT:  Meghan McNamara
412-454-9117                                                                                                                    mmcnamara@pittsburghballet.org    
           

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School Showcases Rising Dance Talent in Spring Performance 2013 & Pre-Professional Showcase 2013

PITTSBURGH, PA (April 2013) – As the capstone of the 2012-2013 school year, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School will spotlight the talent and diversity of nearly 200 students in the 2013 Spring Performance and Pre-Professional Showcases onstage this May in the Cultural District.

Spring Performance 2013 – August Wilson Center
Friday, May 10, 2013 and Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 7 p.m.

Under the direction of PBT Artistic Director Terrence S. Orr and School Directors Marjorie Grundvig and Dennis Marshall, nearly 200 students from the school’s Student and Pre-Professional divisions will perform a range of classical and contemporary works, including choreography by James Washington of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble.

The program will include two works staged by PBT Artistic Director Terrence S. Orr – Graduation Ball, choreographed by David Lichine, as well as Swan Lake Act II Divertissements in anticipation of PBT’s upcoming full-length production of Swan Lake in the 2013-2014 Season. Graduation Ball is a one-act ballet full of festivities, flirtations and exuberant divertissements that take place when a girl’s boarding school and a nearby military academy come together to celebrate their Graduation Ball. In a cameo appearance as the headmistress, PBT company soloist Robert Moore will reprise the en travesti talents he recently performed as a Stepsister in PBT’s 2012-2013 Season finale Cinderella. PBT School Faculty member and former San Francisco Ballet principal Andre Reyes also will join the students onstage to perform the character role of the General.

In an artistic offshoot of PBT’s partnership with the August Wilson Center, James Washington of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble choreographed Beauty, The Lack Of on a group of PBT graduate students in December 2012. Set to music by Olafur Arnalds, the contemporary ballet work is about discovering the joy in life. Pre-Professional students also will perform the elegant classical quartet Quattro a Verdi, choreographed by Michael Smuin and staged by PBT School’s Andre Reyes. Finally, the choreography of PBT School Principal Anastasia Wovchko explores the artistic journey of 120 students in Level I-B through VI in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Pre-Professional Showcase 2013 – Point Park University, George Rowland White Performance Studio
Friday, May 17, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, May 18, at 1 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Sunday, May 19, at 1 p.m.

PBT School’s Pre-Professional Showcase features the high school and graduate students, ages 14 to 22, who are training to be the next generation of professional ballet dancers. In addition to Swan Lake Act II Divertissements,Beauty, the Lack of; Graduation Ball and Quattro a Verdi, the program will include an all-male work created by PBT School’s newest faculty member, Andre Reyes, to spotlight the talents of the young men of the Pre-Professional program. Spanning a range of age groups and training levels, PBT School dancers include 15 international students representing Japan, Canada, Guam and Japan, as well as incoming 2013-2014 PBT company apprentice Diana Yohe.

Tickets          
Tickets for Spring Performance 2013 range in price from $16.75-28.75, and can be purchased online at www.pbt.orgor by calling 412-456-6666. Tickets for the 2013 Pre-Professional Showcase are available for $20 online atwww.pbt.org or by calling 412-281-0360.

About Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School is the official training institution of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and has an enrollment of over 900 students, including the Children’s, Student, Pre-Professional and Open Divisions. The Children’s Division gives young students an introduction to ballet and prepares them for advancement to the Student Division. Dancers in the Student Division work to refine their technique and dancers in the Pre-Professional Program prepare for professional careers in classical ballet. Many students perform in an annual School Spring Performance, and some students are chosen by Artistic Director Terrence S. Orr to perform with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre at the Benedum Center. Each year, PBT School students can audition for The Nutcracker, and in 2012 more than 150 were cast in a variety of roles.

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