The National Ballet of Canada's U.S. Debut of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

The National Ballet of Canada

Karen Kain, Artistic Director

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon

Music by Joby Talbot

With Live Orchestra

Five Performances only!

October 19-21, 2012

The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

June 29, 2012- The tenth anniversary season of Glorya Kaufman presents Dance at The Music Center continues with the U.S. debut of The National Ballet of Canada’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon with music by Joby Talbot, at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with live orchestra for five performances only October 19-21, 2012. Karen Kain is the Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada.

Created through a partnership between The National Ballet of Canada and The Royal Ballet (UK), the production had its world premiere in 2011 and features 70 dancers, with sets and costumes by Bob Crowley and projections by Jon Driscoll and Gemma Carrington.

When Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland first arrived on the stage in 2011, it was instantly acclaimed as a classic on both sides of the Atlantic. Joby Talbot’s score combines sweeping melodies, which gesture to ballet scores of the 19th century, with contemporary effects. Bob Crowley’s wildly imaginative sets and costumes draw on puppetry, projections and masks to bring Wonderland to life.

Alice encounters a cast of extraordinary characters down the rabbit hole: from the

highly-strung Queen of Hearts, who performs a hilarious rendition of the famous Rose Adagio from The Sleeping Beauty, to dancing playing cards, a sinuous caterpillar and a tap-dancing Mad Hatter. There is a love narrative for Alice and the Knave of Hearts, and they dance a tender pas de deux at the close of Act II. But the ballet does not avoid the darker undercurrents of Lewis Carroll’s story – a nightmarish kitchen, an eerily disembodied Cheshire Cat and an unhinged tea party are all created in vivid detail. As Christopher Wheeldon related to The Telegraph, his own first contact with Lewis Carroll’s book came via a taped reading of the book. “But the main thing for me is that it is so obviously theatrical. The characters are so physical on the page that they scream out for movement.”

The Globe and Mail says, “Christopher Wheeldon’s new ballet, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, is a monumental achievement. This production has to be the best dance adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s beloved children’s classic on the planet.”  The New York Times said that Alice is “A brilliantly theatrical superbly designed extravaganza of color, costume, madcap action and fluent dance”

About Christopher Wheeldon

Internationally acclaimed choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has received many awards for his work including the London Critics' Circle Award for Best New Ballet for Polyphonia, the American Choreography Award and the Laurence Olivier Award. Mr. Wheeldon studied at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1991. That same year, he won the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne. In 1993, he joined New York City Ballet. He began his choreographic career with New York City Ballet in 1997 when he created Slavonic Dances for the company's annual showcase.

In 2000, he retired from dancing to concentrate on choreography and served as New York City Ballet's first Artist-in-Residence, creating two ballets, Polyphonia and Variations Sérieuses. In 2001, Mr. Wheeldon was named New York City Ballet's first Resident Choreographer and from 2007 to 2010, was Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Morphoses / The Wheeldon Company. He has choreographed such works as Morphoses, After the Rain, An American in Paris and The Nightingale and the Rose.

Among the celebrated ballets Mr. Wheeldon has created for other companies are Continuum for San Francisco Ballet, Tryst and DGV (Danse à Grande Vitesse) for The Royal Ballet and a full-length Swan Lake for Pennsylvania Ballet. For Morphoses / The Wheeldon Company's inaugural season, Mr. Wheeldon choreographed two new works, Fools' Paradise and Prokofiev Pas de Deux.

About Joby Talbot

Joby Talbot’s compositional aesthetic threads through his classical and concert works, scores for film and television, and collaborations with major contemporary choreographers.

Talbot’s music has appealed to some of Europe’s leading dance makers, including Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet Wayne McGregor, with whom he collaborated on Entity for Wayne McGregor | Random Dance; Genus (co-written with LA musician Deru) for the Paris Opera Ballet; and Chroma for The Royal Ballet. This last work is choreographed to Talbot’s original compositions, alongside his arrangements of songs by The White Stripes, from the XL Recordings album Aluminium. Talbot has previously collaborated with Christopher Wheeldon and Morphoses on Fool’s Paradise, choreographed to his work The Dying Swan, and in 2011 on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a full-length narrative ballet of the classic story, for The Royal Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada.

For the concert platform, Talbot has composed widely for major orchestras, soloists and vocal groups. Works for large ensembles have included the trumpet concerto Desolation Wilderness for Alison Balsom and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Tide Harmonic, a collaboration with choreographer Carolyn Carlson and the Orchestre National de Lille, released on Signum Classics in 2011; and the 60-minute à cappella choral work Path of Miracles for Nigel Short’s Tenebrae, also on Signum. Talbot’s madrigal The Wishing Tree for The King’s Singers; Sneaker Wave for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; and an arrangement of Purcell's Chacony in G Minor for the BBC Symphony Orchestra were all commissioned by the BBC Proms.

In his work for film and television, Talbot graduated from scoring silent films The Lodger and The Dying Swan for the British Film Institute to writing the themes and scores for British comedy series The League of Gentlemen and Psychoville, as well as scoring feature films The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Son of Rambow, Penelope, Franklyn, Burke and Hare and Is Anybody There? Talbot both scored and developed song arrangements with the young musicians in the recently released British independent film Hunky Dory. He is currently scoring an upcoming release from Working Title.

In 2012 Talbot has premiered major new works with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Netherlands Dance Theatre, as well as seeing the return of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chroma, Fool's Paradise and Path of Miracles to houses internationally.

About The National Ballet of Canada

Established as a classical company by founder Celia Franca in 1951, it is the only Canadian ballet company to present a full range of traditional full-length classics. The company's repertoire includes works by the world’s most celebrated 20th and 21st century masters, Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Jirí Kylián, John Neumeier, Rudolf Nureyev, Glen Tetley, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor and Alexei Ratmansky. In addition to its classical repertoire, the company also embraces contemporary works and encourages the creation of new ballets and the development of Canadian choreographers.
 
Canada's premier dance company has performed for over 10 million people. The National Ballet performs annual Fall, Winter and Summer seasons plus The Nutcracker. The company has toured in Canada and the United States, and throughout the world including performances in Great Britain, Germany, The Netherlands, Israel, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy and Mexico. In the coming year The National Ballet of Canada will appear at the Los Angeles Music Center, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC and the prestigious Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, England.
 
The National Ballet of Canada is committed to outreach and education for families and youth who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the joys of ballet. The company has a wide range of age appropriate programs designed to engage with schools and kids in the Greater Toronto area and communities all over Ontario. A signature program for students is YOU dance. YOU dance stands for Youth, Outreach and Understanding and is designed to introduce students in grades four, five and six to the world of dance through FREE workshops and performances. Workshops are led by an Artist educator and present a learning experience for both students and classroom teachers.
 
The company employs 120 artists, dancers and musicians, as well as production and administrative staff. All of the costumes and sets are built in the company’s own Gretchen Ross Production Centre, making the National Ballet a pre-eminent builder of full productions for ballet in North America. These works are rented out to ballet companies around the world.

About Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center

Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center (KDMC) is one of the leading presenters of dance on the West Coast.  The celebrated series offers significant works by prestigious ballet and contemporary dance artists from around the world.  Entering its second decade, KDMC continues to be a powerful commissioning force through the support of new works and artists-in-residence projects by today’s most influential companies and choreographers.  Performances take place throughout The Music Center, from the historic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall, providing the ideal setting for distinct and inspiring dance experiences.

About The Music Center

A leader at the cultural heart of Los Angeles County, The Music Center brings to life one of the world’s premier arts destinations by creating opportunities for arts participation, enabling compelling programming and providing first-class venues and services. The Music Center is one of the largest and most highly regarded performing arts centers in the country, creating a cultural hub that is central to L.A.’s status as “the creative capital” of the world. Celebrated for its illustrious dance programming Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center and home to four world-class resident companies– LA Phil, Centre Theatre Group, LA Opera and Los Angeles Master Chorale – The Music Center is the place to experience the most innovative and critically-acclaimed performing arts in the nation. In its effort to extend the reach and accessibility of the performing arts, the Music Center is a national model for experiences in which people participate directly through its Active Arts^® at The Music Center. As well, The Music Center presents special productions, events and festivals for children and families, including World City at The Music Center. Each year, over one million audience members delight in the excitement of live performances on The Music Center’s stages and enjoy free community arts events all year long across its outdoor campus. The Music Center is also on the forefront of arts education in Los Angeles, providing arts resources to students and teachers in schools and community centers throughout the region. Approximately 500 full-time, seasonal and part-time staff members are employees of The Center and contribute to its operation and success. The Music Center was developed as an unprecedented public-private partnership with Los Angeles County. Through the support of the Board of Supervisors, the County of Los Angeles plays an invaluable role in the successful operation of The Music Center. This relationship has cemented the importance of the arts to the cultural fabric of Los Angeles

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 The National Ballet of Canada - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland