KATE THORNTON CONFIRMED AS CELEBRITY GUEST HOST

AS MATT DI ANGELO, DARREN GOUGH & CHRISTOPHER PARKER

JOIN

ZOE BALL, LETITIA DEAN, DENISE LEWIS & LOUISA LYTTON

AS

STRICTLY COME DANCING GOES LIVE!

FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

ACROSS THE UK IN JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2008

Audiences across the country will soon get the chance to join celebrities, dance champions and those all important judges for the arena extravaganza STRICTLY COME DANCING LIVE! Matt Di Angelo, Darren Gough and Christopher Parker are confirmed to join previously announced celebrity dancers Zoe Ball, Letitia Dean, Denise Lewis and Louisa Lytton in what is promising to be the arena spectacular of the new year. Television presenter Kate Thornton is today confirmed as the special guest host.



STRICTLY COME DANCING LIVE! will open at the SECC in Glasgow on 18 January before playing the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, London’s O2 Arena, Nottingham Arena, the MEN Arena in Manchester, Sheffield Arena and Birmingham, where it finishes at the NEC Arena on 16 February 2008.

Featuring all of the audience’s favourite elements from the hit television series, STRICTLY COME DANCING LIVE! will pit our celebrity dancers and their partners against judges Len Goodman, Arlene Philips and Craig Revel Horwood. Remaining faithful to the much-loved BBC show, the judges will deliver their analysis with their famous wit and wisdom.

Warming up for their first showdowns on the ballroom floors of some of the UK’s major arenas are heartthrob actor Matt Di Angelo, who takes part in the current fifth series, television and radio presenter Zoe Ball (Series 3, 3rd place), Cricketing legend Darren Gough (Series 3 winner), Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis (Series 2, runner up), ex-EastEnder and The Bill actress Louisa Lytton (Series 4, 4th place), actor and TV presenter Christopher Parker (Series 1, runner up) and Albert Square legend Letitia Dean (appearing in Series 5). The celebrities will be paired up with series regulars including Darren Bennett, Flavia Cacace, Matthew Cutler, Nicole Cutler, Camilla Dallerup, Lilia Kopylova, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite, who are amongst the world's leading professional dancers.

Wayne McGregor’s Chroma provides the thrilling start for an intense programme of great dance works from The Royal Ballet. Chroma was an award-winning and popular hit when it had its premiere last year. The score, drawn from compositions and arrangements by Joby Talbot and his arrangements of music by The White Stripes, is paired with stark minimalist designs by architect John Pawson – and into this comes the exciting, inventive, energy driven choreography of McGregor exploring ‘freedom from white: Chroma’. Kenneth MacMillan’s Different Drummer provides contrast on so many levels: its narrative, from Büchner’s Wozzeck, portrays an abused soldier driven to murder and suicide, while its music is from the intense and intimate sound world of Schoenberg and Webern. The third work of the programme is a blazing display for the Company and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in one of the greatest of all modern classics. Kenneth MacMillan’s 1962 ballet The Rite of Spring is a powerful interpretation of Stravinsky’s orchestral masterpiece, with its striking portrayal of pagan sacrifice of the Chosen Maiden. The Rite of Spring provides a fabulous conclusion to an evening of thrills, invention and drama.

Credits
Music
Joby Talbot
Anton Webern
Arnold Schoenberg
Igor Stravinsky
Set Designs
John Pawson
Kenneth MacMillan
Costume Designs
Moritz Junge
Yolanda Sonnabend
Choreography
Wayne McGregor
Kenneth MacMillan
Lighting
Lucy Carter
John B Read
Designs
Sidney Nolan
Choreography:
Kenneth MacMillan
Performers
Conductor
Barry Wordsworth
Chroma
Alina Cojocaru
Lauren Cuthbertson
Sarah Lamb
Tamara Rojo
Federico Bonelli
Steven McRae
Eric Underwood
Edward Watson
Different Drummer
Ivan Putrov
Edward Watson
Leanne Benjamin
Roberta Marquez
Martin Harvey
Viacheslav Samodurov
The Rite of Spring
Tamara Rojo
Mara Galeazzi

Ashton’s Sylvia was restored to the splendour of its elegant and oppulent three-act form for the 75th anniversary celebrations of The Royal Ballet and it is now firmly back in the Company’s repertory. Its story, from Greek myth, tells of Sylvia, whose vows of chastity mean she cannot return the love of the shepherd Aminta. Eros, up to his tricks, intervenes, only to see Sylvia abducted by the hunter Orion. Rescuing her, Eros finally brings the lovers together.

Ashton was inspired by the music of Leo Délibes to create such great choreographic sequences as the famous Act III pas de deux and the role of the mischievous Eros, one of those delightful, darkly comic characterizations for which Ashton became known and loved. With Margot Fonteyn as his original Sylvia, Ashton made the title role a wonderful showcase for virtuosity, invention and classical beauty. And it is indeed a beautiful ballet to look at – the epitome of Ashton style in stage settings of great detail and painterly splendour.

Music, Dance, Theatre, Choreography or Performance Art? Or all of the above! Or is it none of the above. Well, both are sort of right… In a way. Confused? Read on…

STOMP is a movement, of bodies, objects, sounds - even abstract ideas. But what makes it so appealing is that the cast uses everyday objects, but in non-traditional ways.

There's no speech, no dialogue, not even a plot.

So why go see STOMP? Well, have you ever composed a symphony using only matchbooks as instruments? Or created a dance routine based around sweeping? You may have done this a little, but get a group of rhythmically gifted, extremely coordinated bodies with definitive personalities, and you have the makings for STOMP.

The international hit performance-dance rhythm meisters return to London for a long overdue West End residency.

December 8, 2007 to January 19, 2008
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Background
The Nutcracker is a perennial Christmas favourite, packed with magical moments of one of the greatest of classical ballets, all to the sounds of one of Tchaikovsky’s most famously tuneful scores. When young Clara’s favourite Christmas presents – a nutcracker doll – comes to life, she is drawn into magical adventures that lead from a battle with the Mouse King to the Kingdom of Sweets. The fantasy is brought to vivid life through Peter Wright’s reinterpretation of Lev Ivanov’s choreography, and Julia Trevelyan Oman’s wonderfully indulgent designs of late 19th-century grandeur, delicate in detail and rich in colour.

Credits
Choreography
Lev Ivanov
Music
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Production and Scenario
Peter Wright
Designs
Julia Trevelyan Oman
Lighting
Mark Henderson
Performers
Conductor
Pavel Sorokin
The Sugar Plum Fairy
Marianela Nuñez
Lauren Cuthbertson
Roberta Marquez
Laura Morera
Miyako Yoshida
Sarah Lamb
Alina Cojocaru
Alexandra Ansanelli
The Prince
Thiago Soares
Rupert Pennefather
Ivan Putrov
Yohei Sasaki
Federico Bonelli
Viacheslav Samodurov
Johan Kobborg
David Makhateli

After three sensational sell-out seasons at Sadler's Wells, five star reviews, and sold out performances in New York, PUSH will continue to tour Europe throughout 2007 and 2008.

The production features four works: Solo, performed by Guillem to atmospheric flamenco music; Shift, Maliphant's signature solo; Two, a dazzling solo which seems to traps Guillem in a box of light; and Push, a duet which combines the abilities of this extraordinary partnership.

The works are complemented by Michael Hulls' stunning and inventive lighting and accompanied by music from Andy Cowton, Carlos Montoya and Shirley Thompson.

Since its debut in 2005, PUSH has been honoured with four major awards: the Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Dance Production, a Time Out Award for Guillem's performance in Solo, Best Choreography (Modern) for Maliphant at the National Dance Awards and the South Bank Show Dance Award.

Carlos Acosta is the greatest ballet dancer of his generation. He is a principal dancer at Covent Garden; Tocororo, the show about his own life, that he wrote, choreographed and starred in, broke box office records at Sadler's Wells; and in his homeland of Cuba he is a national hero. Renowned for combining Cuban passion with a remarkable technical virtuosity and raw athleticism, watching Carlos Acosta dance is a breathtaking experience not to be missed. Carlos Acosta has chosen some of his favourite moments in ballet and brought them together to create one evening of spectacular dance. He draws on his roots, taking works from the Ballet Nacional de Cuba's repertoire such as Tarde en la Fiesta, as well as the ever popular Diana and Acteon, and in an uplifting finale, he will treat the audience to some traditional Cuban moves from the final scene of Tocororo. For this very special programme Carlos will be joined onstage by artists from The Royal Ballet including Mara Galeazzi, Marianela Nu+¦ez and Federico Bonelli amongst others.

This production of "Romeo and Juliet," based on the Shakespeare play, played a pivotal role in the history of the Stuttgart Ballet. Although the ballet tradition in Stuttgart can be traced back to the early 17th century, the city's ballet company was catapulted to a new level of international prominence by British director John Cranko.

Cranko had been in charge of the company for only a year when his new production of "Romeo and Juliet" was premiered in 1962, and the production's critical success certified that the Stuttgart Ballet had "arrived."

Now considered one of the world's most illustrious ballet companies, the Stuttgart has been a showcase for the early works of now-legendary choreographers including Jiri Kylian and William Forsythe, and under the recent direction of Reid Anderson, the Stuttgart has presented more than a dozen world premieres in the last three seasons.

"Romeo and Juliet" remains a cornerstone of the Stuttgart repertoire and is still regarded as one of the most dramatic and stunning stagings of the Shakespeare/Prokofiev classic. As Anna Kisselgoff wrote in the New York Times, "arguably the best treatment of Prokofiev's celebrated ballet score. . . Here is a ballet to please virtually everyone."

The New York City Ballet, one of the foremost dance companies in the world, is unique in US artistic history. Solely responsible for training its own artists and creating its own works, the New York City Ballet was the first ballet institution in the world with two permanent homes, the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. Explore what New York City Ballet has to offer — its rich company history, repertoire of ballets, and world-class dancers.

New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein with musical director Leon Barzin.

The company grew from an earlier troupe known as the Ballet Society. The name was changed on the occasion of becoming the resident company of City Center of Music and Drama in 1948. On April 20, 1964, the Company moved into the New York State Theater, designed by Philip Johnson, to the specifications of Mr. Balanchine. New York City Ballet went on to become the first ballet company in the United States to have two permanent venue engagements: one at Lincoln Center's New York State Theater on 63rd Street in Manhattan, and another at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, in Saratoga Springs, NY. School of American Ballet is the associated school of New York City Ballet.

After the move to the State Theater, the repertory became dominated by the works of Balanchine, who remained its ballet master until his death in 1983, but his works were complemented by those of choreographer Jerome Robbins, who resumed his connection with the company in 1969. City Ballet, as it is commonly known, still has the largest repertoire by far of any American ballet company, often staging 60 ballets or more in its winter and spring seasons at Lincoln Center each year and 20 or more ballets in its summer season in Saratoga Springs. The NYC Ballet has performed The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet (later this year) A Midsummer Night's Dream and many more.

Peter Martins (who first danced with the company in 1967) is currently the Ballet Master in Chief.* The New York City Ballet has featured many great performers since its formation, including Jacques d'Amboise, Maria Tallchief, Diana Adams, Edward Villella, Melissa Hayden, Jillana, Gelsey Kirkland, Conrad Ludlow, Suzanne Farrell, Allegra Kent, Tanaquil LeClerq, Darci Kistler, and Peter Martins.

Programmes

New York City Ballet - Programme 1
 
12th March 7.30pm
14th March 7.30pm
16th March 2.00pm & 7.30pm
 
New York City Ballet - Programme 2
 
13th March 7.30pm
15th March 2.00pm & 7.30pm
 
New York City Ballet - Programme 3
 
18th March 7.30pm
20th March 7.30pm
21st March 7.30pm
 
New York City Ballet - Programme 4
 
19th March 7.30pm
20th March 2.00pm
22nd March 2.00pm & 7.30pm