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Since its
founding in 1970, North Carolina Dance Theatre has become one of the premier
mid-sized companies in the nation. Led for the last 11 years by President and
Artistic Director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Associate Artistic Director Patricia
McBride, Dance Theatre has built a diverse and exciting repertoire, toured
extensively across the United States and Europe, and has attracted international
dancers and choreographers.
 Robert
Lindgren, former New York City Ballet dancer, founded North Carolina Dance
Theatre (Dance Theatre) in Winston-Salem, NC, in 1970. Salvatore Aiello, an
alumnus of the Joffrey, Harkness, Royal Winnipeg and Hamburg ballets, served the
company for more than a decade, became artistic director in 1985, and relocated
the company to Charlotte, NC, in 1990. Aiello’s choreography credits total
36 ballets, including his critically acclaimed versions of The
Rite of Spring, The Nutcracker, Satto, Afternoon of a Faun
and Coppélia. Support and the Company’s reputation quickly grew in
its early years, and Dance Theatre was the number one touring repertory company
in the nation in the early 80s.
Today, North
Carolina Dance Theatre continues to thrill audiences at home and on national
tours. The New York Times has called the company “unstinting in range
and thunder…a pleasure to behold.” Acclaimed New York Post dance critic
Clive Barnes has called Dance Theatre “..one of the liveliest and most brilliant
troupes in North America.”
The top leadership of Dance Theatre have garnered international
accolades. Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux has
performed with the Paris Opera Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov Ballet and New York
City Ballet; has works commissioned by the New York City Ballet, Metropolitan
Opera Ballet Company, Pennsylvania Ballet and Munich Opera, among others.
Bonnefoux has served as choreographer and ballet master of the Pittsburgh Ballet
and as chairman and artistic director of the Ballet Department at Indiana
University.
Associate Artistic Director
Patricia McBride
is celebrated as the outstanding American ballerina of our day and a star of
international stature. Her remarkable virtuosity and artistic range have been
demonstrated in more than 100 ballets with the New York City Ballet. She has
worked with many of ballet’s “greats” including George Balanchine, Jerome
Robbins, Andre Eglevsky, Edward Villella, Helgi Tomasson, Rudolph Nureyev,
Mikhail Baryshnikov and Peter Martins.
The artists of North Carolina Dance Theatre are known for their
high energy, precision and speed, as well as their ability to perform a
versatile repertoire ranging from full-length classical ballets to innovative
contemporary works. Dance Theatre’s national tours have included appearances in
major festivals including the Spoleto Festival, the American Dance Festival and
Dance Aspen. The company has also made several New York appearances and
completed two European Tours. North Carolina Dance Theatre's breathtaking
beauty, boundless energy, and amazing athleticism have dazzled audiences and
critics the world over.
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Touring Program 2008-2009
North
Carolina Dance Theatre
Blues & Jeans
Artistic Director
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux
Associate Artistic Director
Patricia McBride
Shindig
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux
performed
live with
the Greasy
Beans
New City South
Mark
Diamond
you/me/we
Septime
Webre
Moody Booty
Blues
Dwight
Rhoden
In
Blues & Jeans,
the internationally lauded
North Carolina Dance Theatre celebrates the music and traditions of the South.
From Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s
Shindig,
a rollicking ballet set to
traditional bluegrass music performed live by the Greasy Beans, to Dwight
Rhoden’s
Moody Booty Blues,
set to the electric blues music from such artists as Stevie Ray
Vaughan and Muddy Waters, audiences will be taken on a journey through the
ever-changing region.
Blues & Jeans
also features Mark Diamond’s
New City South,
set to the music of the Grammy®-award-winning group Béla Fleck and the
Flecktones. This work is inspired by youthful professionals and their exciting
lives, taking place in an ever-growing southern city. Septime Webre’s
you/me/we
brings to the stage
an emotionally charged and romantic work to the music of Nina Simone, the
legendary jazz singer from North Carolina.
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Touring Program 2007-2008
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Artistic
Director
Patricia McBride, Associate Artistic Director
"Lickety-split technique…remarkable
precision"
The New York Times
American
Masterpieces
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Night Creature Alvin Ailey
-
Who Cares?
George Balanchine
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Nine Sinatra Songs
Twyla Tharp
In
American Masterpieces,
the internationally lauded North Carolina Dance Theatre performs some of the
best American choreography of the century. Included in the program are
masterpieces by Alvin Ailey,
George Balanchine and Twyla Tharp.
Night Creature
One of Alvin Ailey’s classic
works, Night Creature features sensual movements that evoke nocturnal
characters. The dancers perform striking, jazzy movements that climax in a
stunning finale. Night Creature is propelled by the exuberance of Duke
Ellington’s symphonic score. North Carolina Dance Theatre has been chosen as
the first and only American company to perform Night Creature other than
the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Who Cares?
When George Balanchine
created Who Cares? on the New York City Ballet in 1969, front and center
was North Carolina Dance Theatre’s own Associate Artistic Director Patricia
McBride, a former New York City Ballet principal dancer and international star
of American ballet. Who Cares? has grown into a wildly popular Balanchine
ballet, which is performed to over a dozen George Gershwin songs,
including "I Got Rhythm," "The Man I Love," "Embraceable You" and "My One and
Only." The songs are not meant to evoke any particular era, but to portray an
energy that is both broadly American and characteristic of Manhattan.
“Fascinating Rhythm” and the pas de deux “The Man I Love” were both
choreographed on Patricia McBride. She and her husband, New York City Ballet
former principal dancer and current North Carolina Dance Theatre Artistic
Director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, performed “The Man I Love” with New York City
Ballet many times throughout the country.
Nine Sinatra Songs
Twyla
Tharp’s Tony-Award-winning talents are showcased in her classic Nine Sinatra
Songs. This work presents a view of 1950s social dancing through the
nostalgic and yet sharpened eyes of the 1980s. The timeless tunes of Ol’ Blue
Eyes, paired with costumes designed by Oscar de la Renta, flash with the glamour
of past and present ages. Each dancer in the work has a distinct personality,
which fits well with the trademark diversity of North Carolina Dance Theatre’s
dancers. Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux met Twyla Tharp
in the 1980s while they were both choreographing for Olympic Champion ice-skater
John Curry.
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Main
Stage Educational Performance
Enchanting
and educational mini concerts are offered to students from area schools.
Students will learn as they enjoy the experience of a performance of selected
excerpts from NCDT’s tour repertoire. The performance, which is fully produced
with wonderful lighting and costumes, will engage students through active
observation and lively interaction with professional artists. NCDT’s strong
commitment to education also provides a complimentary Teacher’s Guide to
enhance students’ comprehension. This easy to use guide is filled with
background information, sample lesson plans and classroom activities guaranteed
to engage students in this unique theatrical experience.
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No.
of Participants: |
N/A
(audience size depends on theatre size capacity)
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Approximate
Length: |
60
minutes
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Appropriate
Level: |
Grades
4 – 12
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Tech
Requirements:
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Please
refer to performance contract.
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Lecture-Demonstration
NCDT
comes to your school or venue with a narrated mini-performance highlighting
excerpts from its tour repertoire. These excerpts focus on an introduction to
dance, its significant history, and how dances are created. It culminates with
an informal question and answer component. Performances include opportunities
for active movement participation and interaction with professional artists from
NCDT. A complimentary Teacher’s Guide can be included to incorporate the art
of dance with curriculum-based material.
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No.
of Participants: |
300
students, 6-8 on-stage participants
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Approximate
Length: |
60
minutes (including Q&A)
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Appropriate
Level: |
Grades
4 – 12
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Tech
Requirements:
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wooden
floor, not directly laid over concrete, sound system appropriate for size
of auditorium
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Masterclass
Intermediate
to advanced ballet students have the opportunity to experience the skilled and
inspiring teaching of NCDT’s professional artistic staff. An occasion not to
be missed for those aspiring students and dance lovers!
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No.
of Participants: |
minimum
12 / maximum 30
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Approximate
Length: |
90
minutes
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Appropriate
Level: |
13
and up (with intermediate ballet training)
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Tech Requirements:
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A sprung floor, 20x30,
is preferable, but can be executed on any wooden floor
that is not laid directly over concrete, piano and player or sound system
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Classroom
Visit
NCDT company dancers or
staff can visit individual classrooms to provide an entertaining,
curriculum-based movement activity and an in-depth discussion about life as a
professional dancer. Classroom visits are available with lecture-demonstration
activities.
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No.
of Participants: |
25
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Approximate
Length: |
45
minutes
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Appropriate
Level: |
all
ages
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Tech
Requirements:
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none
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Please
contact Baylin Artists for technical information.
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