Acclaimed choreographer Alexei Ratmansky received’t be going far this summer time when he leaves American Ballet Theatre — he’ll merely be crossing Lincoln Middle’s plaza over to New York Metropolis Ballet.
Ratmansky, one of many main classical choreographers in the world, will be a part of NYCB in August as artist in residence with a five-year contract, the corporate introduced on Thursday. In June, he steps down from the same position at ABT after 13 years. He’s created a number of works for NYCB over time, together with “Russian Seasons,” “Concerto DSCH,” “Namouna,” and “Pictures at an Exhibition.”
In an interview, NYCB’s inventive director, Jonathan Stafford, mentioned the corporate was delighted to have the ability to give Ratmansky, a former inventive director on the Bolshoi ballet, a extra sturdy function.
Stafford, who labored with Ratmansky as a dancer on “Russian Seasons” and “Concerto DSCH,” mentioned Ratmansky introduced what he known as a novel strategy to NYCB, particularly a way of musicality, a broad dance vocabulary and a devotion to element.
“He brought layers of my own artistry and dancing that I didn’t know I had in me — it was kind of mind-blowing in a way as an artist to work with a choreographer like that, who really not only brought the best out in you but brought new things out in you,” Stafford mentioned. “He’s very quick to challenge those he’s working with to be better. At New York City Ballet we’re always trying to be better and we just think he’s going to fit so beautifully into that.”
In a press release, Ratmansky mentioned the brand new alternative at NYCB, which performs throughout the plaza from ABT on the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Middle for the Performing Arts, “opened a new creative door for me.”
The corporate mentioned Ratmansky will create at the least one new work annually, with the primary scheduled to premiere throughout the 2024 winter season as a part of the corporate’s seventy fifth anniversary celebrations.
The 54-year previous choreographer has created works for corporations across the globe and is thought for his prolific expertise and deeply assorted repertoire.
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, to a Russian mom and a Ukrainian father, Ratmansky grew up in Kyiv, the place his dad and mom nonetheless dwell. He was choreographing in Moscow when the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, and left the nation instantly. In September, he introduced “Wartime Elegy” at Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, devoted to the individuals of Ukraine. On opening evening, he unfurled and held aloft a Ukrainian flag throughout curtain calls.
Stafford famous that Ratmansky was “very much a ballet historian, and he loves the history of New York City Ballet,” particularly the legacy of famed choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
Wendy Whelan, the previous NYCB principal dancer and present affiliate inventive director, known as working with Ratmansky on his ballets one of many inventive highlights of her dancing profession.
“To have him now working with NYCB’s current generation of dancers on a regular basis is a dream come true, and I can’t wait to see what he creates with our artists,” Whelan mentioned in a press release.