Some of the most familiar — and revered — names in North American dance will light up the newly remade Northrop auditorium during its upcoming 2015-16 season.
Even better: The orchestra pit will be filled with musicians on five occasions.
After a 20-year absence, Salt Lake City-based Ballet West returns to Minneapolis on Oct. 3 to open the season with two all-American classics: Jerome Robbins' first ballet, "Fancy Free," set to a score by Leonard Bernstein, and George Balanchine's vivacious excursion through the Gershwin songbook, "Who Cares?"
The season closes April 27, 2016, with a pair of Balanchine masterpieces, via Miami City Ballet: the sweeping and beloved "Serenade," the choreographer's first American-made ballet, set to Tchaikovsky, and the dramatic "Symphony in Three Movements," which calls upon the propulsive Stravinsky score by the same name.
The Miami company, last seen at Northrop in 2006, will also stage its just-debuted "Heatscape," set to Bohuslav Martinu's "Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra," and the work of young choreographic sensation Justin Peck of the New York City Ballet.
On March 30, 2016, Mark Morris Dance Group returns to the Twin Cities after a decade, performing Henry Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas," with Morris conducting the orchestra, soloists and chorus.
Seán Curran Co. — with a musical assist from the Kyrgyz Republic's Ustat Shakirt Plus — will present "Dream'd in a Dream" on Oct. 24.
Tap virtuosity will be on display Nov. 19 when Dorrance Dance offers "The Blues Project," with music by Toshi Reagon and the band BIGLovely.
More live music comes in the form of composer Benoît Charest and Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville, his eight-piece jazz ensemble, as they accompany the cult film classic "The Triplets of Belleville," on Feb. 17, 2016.
Two Northrop audience favorites return in 2016. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will stage Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato's North African-influenced "Gnawa," along with other to-be-announced works, on Jan. 30. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will present a mixed-bill program on March 1 that includes the troupe's signature "Revelations."
Finally, Les Grand Ballets Canadiens de Montreal will appear on April 6, 2016, with choreographer Christian Spuck's new satirical story ballet "Leonce and Lena," and New York City-based Jessica Lang Dance will deliver its brand of contemporary movement on Feb. 13, 2016, with a triple bill.
Series tickets are on sale now and single tickets go on sale June 15; go to www.northrop.umn.edu or call 612-624-2345.
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