Auditorium Theatre 2019-2020 American Ballet Theatre

March 10 - May 5, 2020 | AUDITORIUM THEATRE 2019-20 | 11 1974 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, a former dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, joins ABT as a Principal Dancer. 1975 – Alicia Alonso returns as a guest ballerina, performing Act II of Swan Lake to a standing ovation at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. 1976 – Twyla Tharp choreographs her first work for ABT, Push Comes to Shove. 1977 – The company becomes an official resident of the Metropolitan Opera House (part of Lincoln Center) in New York City. The company also gives the opening performance of Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee Season at the London Coliseum in the same year. 1980 – Baryshnikov is named Artistic Director of ABT, succeeding Lucia Chase and Oliver Smith. Under his leadership, numerous classical ballets are staged, restaged, and refurbished. Baryshnikov also adds a number of contemporary works to the company’s repertory by choreographers such as Paul Taylor, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, and Merce Cunningham. The same year, Natalia Makarova creates her production of La Bayadère for the company. ABT will be performing a section from that ballet, the "Kingdom of the Shades" scene, in Chicago in 2020. 1988 – Tharp is named Artistic Associate, bringing a more modern perspective to the company. In the Upper Room , often considered Tharp’s masterwork, premieres. 1990 – Oliver Smith returns to lead the company along with Jane Hermann. Together, they establish an agenda dedicated to maintaining the great traditions of the past while pursuing a vital and innovative future for the company. 1992 – Former ABT Principal Dancer Kevin McKenzie is named Artistic Director. 1997 – The company premieres its first-ever fully commissioned evening- length ballet, Othello: A Dance in Three Acts, choreographed by Lar Lubovitch and featuring ABT’s first African American Principal Dancer, Desmond Richardson. 2004 - The ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School is established in New York. At its inception, the ABT JKO School had only 10 students. Now, nearly 430 dancers ages 3–17 train at the school. 2006 – The United States Congress declares ABT “America’s National Ballet Company ® .” 2009 – Alexei Ratmansky joins the company as Artist in Residence. His choreographed ballets for the company include a new version of The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, and Whipped Cream . For their 80 th anniversary, Ratmansky will create his 17 th work for ABT, Of Love and Rage , based on an early Greek romance novel. 2015 – Misty Copeland is named ABT’s first female African American Principal Dancer. Stella Abrera becomes the company’s first Filipino American Principal Dancer. 2018 – ABT is named as a Visiting Resident Company of the Auditorium Theatre. 2019 – ABT performs Twyla Tharp's Deuce Coupe for the first time, and will bring that piece to the Auditorium in 2020 . 2020 – ABT turns 80 and celebrates in Chicago March 19 through 22! Mikhail Baryshnikov in Twyla Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove. MARTY SOHL Susan Ja¤e and Kevin McKenzie in Antony Tudor’s Jardin aux Lilas . MIRA DARREN THOMAS/QPAC Misty Copeland in Swan Lake . American Ballet Theatre performs at the Auditorium Theatre March 19-22, 2020.