Ballet NY Presents 2011 Season at the Ailey Citigroup Theater

Ballet NY presents its 2011 Season, including the Company Premiere of a duet from Agnes De Mille's The Other and the World Premiere of Artistic Director Medhi Bahiri's In Twilight, from November 18-20, 2011 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th Street, NYC (at Ninth Avenue). Performances: Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $26 ($15 for students and seniors) and are available at www.smarttix.com or by phone at 212-868-4444.

The Company Premiere of a duet from Agnes De Mille's The Other, set to music by Franz Schubert, was originally created for American Ballet Theater in 1992. The ballet is about the play of oppositional forces--life and death, light and shadow--which are the mysteries of experience. "The Maiden" and "The Lover" are allegorical figures representing vitality, love and youth. The World Premiere of In Twilight is a duet choreographed by Mr. Bahiri and set to the music of the final song in Richard Strauss' "Four Last Songs." Also included on the program are two ballets created in 2010 by Mr. Bahiri. Concerto, for three couples and set to music by J.S. Bach, is a contemporary work that merges the classical and the quirky. Edge, set to music by Enigma, is a fun, entertaining ballet with music that leads to a marriage of different movements and captures the audience with its rhythm.

Dancers: Josh Christopher, Jace Coronado, Madeline Deavenport, Katie Gibson, Erin Ginn, Jennifer Goodman, Virginia Horne, Luke Manley, John-Mark Owen, Brent Whitney.

Founded in 1997 by former New York City Ballet Principal Ballerina Judith Fugate and International Guest Artist Medhi Bahiri, Ballet NY is a company of accomplished principal and soloist dancers, whose mission is to offer emerging choreographers the opportunity to create new works on those dancers. The Company is committed to keeping ticket prices affordable in an effort to attract, cultivate and educate new audiences for dance. The Company has performed in New York City at The Joyce Theater, Symphony Space, the Ailey Citigroup Theater, and around the country. For more information, visit www.balletny.org.

Medhi Bahiri (Co-Artistic Director, Ballet NY) brings a wide and diverse background in dance to his position. He was Principal Dancer with Ballet West and Boston Ballet, and a member of Maurice Bejart's Twentieth Century Ballet. As Principal Guest Artist, he has appeared with Ballet National de Mexico, Ballet de Santiago, Chile, Universal Ballet of Korea, Ballet du Louvre, Tulsa Ballet, and Ballet Philippines. Touring in the United States and Europe, his partners have included: Cynthia Gregory, Ann Marie DeAngelo, Valentina Kozlova, Cheryl Yeager, Evelyn Cisneros, Marie-Christine Mouis, Christine Spizzo, Christina Fagundes and Laura Young, among others. Mr. Bahiri won the First Prize of the Prix de Lausanne dance competition, and was recognized for his outstanding artistic achievement and original style at the International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. As a noncompetitor, he was distinguished as Best Partner at the Jackson and Tokyo ballet competitions.

Judith Fugate (Co-Artistic Director, Ballet NY), former Principal Ballerina with the New York City Ballet, danced roles in virtually every ballet in the NYCB repertoire, counting among her partners Peter Martins, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Helgi Tomasson. During her career she toured extensively with groups led by renowned artists such as Mr. Baryshnikov, Cynthia Gregory and MR. Martins. Miss Fugate appeared on "Live from Lincoln Center" with Ray Charles in Peter Martins' A Fool for You. In the Metropolitan Opera's production of La Traviata, conducted by Placido Domingo, she was partnered by Fernando Bujones and Peter Boal. She left the company in 1997 to pursue a career as freeLance Guest Artist and Co-Artistic Director of Ballet NY. Miss Fugate works as repetiteur for the George Balanchine Trust and the Jerome Robbins Rights Trust, staging these renowned choreographers' works worldwide.

Sponsors and Underwriters for Ballet NY's 2011 Season include:
Hospital for Special Surgery/Louis Shapiro, CEO
The Gerald and Daphna Cramer Family Foundation, Inc.