American Ballet Theatre 2024 Fall Gala Announced

American Ballet Theatre 2024 Fall Gala Announced

American Ballet Theatre will host its 2024 Fall Gala at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on Wednesday, October 23.  

The Fall Gala will include an unparalleled performance, beginning at 6:30 P.M., featuring beloved classic and contemporary excerpts showcasing ABT’s roster of Principal Dancers. The evening will also highlight talented young dancers from ABT’s Training Programs. 

ABT is proud to honor Natalia Makarova, a legendary figure in the world of ballet, for her extraordinary talent as a ballerina assoluta and her significant contributions to the art of ballet staging and choreography. The Fall Gala will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Makarova’s 1974 staging of The Kingdom of the Shades on American Ballet Theatre.  

Chairs for the 2024 Fall Gala are Alexandra Airth, Sarah Arison, Avery and Andrew Barth, Emily Blavatnik, Mr. and Mrs. Austin T. Fragomen, Lillian E. Kraemer, and Chai Vasarhelyi with Lizzie Asher, Casey Kohlberg, Lilah Ramzi, and Porter Stracke as Junior Chairs. 

ABT apprentices, ABT Studio Company dancers, and more than 140 students from the ABT JKO School, including over 70 students from the Children’s Division and over 70 students in the Pre-Professional Division, will perform a pièce d’occasion set to music by Georges Bizet, choreographed by Rubén Martín and Caridad Martinez. ABT apprentice Brady Farrar will additionally choreograph a movement of the pièce d’occasion for ABT Studio Company.   

ABT’s Training Programs provide young dancers with the industry standard in ballet training, preparing them for careers in American Ballet Theatre’s main Company or other leading national and international companies. Notably, over 90% of current ABT dancers are alumni of either the ABT JKO School, ABT Studio Company, or an American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive.  

In celebration of the 2024 Fall Gala, ABT dance will perform a special mixed repertory program. Christine Shevchenko and Guest Artist Isaac Hernández will lead an excerpt from The Kingdom of the Shades by Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa with music by Ludwig Minkus and orchestration by John Lanchbery. Calvin Royal III and SunMi Park will perform the pas de deux from Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s Great Galloping Gottschalk with music by Louis Moreau Gottshcalk. “The Dream” pas de deux from Raymonda will be performed by Hee Seo and Cory Stearns with choreography after Marius Petipa and music by Alexander Glazounov. The central pas de deux from Jessica Lang’s Children’s Songs Dance,with music by Chick Corea, will be performed by Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside.

Skylar Brandt will perform the Rose Adagio from The Sleeping Beauty with choreography after Marius Petipa and music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. An excerpted pas de deux from Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon with music by Jules Massenet will be performed by Devon Teuscher and Thomas Forster. Chloe Misseldine and Aran Bell will perform George Balanchine’s Sylvia Pas de Deux with music by Léo Delibes. Cassandra Trenary and Herman Cornejo will perform excerpts from Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite. An excerpt from Études with choreography by Harald Lander, music by Carl Czerny, and orchestration by Knudåge Riisager will be performed by Gillian Murphy, Guest Artist Isaac Hernández, and Jake Roxander. Catherine Hurlin and Daniel Camargo will perform a pas de deux from Don Quixote with choreography after Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky. 

Gala guests are invited to a cocktail reception at 5:30 P.M. Following the performance, guests will enjoy dinner and dancing on the promenade. For more information on ABT’s 2024 Fall Gala or to purchase tickets and tables, please contact Kristin Sarli, Associate Director of Special Events, at ksarli@abt.org

Additional performances during ABT’s 2024 Fall season will run from October 16–November 3 at the David H. Koch Theater featuring four programs, including three World Premieres, one Company Premiere, and a selection of beloved works from ABT’s repertoire. Tickets, beginning at $30, are available for purchase online, in person at the Koch Theater box office, or by phone at 212-496-0600.  

For more information, visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org

Scene from The Kingdom of the Shades, Photo by Quinn Wharton