Texas Ballet Theater

TEXAS BALLET THEATER'S 2007-08 SEASON FILLED WITH DYNAMIC DANCE, LEGENDARY GUEST STARS AND BALLET WITH A BITE

Riveting new season features Ben Stevenson's Dracula, Dame Cleo Laine and world premiere choreography from Ben Stevenson, Tim O'Keefe and Peter Zweifel.

Ben Stevenson, artistic director of Texas Ballet Theater, today announced a spellbinding 2007-08 Season filled with productions of exquisite mixed-repertory and captivating full-length story ballets. Stevenson continues to raise the barre and enhance the profile of Texas Ballet Theater; from an eccentric toymaker - to Count Dracula - to a rousing program of jazz featuring vocalist Dame Cleo Laine, audiences will devour Texas Ballet Theater's most engaging and dramatic season ever! The tremendously popular Family Series returns to Fort Worth and is new to the Dallas season. Season subscriptions are priced $30 - $363 and may be purchased by calling toll-free 1-877-828-9200.

Artist: Jayme Autrey Griffith Photo: Ellen Appel

COPPÉLIA

September 21, 22, 23, 2007
Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth
    Friday, September 21 at 8 p.m.
    Saturday, September 22 at 2 p.m.
    Saturday, September 22 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, September 23 at 2 p.m.

Music: Léo Delibes
Choreography: Ben Stevenson, O.B.E.
Set and Costume Design: Desmond Heeley
Conductor: With Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Jack Buckhannan

Be thrilled…by the story of a doll that comes to life - or does she? Enter the engaging world of Coppélia, ballet's timeless tale of true love tested by an eccentric toymaker.

Tony-Award winning designer Desmond Heeley's sumptuous sets and opulent costumes welcome audiences into a sunny storybook village where quaint customs and spirited dancing paint a delightful scene. But things are not always what they seem, especially when quarreling lovers encounter the clever creations - and evil intentions - of the mysterious Dr. Coppelius.

Texas Ballet Theater presents Ben Stevenson's Coppélia, set to the original score by Léo Delibes performed by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jack Buckhannan.

MAJESTIC CELEBRATION

Oct 5, 6, 7, 2007
The Majestic Theatre, Dallas
    Friday, October 5 at 7 p.m.
    Saturday, October 6 at 2 p.m.
    Saturday, October 6 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, October 7 at 2 p.m.

Choreography: Marius Petipa, Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., and Peter Zweifel
Music: Léon Minkus and Various Artists

Be thrilled…by a program of dynamic dance when Texas Ballet Theater presents a MAJESTIC CELEBRATION at the historic Majestic Theatre in Dallas. The program features Don Quixote Pas de Deux, two world premiere Pas de Deux by Artistic Director Ben Stevenson and a world premiere piece by award-winning choreographer and Company member Peter Zweifel. A MAJESTIC CELEBRATION will dazzle audiences with virtuoso performances by the immensely talented artists of Texas Ballet Theater.

THE NUTCRACKER

November 30 - December 16, 2007
Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth
    Friday, November 30 at 8 p.m.
    Saturday, December 1 at 2 p.m.
    Saturday, December 1 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, December 2 at 2 p.m.
    Thursday, December 6 at 7 p.m.
    Friday, December 7 at 8 p.m.
    Saturday, December 8 at 2 p.m.
    Saturday, December 8 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, December 9 at 2 p.m.
    Sunday, December 9 at 7 p.m.
    Thursday, December 13 at 7 p.m.
    Friday, December 14 at 8 p.m.
    Saturday, December 15 at 2 p.m.
    Saturday, December 15 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, December 16 at 2 p.m.
    Sunday, December 16 at 7 p.m.
    December 20 - 24, 2007

Music Hall at Fair Park, Dallas
    Thursday, December 20 at 8 p.m.
    Friday, December 21 at 2 p.m.
    Friday, December 21 at 8 p.m.
    Saturday, December 22 at 2 p.m.
    Saturday, December 22 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, December 23 at 2 p.m.
    Sunday, December 23 at 7 p.m.
    Monday, December 24 at 1 p.m.

Choreography: Ben Stevenson, O.B.E.
Music: Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Set and Costume Design: Campbell Baird
Lighting Design: Christina R. Giannelli
With The Dallas Opera Orchestra and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Jack Buckhannan, Conductor

Be thrilled…by the signature touches that have made Ben Stevenson's lavish setting of The Nutcracker a family favorite. Children of all ages will delight in a Christmas tree that grows forty feet while Clara accompanies her new toy nutcracker into the "Land of Snow". Be enchanted as snow falls on the audience and dancers, and become a part of Clara's journey through the "Kingdom of Sweets".

Designer Campbell Baird's sets and costumes take the story to 19th century Germany, where young Clara receives a magical nutcracker doll for Christmas from the mysterious Dr. Drosselmeyer. In Clara's Christmas Eve dream, her doll transports her to a world of battling mice, dancing snowflakes, waltzing flowers and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

No holiday season is complete without this charming tradition that inspires the memories of a lifetime.

Artist: Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth Photo Courtesy of Cleo Laine and John Dankworth

JAZZ ROYALTY

Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth with Artists of Texas Ballet Theater

WORLD PREMIERE February 8, 9, 10, 2008
The Majestic Theatre, Dallas
    Friday, February 8 at 8 p.m.
    Saturday, February 9 at 2 p.m.
    Saturday, February 9 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, February 10 at 2 p.m.

FORT WORTH PREMIERE
February 15, 16, 17, 2008
Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth
    Friday, February 15 at 8 p.m.
    Saturday, February 16 at 2 p.m.
    Saturday, February 16 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, February 17 at 2 p.m.

Choreography: Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., and Tim O'Keefe
Music: John Dankworth and Various Artists

Be thrilled…in the presence of JAZZ ROYALTY, when Texas Ballet theater presents a world premiere production with vocalist Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth. The pair brings their celebrated sound to a unique program of jazz and ballet to both The Majestic Theatre and Bass Performance Hall.

Referred to as one of the best singers in the world, Cleo Laine makes every song she sings her own. Witness a program of innovative dance performed to the incomparable artistry of Cleo Laine and John Dankworth.

Artists: Julie Gumbinner, Lucas Priolo Photo: Ellen Appel

DRACULA

March 28, 29, 30, 2008
Music Hall at Fair Park, Dallas
    Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m.
    Saturday, March 29 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, March 30 at 2 p.m.

April 18, 19, 20, 2008
Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth
    Friday, April 18 at 8 p.m.
    Saturday, April 19 at 2 p.m.
    Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m.
    Sunday, April 20 at 2 p.m.

Music: Franz Liszt, Arranged by John Lanchbery
Choreography: Ben Stevenson, O.B.E.
Scenic Design: Thomas Boyd
Costume Design: Judanna Lynn
Lighting Design: Timothy Hunter
With Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Jack Buckhannan, Conductor

Be thrilled…and be chilled when Texas Ballet Theater performs Ben Stevenson's Dracula. It's a ballet to die for!

Set to the spellbinding music of Franz Liszt, the tale unfolds in the Count's castle in Romania, where ghostly lighting draws the audience into the chilling castle crypt. The atmosphere breathes with the spirit of evil as Dracula seals his latest marriage with a bite.

Festivities at the picturesque village don't escape the cloud cast by the count on the hunt. Trapping another victim in his vast bat-shaped cloak, he whisks her away in a frenzied coach that careens toward the castle gate. But this time, the count mixes with the wrong maiden.

He's hypnotic. He's confident. He's calculating. With sets by designer Thomas Boyd, gothic costumes by New York designer Judanna Lynn and lighting by Tim Hunter, Texas Ballet Theater takes us deep into what The New York Times calls "a Dracula beyond Bram Stoker's darkest dreams!"

SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Season ticket packages available
Call toll-free 1-877-828-9200
$30 - $363
Season subscription packages include performances in both Dallas and Fort Worth, with a series at Bass Performance Hall and a series of performances at The Majestic Theatre and Music Hall at Fair Park. The Family Series of Saturday matinees returns to Fort Worth and is new to Dallas for the 2007-08 Season.

Single tickets
On sale August 13, 2007
$12 - $74

TEXAS BALLET THEATER ARTISTIC STAFF
Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., Artistic Director
Tim O'Keefe, Associate Artistic Director
Li Anlin, Assistant Artistic Director
Anna Donovan, Principal Ballet Master
Jack Buckhannan, Music Director and Conductor

ABOUT TEXAS BALLET THEATER
Founded in 1961, Texas Ballet Theater is the premier resident professional Ballet Company of North Texas. Under the direction of artistic director Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., the ballet brings unprecedented talent, beauty and artistic expression to the stages of Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall, Dallas' Music Hall at Fair Park and the historic Majestic Theatre in downtown Dallas. Texas Ballet Theater will become the resident ballet company for the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts when it opens in 2009. Season sponsors include Star-Telegram, American Airlines, Steinway Hall of Fort Worth, KTVT Channel 11, The Dallas Morning News, Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, TACA and Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. For more information, go to www.texasballettheater.org.

For more information, go to www.texasballettheater.org or call:
Jennifer L. Engstrand
Marketing & Public Relations - TexasBalletTheater
6845 Green Oaks Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76116
817-763-0207, ext. 111; 817-763-0624 fax
7502 Greenville Avenue, Suite 500, Dallas, Texas 75231
214-369-5200, ext. 111; 214-369-6184 fax
Email: jlynn@texasballettheater.org