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american ballet theatreOne of the foremost international dance companies American Ballet Theatre - the company of Baryshnikov, Nureyev, and Gelsey Kirkland - has long been one of America's "big three" ballet companies, a top tier shared with Joffrey Ballet and New York City Ballet. Now, under the direction of Kevin McKenzie, the ABT is considered by many to be in the midst of a new golden age, a revival that boasts a roster of stars unmatched by any other company, anywhere in the world. American Ballet Theatre was founded in 1940 as the Ballet Theatre under the direction of dancers Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. The company originally incorporated dancers from the Mordkin Ballet, which was founded in 1937 by Russian dancer and choreographer Mikhail Mordkin, who also served as its director. The company became American Ballet Theatre in 1956.
George Balanchine, Adolph Bolm, Mikhail Fokine, Léonide Massine, and Bronislava Nijinska staged works for the company, as did the British choreographer Antony Tudor, who was introduced to the American public with such works as Pillar of Fire (1942) and Romeo and Juliet (1943). Agnes de Mille staged nearly all of her dance works for the company, including Fall River Legend (1948) and The Harvest According (1952). Jerome Robbins's Fancy Free (1944) and Michael Kidd's On Stage (1945) were created for the company, as were Alvin Ailey's The River (1970) and Twyla Tharp's Push Comes to Shove (1976). Dancers who gained fame or reached their peak with American Ballet Theatre include Alicia Alonso, Alicia Markova, Erik Bruhn, Nora Kaye, Alessandra Ferri and Natalia Makarova. Mikhail Baryshnikov was artistic director of the company from 1980 to 1989 and was followed in that position by Jane Hermann (1989–92) and Kevin McKenzie (1992–). Main picture: Natalia Makarova |
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Since
its inception, ABT aimed to develop a repertoire of the best ballets
from the past in addition to new works by talented guest choreographers,
many concerned with specifically American themes. ABT is based at the
Metropolitan Opera House in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
in New York City. Most of the company's seasons have been presented
in New York, but it has also toured throughout the United States, Europe,
and the Middle East. In 1960 it was the first American ballet company
to dance in the Soviet Union.
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