91B0FBB4-04A9-D5D7-16F0F3976AA697ED
C9A22247-E776-B892-2D807E7555171534
The Hamilton College Performing Arts Series opens the spring semester with a performance by the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. in Wellin Hall, Schambach Center. This public performance ends a week-long residency that includes master classes, school matinees and a public performance. The residency is a partnership between Hamilton College, the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, and the Central New York Arts Council's Arts in Education Institute.

The ABT Studio Company is a small classical company of 12 young dancers of outstanding potential. In its fifth season, the Studio Company prepares young dancers to enter American Ballet Theatre and provides opportunities for the emergence of new and established choreographers and composers. Through in-school performances, lecture-demonstrations and academic residencies, the ABT Studio Company brings the excitement of close contact with a professional company into communities around the country.

The dancers (ages 16-21) are chosen from around the world by the artistic staff of American Ballet Theatre. Studio Company dancers will train in the program for one or two years before joining American Ballet Theatre's main company or other leading national and international professional companies.

The New York Times calls ABT's Studio Company dancers "Well-trained and willing. They perform with an appealing blend of freshness and individual presence," while The Star-Ledger says, "The American Ballet Theatre Studio Company delights audiences with its youthful vigor and panache. These dancers are firecrackers!"

John Meehan is the director of the ABT Studio Company and is a company teacher for American Ballet Theatre. Born in Australia, Meehan worked for 20 years as a professional dancer. He was principal dancer with the Australian Ballet from 1974 to 1977 before joining American Ballet Theatre, first as a guest artist in 1977 and then as a principal dancer in the fall of that same year. He has appeared in many classical ballets, including The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Firebird, Etudes, Les Sylphides, and Theme and Variations.

Mr. Meehan has performed as a guest artist with companies around the world including the New York City Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada and has appeared in Andrew Lloyd Weber's Song and Dance in London, on Broadway, and in the Australian production.

This performance is made possible by the New York State DanceForce, a state-wide consortium of choreographers, arts organizations, presenters and educators. The New York State DanceForce receives major sponsorship from the New York State Council on the Arts and Philip Morris Companies Inc. Administered by Dance Theater Workshop and Danspace Project, DanceForce programs include artist residencies, community outreach activities and dance programming that link artists and communities across New York State.

Tickets for the January 20 performance are $15 adult, $10 senior and $5 student. All seating is general admission. For reservations or for more information, call the Hamilton College Performing Arts ticket office at (315) 859-4331 or the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute at (800) 754-0797 or 797-0055. Tickets are also available online at www.mwpi.edu.

Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.

Site Search