Boston Ballet’s 50th Anniversary season kicks off in London

Boston Ballet has announced its 50th anniversary season, which will start with their tour to London in July at the London Coliseum. Programming for 2013/2014 includes La Bayadère and Cinderella, two cutting-edge repertory programmes with American and world premières  and Balanchine's masterpiece, Jewels. The season will close with a tour to Washington's Kennedy Center, and end with performances at the Koch Theater in New York City's Lincoln Center.

Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen said,

We have exhilarating momentum going into our 50th year. The 2013-2014 season is a pivotal celebration of the Company's distinguished past, extraordinary present, and exciting future. This milestone year is an opportunity to celebrate today's Boston Ballet and give thanks to all the people who have helped us get here.

London has had to wait 30 years for a return visit by the company. The ballets it has chosen to present reflect a century of ground-breaking choreography, from Vaslav Nijinsky to George Balanchine, and also by Boston Ballet Resident Choreographer, Jorma Elo. For six performances from 3 July 2013, Boston Ballet will present two programmes. The first programme highlights the company's diverse range and command of Balanchine choreography. Featuring Vaslav Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun, George Balanchine's Serenade and Symphony in Three Movements, and resident choreographer Jorma Elo's Plan to B.

The second programme the company brings to London features the contemporary dynamic and versatility of the company, with William Forsythe's The Second Detail, Christopher Wheeldon's Polyphonia, and Jiří Kylián's Bella Figura; in fact, Boston Ballet is the first American Company to perform Bella Figura.

Happy Anniversary!

Photo: Boston Ballet in Polyphonia by Gene Schiavone

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.