OREGON BALLET THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2010-11 SEASON HEADLINED BY A WORLD-PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF THE SLEEPING BEAUTY, NEW HOLIDAY REVUE AND A STRAVINSKY-THEMED COLLABORATION

(January 29, 2010--Portland, OR) - Oregon Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Christopher Stowell today unveiled the company’s 2010-11 season, which will open in October with a full-length world-premiere production of The Sleeping Beauty. To be choreographed by Stowell, the work will become the third of the three great Tchaikovsky story ballets to enter Oregon Ballet Theatre’s repertoire, joining The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, which Stowell created for the company in 2006.

Stowell also revealed that this year OBT will realign its performance season, shifting its June performance series to December to run concurrently with The Nutcracker. The move will eliminate an existing performance gap in the company’s subscription schedule between the months of October and February.

With the introduction of the December program OBT will debut a new Holiday Revue. The work will be choreographed by Stowell and will feature vocalist Susannah Mars and pianist Richard Bower. Set to traditional holiday standards made popular by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby, it will provide a hip, holiday dance alternative to OBT’s traditional Nutcracker performances.

Other highlights of Oregon Ballet Theatre’s 2010/11 season include:
• A collaborative new work danced to the music of Igor Stravinsky and jointly choreographed by OBT Principal Dancer and Artistic Coordinator Anne Mueller, Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland of Bodyvox and Rachel Tess of Rumpus Room Dance. • The return of Christopher Stowell’s critically acclaimed The Rite of Spring and perennially popular Eyes On You.
• The revival of Trey McIntyre’s Speak, which was excerpted to overwhelming audience approval at OBT’s 2009 20th-Anniversary retrospective performances.
• Nicolo Fonte’s sultry Left Unsaid, a highlight of the company’s 2008-09 Newmark Theatre performance series.

The 2010/11 Season:
PROGRAM 1: SLEEPING BEAUTY
October 9-16, 2010 / Keller Auditorium / Full Orchestra

PROGRAM 2: A HOLIDAY REVUE
December 11-18, 2010 / Keller Auditorium / Soloist Musicians

PROGRAM 3: THE STRAVINSKY PROJECT
February 26 - March 6, 2011 / Keller Auditorium / Soloist Musicians

PROGRAM 4: SONG AND DANCE
April 21 – May 1, 2011 / Newmark Theatre / Soloist Musicians

GEORGE BALANCHINE’S THE NUTCRACKER (1954)
December 11-24, 2009 / Keller Auditorium

Founded in 1989, OREGON BALLET THEATRE is a not-for-profit, professional ballet company, with a school, based in Portland, Oregon. On July 1, 2003, Christopher Stowell became OREGON BALLET THEATRE’s artistic director and Damara Bennett joined OBT as school director. OREGON BALLET THEATRE offers the highest quality ballet, in a repertoire of classic and contemporary work, to the people of Oregon, the Pacific Northwest and the United States.

For more information and season subscriptions, please visit www.obt.org.