FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2003

CONTACT: Mark Fleisher

Festival Ballet Providence, 401.353.1129

Festival Ballet Providence brings a world class finale to its landmark 25th Anniversary Season: Christine Hennessy's A Midsummer Night's Dream And Three Sizzling World Premieres

Providence, RI - Festival Ballet Providence artistic director Mihailo Djuric will present the finale of the Company's hit 25th Anniversary Season with a spectacular all-Rhode Island production May 2-4 at VMA Arts and Cultural Center.

As the centerpiece of the season's fourth production, Mr. Djuric has chosen to revive co-founder Christine Hennessy's triumph, A Midsummer Night's Dream as a tribute to her creative excellence in leading the company from its founding through it's maturity. This piece premiered to great acclaim May 12, 1990 as part of the company's 12th Anniversary season.

Elizabeth DeFanti, daughter of Festival Ballet Providence co-founders Christine Hennessy (1936-1997) and Winthrop Corey, returned in January to Providence to re-stage Ms. Hennessy's magical "Dream" on Festival Ballet Providence.

Based on the 16th century tale of William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream features an enchanting forest scene, with giant trees and wild flowers rising through the mist through which a silver moon shimmers and fairy creatures of the night work their mischievous magic upon "foolish mortals". This ballet features some of Shakespeare's most beloved characters, including Puck, Bottom, Titania, Oberon, Lysander and Hermia. Company members Tatiana Berenova and Jennifer Ricci will alternate as Titiana, Pavel Homko and Gleb Lyamenkoff will alternate in the roles of Oberon and Lisander, Jaclyn Ricci will dance Puck, and Piotr Ostaltsov will appear as Bottom.

The remainder of the program is devoted to thrilling new works commissioned by Festival Ballet Providence. Choreographed by three of Rhode Island's most creative forces in dance, these exciting premieres bring an edge and spark to the stage, giving audiences an exciting new perspective to dance as an art form.

Cadence Dance Project founder Colleen Cavanaugh is choreographing a richly woven 14-minute contemporary ballet in two movements for soloist and four couples. Festival Ballet Providence veteran Jaclyn Ricci will be the featured dancer in this piece that is metaphorically about Gallileo's pursuit of his own personal truth, despite the prevalent dogma and religious belief of the time. Music is in part "Lacrymosa" by Uzbecki composer Dimitri Yanov-Yanovsky as recorded by the Kronos Quartet, and in part newly composed music collaboratively created by Providence composer Elaine Bearer and Ms. Cavanaugh, recorded for strings and voice.

The second commissioned premiere will be created by ballet crossover specialist Audrey Monahan who's jazzy and sexy new work looks at the couplings and re-couplings one night at a steamy dance club. Jennifer Ricci and Gleb Lyamenkoff star as a barmaid and piano player with a steamy cast that bumps and grinds it's high-energy way from opening set-ups to last call. With five movements, this passionate love story features Mr. Lyamenkoff performing double-duty as dancer and pianist.

Festival Ballet Providence artistic director Mihailo Djuric will create the final premiere with music created collaboratively with Composer-In-Residence Barbara Kolb. The music they are creating will reflect the inner, sultry moods of the late Billie Holliday's singing. Mr. Djuric has previously used Ms. Kolb's music to create Extremes for the 1996 MacDowell Celebration. Principal couple Tatiana Berenova and Gleb Lyamenkoff are joined by Davide Vittorino. This piece will be performed with live accompaniment provided by the world-renowned Lew Tabackin trio. Ms. Kolb is currently in the second year of a three-year Meet The Composer/New Residencies grant, in partnership with Festival Ballet Providence, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and WaterFire Providence.

Join Puck, the Wood Sprites and Fairies for the mischief and revelry of Shakespeare's great romantic comedy, and experience the new voices of Rhode Island choreography. See ballet as you have never imagined! For the Saturday May 3rd performance, also take in the spectacle of Barnaby Evans' WaterFire Providence.

Tickets are now on sale, with prices ranging from $12 to $40. Advanced reserved tickets may be purchased by contacting Festival Ballet Providence at 401.353.1129, ordering online at www.festivalballet.com, or through Ticketmaster outlets at 401.331.1122. The VMA box office (Telephone : 401.272-4862) will be open the week of the performances from 10 AM to 5 PM for additional ticket sales. Half-price student rush tickets are available for each production one hour before curtain.

Festival Ballet Providence's 2003 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and 3 World Premieres is supported in part by the generous support of season television sponsor NBC10, GLAD WORKS, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, VMA Arts & Cultural Center and the McAuliffe Group.

Festival Ballet Providence
825 Hope Street
Providence, RI 02906
401.353.1129
info@festivalballet.com

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Please respond if you would like digital photographs emailed to you, or hard copies sent by regular mail.

Attend rehearsals and interview choreographers: Writers, photographers and editors are encouraged to visit our Providence studios to observe rehearsals and to interview Ms. DeFanti, Mr. Djuric, Ms. Cavanaugh, Ms. Monahan, Ms. Kolb and Ms. Bearer and any of the dancers in the production. The press is also invited to visit the theater during the week of April 28 cover stage rehearsals. Please make arrangements prior to your visit by calling Mark Fleisher, 401.353.1129. To arrange interviews, please also call Mr. Fleisher.

The Festival Ballet Providence and the Festival Ballet Providence Center for Dance Education are together a not-for-profit arts organization whose EIN is 05-0377245 and whose Rhode Island Corporate ID number is ND-27-137.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Synopsis

The King and Queen of Fairyland, Oberon and Titania, are quarreling over the changeling Indian boy. Oberon sends his sprite Puck through the forest to fetch a strange flower, the juice of which , when dropped in the eyes during sleep , brings love for the first living thing seen upon waking. Oberon plans to use this magical liquid to spite Titania. Meanwhile, a happy pair of lovers, Lysander and Hermia, and their two unhappy friends, Helena and Demetrius, have strayed into the forest. Helena's love for Demetrius is, at present, unrequited for he desires Hermia. Oberon has watched these confused mortals and sends Puck with some of the flower's juice to charm Demetrius into falling in love with Helena.

Oberon, in the meantime, drops some of the charm into his queen's eyes and causes her to be awakened by a peasant named Bottom on whom Puck, to heighten his master's revenge, has fixed an ass's head. On waking, Titania falls in love with Bottom. But Puck, for all his cleverness, has complicated the affairs of the mortal lovers by charming the wrong man, Lysander, into falling in love with Helena. Oberon commands Puck to create a fog, under cover of which all is put right. Titania, released from her spell, is reconciled to her king and the mortal lovers are happily paired off. Bottom, restored to human form but with dream-like memories of what happened, goes on his puzzled way and Puck induces the fairies to sleep.

Christine Hennessy
(1936 - 1997)
Choreographer of A Midsummer Night's Dream

"slight, tiny, exquisitely proportioned, as delicately articulated as a flowering branch. She (Hennessy) has enormous extensions, yet the effect is not one of power, as much as of light evocation."
- Agnes DeMille

Christine Hennessy was a world-renowned ballerina, an extraordinary teacher and choreographer, and a successful and giving artistic director.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, she began taking ballet lessons at the age of 3. She trained with Lidia Pettine and then went on to study in New York with such distinguished teachers as Mme. Maria Swoboda and Anatole Vilzak, and also at the Ballet Russe School. At the age of 16 she was chosen to join the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where she spent 4 years rising from the corps de ballet to first soloist. After a season as ballerina at the Bremen Opera House in Germany, she spent 4 years as the ballerina of the American Festival Ballet, an international dance troupe that originated in Rhode Island. She subsequently returned to Ballet Russe for a season, then toured South America and the Near East with the Festival Ballet. She also appeared as the ballerina of the New York City Opera and starred in two films made in Europe , The Nutcracker and Four plus Four. After a season with the Joffrey Ballet in New York where she danced La Fille Mal Garde, she joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. It was with this company that she won the gold medal in 1968 for "best interpretation by a female dancer" at the International Festival of Dance in Paris, France. Christine was known not only for her solid classical technique, but also for her vivid and masterful interpretation of the dramatic roles she danced.

In 1978 Christine, together with then husband Winthrop Corey, returned to Rhode Island and founded the Festival Ballet of Rhode Island. Their vision in creating both a company and school was to develop the talents of local dancers and increase the visibility, status, and standards of dance for Rhode Island audiences. This was especially apparent through their highly successful outreach program, Discover Dance, designed to serve children, seniors, and other special agencies and groups throughout the state who were unable to afford the cost of regularly scheduled performances. Christine and Winthrop also drew dance masters, such as Arthur Mitchell, then Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the great American choreographer Agnes de Mille, to Rhode Island to work with their students. Christine, herself, also choreographed and received critical acclaim for her Midsummer Night's Dream, to EJ with Love, Romeo and Juliet and Concerto in C.

In 1994, Rhode Island College awarded Christine an honorary doctorate in fine arts. Until her death in 1997, she continued to be the driving force behind Festival Ballet and served as an inspiration for the many dancers that were fortunate enough to have studied with her.

Elizabeth DeFanti
Re-staging Christine Hennessy's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Ms. DeFanti, daughter of Christine Hennessy and Winthrop Corey, founders of Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, was born in Winnipeg, Canada. She began her classical dance training in Rhode Island with her parents and subsequently studied at the National Ballet School in Toronto and the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. As a member of Festival Ballet, Ms. DeFanti was noted for her principal roles in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Eaters of Darkness. In 1993, she joined the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet where she danced soloist roles and received critical acclaim for her portrayal of "Maria" in The Nutcracker. She made guest appearances with the Mobile (Alabama) Ballet, the Seacoast Ballet in New Hampshire, and with the Worcester Youth Ballet. In 1994 she performed in Charleston, South Carolina's Piccolo Spoleto Festival where she received praise for her portrayal of "Kitri" in the wedding pas de deux of Don Quixote and "Juliet" in the balcony pas de deux of Romeo and Juliet. She also appeared as a principal dancer in two nationally broadcast television commercials. Returning to Rhode Island, Ms. DeFanti assumed the role of Artistic Director of Festival Ballet for the 1997-98 Season. She also assumed ownership of The Dance Center, School of Festival Ballet and taught extensively in the school.

In May of 2001 she graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a degree in Psychology. While at Brown, she was involved in several research projects and was awarded a grant with which she studied attention and memory in Alzheimer patients. Ms. DeFanti currently resides in Manhattan with her husband Adam. She is pursuing a graduate degree in Counseling Psychology at Columbia University's Teachers College.

Ms. DeFanti is extremely pleased to carry on the legacy of her mother by staging this production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Colleen Cavanaugh
Guest Choreographer

Colleen Cavanaugh danced professionally in New York and Europe before returning to her native Rhode Island to complete a medical degree from Brown University. She choreographed for and directed Cadence Dance Project for four years and is now working as an independent choreographer, making ballets for regional companies and college dance programs. Cavanaugh received a Rhode Island State Council on the Art fellowship in choreography as well as several project grants. Two of her ballets were selected and presented by Ballet Builders in New York City, a showcase for contemporary ballet. Her choreography has been presented in New England, New York and Europe.

Audrey Monahan
Guest Choreographer

With extensive training in ballet and jazz in New York, Boston and Rhode Island, Audrey has excelled in her career as a performer, choreographer and instructor. In the 1980's she danced professionally with the New York City Metropolitan Opera's touring troupe and was a principal dancer with the Jeremy Anderson Dancers.

Working as an independent jazz dancer, Audrey has performed in various club, theater and commercial venues.

Currently she teaches both jazz and ballet, conducts master classes, works as an independent choreographer and coaches dancers and recording artists in movement and performance skills.

Barbara Kolb
Composer-In-Residence for Mr. Djuric's new work

Born and educated in Connecticut, Barbara Kolb has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Fulbright Scholarship to work in Vienna, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and Institute of Arts and Letters award, and seven National Endowment for the Arts grants. In addition, Ms. Kolb became the first American woman to win the Rome Prize in Music Composition (1969-1971).

Ms. Kolb's music is characterized by interwoven, impressionistic textures, and freely atonal and deeply expressive harmonic language. Many of her works have drawn upon ideas and images, having their sources in literature or the visual arts.

Ms. Kolb has been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, IRCAM (Paris, France), the Fromm Foundation, Koussevitzky Foundation, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, among others. She has held posts at Brooklyn College Temple University, the Eastman School of Music, and The New School in New York City. She was also a clarinetist in the Hartford Symphony for six years.

Ms. Kolb relocated to Providence in March of 2001 as Composer in Residence for a three-year residency funded by a Meet The Composer New Residencies grant. During the residency, Ms. Kolb is working with Waterfire Providence, the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Festival Ballet Providence, to create new music to entertain, teach and inspire the community. Ms. Kolb will continue her collaboration with Mr. Djuric to create the score for a future dance/theater work based on Chris Van Allsburg's "The Widow's Broom".

The Lew Tabackin - International Jazz Trio
Playing for Mr. Djuric's New Work

This trio is the latest edition of Lew Tabackin trios. His trio concept has been evolving since around 1967, when the first attempts at this medium were initiated. The current group is a truly international ensemble, with Lew (US) on tenor saxophone and flute, Boris Kozlov (Moscow) on contra bass, and Mark Taylor (London) on drums. This trio has been active since 1999, touring Japan and Italy several times, plus giving concerts in the US. The Lew Tabakin Trio is an acoustic group, combining hard swinging jazz with narrative and chamber music concepts. The group recorded live in Japan last November. The CD will be available shortly in the U.S. In 2003, they will be premiering a new piece, written for them by composer Barbara Kolb, to be performed with Festival Ballet Providence May 2-4, 2003 at the VMA Arts & Cultural Center.

Lew Tabakin
Flute and tenor saxophone, Lew Tabackin Trio

Flutist and tenor saxophonist, is an artist of astonishing vision. His electrifying flute playing is at once virtuosic, primordial, cross-cultural and passionate. His distinctive tenor sax style includes the use of wide intervals, abrupt changes of mood and tempo, and purposeful fervor, all in the service of showing the full range of possibilities of his instrument , melodically, rhythmically and dynamically. Without copying or emulating jazz greats of the past, Mr. Tabackin has absorbed elements into his style, ultimately creating his own sound and aura. His interest in music began in his birthplace, Philadelphia, where he first studied flute and then tenor saxphone in high school. He majored in flute at Philadelphia Conservatory of Music (B.M. 1962) and studied privately with composer Vincent Persichetti. After his U.S. Army service (1962-65), Mr. Tabackin moved to New Jersey and then to New York, where he played first with Tal Farlow and Don Friedman and later in the big bands led by Cab Calloway, Les and Larry Elgart, Maynard Ferguson, Joe Henderson, Chuck Israels, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Clark Terry and Duke Pearson. During the late 1960's Mr. Tabackin led a trio at a club called La Boheme in Philadelphia, in addition to playing in smaller groups with Donald Byrd, Roland Hanna, Elvin Jones and Attila Zoller. In those early years he worked with Doc Severinsen and the studios band for Dick Cavett's television show. He also spent some time in Europe, where he was a soloist with various orchestras, including the Danish Radio Orchestra, and the Hamburg Jazz Workshop. In 1968 he met Toshiko Akiyoshi when the two played together in a quartet. They eventually married and moved to Los Angeles, where they formed the awardwinning band known as the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra.

Boris Kozlov
Electric and Acoustic Bass, Lew Tabackin Trio

Born in Moscow in 1967 into a family of engineers, Boris Kozlov started playing piano at the Evening Music School in 1975, and played the tuba and trumpet in his public school band. In 1983 he joined the State Musical College studying electric bass and acoustic bass (class of A. Sobolev), and graduated in 1987 with a Diploma of Honor. While in the Soviet Army (1987-1989) he played horns and bass. In 1988 he was hired by Melodia Studio Ensemble with whom he recorded more that 40 albums as a sideman and part of the jazz combo on acoustic and electric bass. In 1989-1991 he studied at the State Academy of Music while touring the USSR, Europe and the USA with various jazz groups including his own. At the First USSR Competition of Jazz Soloists in 1990 he won The Grand Prix as well as a special prize for composition. After winning the first spot in the Young Musician category in the USSR Jazz Journal, he moved to New York.

In the US he has worked with such musicians as saxophonists Lew Tabackin, Bob Berg, Bobby Watson, Benny Golson, Ronnie Cuber, John Stubblefield, James Moody, Ravi Coltraine, Jorhe Silvester; trumpeters Dizzy Reese, Eddie Henderson, Phillip Harper, Brian Lynch; pianists Andy LaVerne, David Kikoski, John Hicks, Stanley Cowell, Walter Bishop Jr.; vibraphonists Terry Gibbs, Joe Locke; drummers Tommy Campbell, Ray Barretto, Bobby Sanabria, Victor Jones, Carlos Valdes, Marion Simon; clarinetist Buddy De Franco; violinist John Blake; vocalists Jay McGovern, Urszula Dudziak; guitarist Mark Whitfield as well as funk-jazz bands NHJ and his own, BEA. In 1998 Mr. Kozlov started performing with the Mingus Big Band and Ray Barretto's "New World Spirit". In August 1999 at the Newport Madarao Jazz Festival (Japan), he played for televised concerts with a band that included Michale Brecker, McCoy Tyner, James Moody and Maceo Parker.

Mark Taylor
Drums, Lew Tabackin Trio

Born in Hampstead/London, England in 1962, Mark turned professional at the age of 16, being completely self-taught from the age of 5. While living in the United Kingdom, Mark worked along side the most prominent British jazz artists including Ronnie Scott, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, John Taylor, Gordon Beck, Tony Coe, and Dick Morrissey.

Regarded as one of the leading exponents in his field, Mark has toured throughout the US, UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In addition, he has been involved extensively in teaching at many of the jazz education schools in the UK and Europe. From 1988 to 1995 he was nominated for "Best Drummer" in the British Jazz Awards. Since February 1996 he has been working in New York by special invitation from the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabakin jazz orchestra. He currently resides in New York. Mark is also featured with many other outstanding jazz artists on the New York scene including the groups of George Coleman, Monty Alexander, Mose Allison, Lew Tabakin, James Moody, Johnny Griffin, Kenny Barron, John Hicks and Pharoah Sanders to name a few. He has recorded with many of the above artists, and with Herb Geller, Irene Reid and Chris Flory.