We, the Dancers of Texas Ballet Theater, have arranged an exciting evening of dance for our "Get Behind Your Ballet" campaign. Featured works in this benefit performance have been generously donated by:

Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. Artistic Director, Texas Ballet Theater
Tim O'Keefe Associate Artistic Director, Texas Ballet Theater
Dominic Walsh Artistic Director, Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre

Join us on November 13, 2008 and "Get Behind Your Ballet!"

$35 Show Only, $75 VIP***

(***VIP includes back-stage tour, select seating, and champagne reception)

For tickets please call 877-828-9200 or visit our WEBSITE.

Dear Friends of Texas Ballet Theater,

We are writing to let you know that, for the first time in our history, the dancers of Texas Ballet Theater are reaching out to all the great people in our lives to raise money for the company. We're really excited about this. We need to raise $300,000 by September 15th and we're determined to raise every penny of it!

Artistically, Texas Ballet Theater is doing better than ever: We've been getting rave reviews. Our company has been hailed as "...impressive in every respect..." (Marilyn Bailey, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2/18/06) and "...near to perfection..." (Margaret Putnam, The Dallas Morning News, 4/2/07). In addition, Ben Stevenson's Mozart's Requiem was rated the "top dance performance of 2007" by The Dallas Morning News. The readers of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram voted Texas Ballet Theater the best dance company in 2007-2008. We also have had a 54% increase in ticket sales in the past three seasons.

But these economic times are hitting the arts hard. If we don't take action, our future could be in jeopardy. We need a stronger financial base to survive and flourish.

We are asking for any size contribution that feels comfortable to you. No gift too small! No gift too big! Whether your contribution will pay for postage stamps, a pair of pointe shoes, a swan's costume, a dancer's salary, or an orchestra - we need you all! You can make a tax-deductible donation online by clicking below. And don't forget to check if your company matches donations. Please help keep the Texas Ballet Theater alive and dancing! Thank you.

Visit the MySpace page: www.myspace.com/getbehindyourballet

Texas Ballet Theater has announced its Majestic Gala Ballet program for the September 12, 8pm performance. The Majestic Theatre is located in downtown Dallas at 1925 Elm Street.

The program will now include:

5 Poems choreographed by Ben Stevenson, artistic director of Texas Ballet Theater. The sets and costumes are designed by Jane Seymour, star of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Dancing With the Stars, and the film Somewhere In Time with Christopher Reeves. 5 Poems is set to music by Wagner, and it is choreographed in a neo-classical style.

The Esmeralda Pas de Deux, a classical piece with choreography by Ben Stevenson, has music composed by Cesare Pugni.

Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux, a powerful classical duet intertwining the love of the Goddess of the Hunt and Acteon with a dramatic score by Riccardo Drigo.

Romance Pas de Deux is choreographed by Ben Stevenson and set to music by Rachmaninoff.

Bluebird from Sleeping Beauty, music by Tchaikovsky, is choreographed by Ben Stevenson.

Love Thing, choreographed by Tim O'Keefe, is set to the music of Tina Turner.

For season tickets or single tickets, call 877.828.9200 or log onto www.texasballettheater.org or

Texas Ballet Theater Presents Ben Stevenson's Dracula
Be thrilled and be chilled - It's ballet to die for!

DALLAS and Fort Worth, Texas – (March 19, 2008) – Texas Ballet Theater presents Ben Stevenson's renowned masterpiece, Dracula, at Dallas' Music Hall at Fair Park on March 28, 29 and 30 and Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall April 18, 19 and 20.  Ticket prices start at $18 and may be purchased by calling toll-free 877-828-9200 or by visiting texasballettheater.org.

Stevenson's Dracula premiered March 1997 at ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Wortham Center in Houston and performed around the globe to sold-out houses and international critical acclaim.  The New York Times praised Dracula, observing, "The sets, costumes and lighting are not just lavish, but exquisitely beautiful and atmospheric….For once, $1 million, the cost of Dracula, looks like a million." (March 17, 1997) Under the headline "Dracula looks like a million," Clive Barnes of The New York Post praised the "sumptuously imaginative scenery," calling the production "magnificently and spookily spectacular." (March 18, 1997) Germany's The World on Sunday noted, "The moody ambiance of the stage actually drew spontaneous applause from the audience for the set." (March 23, 1997)

After its premiere, Boston Ballet took the production into its repertory in 1999. Texas Ballet Theater last performed the production in 2006.  Stevenson stated, "In bringing Dracula to life in ballet-form, I turned to the great ballets of the nineteenth century for inspiration and guidance.  And I was immeasurably aided by scenic designer Thomas Boyd, costume designer Judanna Lynn and the acclaimed ballet arranger John Lanchery."

Stevenson's theatrical ballet features vampire brides who fly through the air in sheer ethereal-inspired dresses, a ghastly coach that winds on and off stage, and Dracula's 30-pound, 23 foot long cape, which is a work of art in-and-of-itself. In adapting the novel to stage, Stevenson streamlines the story, taking the audience directly to the Transylvanian village where the evil aristocratic Count seduces his victims with a darkly erotic magnetism. 

Each of the three scenes features a distinct, dramatic atmosphere: the dank crypt of Dracula's castle in the first act with a corps de ballet comprised of Dracula's 18 brides; the picturesque village square of the second act featuring scenes of peasant revelry; and the bedroom of the count, where he ravishes his victims, in the third act.

The exquisitely detailed costumes were also influenced by late 19^th century, specifically by costume design in Romania at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and memories of a trip to Budapest.

Lanchbery provided the perfect score for Dracula, utilizing pieces by the renowned Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, including "Dance of Death" and the Mephisto Waltzes. Dance Magazine praised his work as "a masterly arrangement of Liszt, charged with foreboding and spasms of feverish excitement."

Subject to availability, the role of Dracula will rotate each evening with performances by Lucas Priolo, Carl Coomer and Peter Zweifel.  Enrica Guana Tseng, Jayme Autrey Griffith and Leticia Oliveira will alternate performance as Flora, Dracula's first victim.  Dancing as lead peasants Svetlana and Fredrick are (night 1) Leticia Oliveira and Andre Silva, (night 2) Julie Gumbinner and Lucas Priolo and (night 3) Jayme Autrey Griffith and Carl Coomer.  The roll of Renfield, Dracula's hunchbacked henchman, will be performed by Thomas Kilps, Justin Urso and Lonnie Weeks.  

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.

Performance Tickets
Single tickets start at $18
Toll-free 1-877-828-9200 or www.texasballettheater.org

Synopsis
Set to the haunting music of Franz Liszt, the story opens in Dracula's castle, where ghostly lighting illuminates the Count's cold crypt. The atmosphere breathes with the spirit of evil and the smell of darkness as Dracula seals his latest marriage – with a bite!

Festivities in the picturesque village cannot escape the foreboding shadow cast by the Count on the hunt. Ensnaring his latest victim in his vast bat-shaped cloak, he carries her away in a frenzied coach ride, careening toward the castle gate. But this time, the Count tangles with the wrong maiden!

He's hypnotic. He's confident. He's devilishly calculating. With spellbinding sets by Thomas Boyd, gothic costumes by 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!"   

RECOMMENDED FOR MATURE TEENS AND ADULTS.
 
"Exquisitely beautiful and atmospheric."- The New York Times

Program Information
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

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, 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.

Join us for Jazz Royalty featuring Dame Cleo Laine, Sir John Dankworth and the Dancers of Texas Ballet Theater.

The legendary jazz vocalist Dame Cleo Laine and saxophonist Sir John Dankworth take the stage with The Ballet for an exciting program of jazz and dance. Jazz Royalty features WORLD PREMIERE choreography by Artistic Director Ben Stevenson and Associate Artistic Director Time O'Keefe set to Laine and Dankworth's phenomenal music!

 "Dame Cleo's remarkable voice, with its coloratura highs and deep moaning lows, and her witchy beauty are phenomena in themselves."
- The New York Times

Tickets start at only $18!  Visit our website or call toll-free 877-828-9200 and order your tickets today.  Seats are selling quickly!

We'll see you at the Ballet!

Join us for our most celebrated production of the year, Ben Stevenson's The Nutcracker!  Audience members of all ages will delight in a Christmas tree that grows forty feet while Clara accompanies her nutcracker to 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". No holiday season is complete without this charming tradition that inspires the memories of a lifetime!

"Texas Ballet Theater's 'Nutcracker' too superb to be missed…"
-The Dallas Morning News

Performances start November 30 and run through December 16 at Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall.  The Nutcracker opens at Dallas' Music Hall at Fair Park on December 20 and concludes December 23.

Tickets start at only $18!  Visit our website or call toll-free 877-828-9200 and order your tickets today.  Performances are selling out!

We'll see you at the Ballet!

We're seeking Part-Time Patron Development Representatives!
Become a part of an outstanding sales team and a "director of first impressions"! Part-time job openings available on our sales team in both our Dallas and Fort Worth offices. Candidates should have skills in sales and customer service relations. Computer skills are also necessary. Call center experience is preferable as is a pleasant phone voice. Training will be provided. Complimentary tickets provided to Texas Ballet Theater performances.

Flexible schedules available 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. Weekends as necessary.

Call toll-free 877-828-9200, ext. 101, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Texas Ballet Theater magnificent at Majestic

By MARGARET PUTNAM / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Texas Ballet Theater's diverse celebration of six short works started off slow and earthbound Friday night at the Majestic Theatre, moved to the ethereal and fantastic, and ended at rocket speed.

During Peter Zweifel's Glimpse, the mood was both urban and exotic at the Majestic Theatre on Friday night.

Earthbound was Peter Zweifel's new Glimpse, which captures the youth and energy of a modern, urban tribe. Set to African and middle Asian music, it brought together seven dancers in muted, simple dress in groups and couples. They moved with a relaxed air, sweeping and swirling like gyroscopes that could slow down and then build with intensity.

Ethereal and fantastic was the province of classical and neoclassic ballet, featuring four works different in mood but alike in brilliance of execution.

Don Quixote pas de deux is such a staple of every ballet gala that the question is, how scintillating will the dancers be?

Leticia Oliveira and André Silva took to their roles with jest. She is a miracle of long sustained balances and triple fouttés. And he shows off grand leaps that propel him across stage to end with a dramatic lunge to the ground.

La Sylphide pas de deux is more of a rarity. Jayme Autrey Griffith and Lonnie Weeks bring to life this charming fantasy.

They dance with sheer delight, separate but not far apart. The Scotsman is as buoyant as a deer, and the Sylph, so close and yet so far away, barely touches ground with her delicate little bourrées and airy leaps.

For sheer beauty, artistic director Ben Stevenson's Sylvia pas de deux made the most brilliant little steps and biggest soaring leaps look as easy and effortless as spun sugar. Enrica Guana Tseng, in a tiny rose dress, and Lucas Priolo, in cream tights and jacket, are an ideal pair, with every upward toss and swoon to the floor unfolding like a spool of ribbon.

Mr. Stevenson's new Laila and the Swan tweaks the title character's name in the Greek myth "Leda and the Swan", on which it is based, to honor TBT board member Laila Gleason. The work moves with slow, implacable force as the Swan (Carl Coomer) entices Laila (Carolyn Judson) to come closer, her curiosity pulling her inch by inch into his outstretched wings. G-rated as seductions go, but therein lies its power.

The program ended with a bang: Mr. Stevenson's freewheeling, let-the-sparks-fly L – a tribute to Liza Minnelli – abetted by an impressive percussive trio. It starts simply, with 12 men in smart, simple formation warming up as in a ballet barre. But soon, they are airborne, leaping, spinning and coming to quick halts – and beginning again, the moment big and yet as clear and sharp as a dime. It was exhilarating, with a brilliant finish.

A flavorful sampler of ballet

By MATTHEW ERIKSON/Star-Telegram staff writer

DALLAS -- Here's the best thing about mixed repertoire dance programs: if you don't like a certain piece, you know it will be over soon.

But on Saturday afternoon at Dallas' Majestic Theatre, there was no checking of the watches during the Texas Ballet Theater's mixed bill Majestic Celebration.

Two world premieres, three virtuosic pas de deux and a showstopping ensemble number kept the energy level high.

What was new

Based more in modern dance than ballet, Glimpse by company member Peter Zweifel was a sassy multimovement piece set to a world music soundtrack. The versatile TBT dancers seemed to bask in Zweifel's seamless choreography and intriguing partnering.

Laila and the Swan by Artistic Director Ben Stevenson was shorter and more sensual, pairing the physical strength of Carl Coomer with the natural grace of Carolyn Judson. Gripping two white folding fans that mimicked a swan's wings, Coomer played the seducer with some mighty lifts.  The good chemistry between the dancers added to the work's quiet power.

It takes two

The other pas de deux had their charms: Lonnie Weeks' phenomenal leaps in La Sylphide, the gorgeous drama of Enrica Guana Tseng and Lucas Priolo in Sylvia and the eye-popping virtuosity of Leticia Oliveira and André Silva in Don Quixote.

End it with a bang

L, a tribute to Liza Minnelli, proved a hyperkinetic showcase for TBT's strong male dancers. Backed up by a percussive band, the playful choreography had style.

Join us for Majestic Celebration, featuring world premiere choreography by world-renowned Artistic Director Ben Stevenson and Company dancer and acclaimed choreographer Peter Zweifel.

"The company has never looked so full of talent, or so lyrical, athletic, and modern."
-Star-Telegram

Performances start this Friday, October 5 and run through October 7 at the historic Majestic Theatre in downtown Dallas.  Tickets on the main floor start at only $18!  Visit our website or call toll-free 1-877-828-9200 to order your tickets today!

We'll see you at the Ballet!