American Ballet Theatre is coming to Segerstrom Center for the Arts this month, and it’s a rare summer performance by the famed ballet troupe. It’s been 15 years since ABT came to sunny Orange County during the summer, and the seasonal treat they are bringing with them is something special.
From July 24 through 27, Segerstrom Center presents five performances of ABT’s “Giselle” with choreography after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa, and music by Adolphe Adam. The ballet is staged by Kevin McKenzie.
As described in media material from Segerstrom Center, “Giselle” masterfully conveys the heartbreaking story of unrequited love, devasting loss, and triumphant forgiveness. A heart-wrenching saga of love and mercy, Giselle tells the story of a young peasant maiden in love with a handsome villager named Albrecht. What Giselle does not know is that her new paramour is a young nobleman in disguise and is already betrothed to another. When the truth is revealed, she dies of a broken heart but ultimately returns from the grave to forgive her lover and save him from a vengeful death by the forest-dwelling Wilis.
ABT’s roster of international ballet stars brings the story of “Giselle” to life. The New York Times called ABT’s “Giselle” an engrossingly beautiful production that is “the heart of what ballet itself is all about. [This is ABT’s] best production of a 19th century ballet classic.”
Casting for American Ballet Theater’s “Giselle”
- Thursday, July 24 at 7:30 p.m.: Hee Seo as Giselle, Cory Stearns as Prince Albrecht
- Friday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m.: Christine Shevchenko as Giselle, Calvin Royal III as Prince Albrecht
- Saturday, July 26 at 2:00 p.m.: Chloe Misseldine as Giselle, Aran Bell as Prince Albrecht
- Saturday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m.: Devon Teuscher as Giselle, Joo Won Ahn as Prince Albrecht
- Sunday, July 27 at 1:00 p.m.: Skylar Brandt as Giselle, Herman Cornejo as Prince Albracht
Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s “Giselle” at Segerstrom Center for the Arts are available for purchase online at www.scfta.org, in person at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, and by phone at (714) 556-2787.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts and American Ballet Theatre Partnership
Since 2015, ABT has wowed Southern California audiences at Segerstrom Center with annual holiday engagements of “The Nutcracker,” totaling over 88 performances.
In 1988, ABT gave the World Premiere of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s “Swan Lake” at the Center, and in 1999, the ABT production of “Le Corsaire” was taped for broadcast on PBS’ “Dance in America.” In 2008, ABT co-commissioned Twyla Tharp’s “Rabbit and Rogue” with Segerstrom Center for the Arts, which received its World Premiere in New York and its West Coast Premiere at the Center.
The Center additionally held the West Coast Premiere of former ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie’s “The Sleeping Beauty” in 2007, as well as several ballets by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, including the World Premiere of a new production of “Firebird” in 2012, the West Coast Premiere of “The Nutcracker” in 2015, the World Premiere of “Whipped Cream” in 2017, the West Coast Premiere of “Harlequinade” in 2019, the World Premiere and co-commissioned production “Of Love and Rage” in 2020, the North American Premieres of” Like Water for Chocolate” in 2023 and “Woolf Works” in 2024.
In April 2021, the Center presented “Uniting in Movement,” a unique dance project that brought 18 ABT dancers together for safe collaboration and exhilarating performance of new works by Jessica Lang, Lauren Lovette, and Darrell Grand Moultrie.
In March 2022, ABT and the Center presented a mixed repertory program that included the World Premiere of “Single Eye” by Alonzo King to the music of Jason Moran, the West Coast Premiere of Ratmansky’s “Bernstein in a Bubble,” and Jessica Lang’s “ZigZag,” featuring songs recorded by Tony Bennett.
American Ballet Theatre is considered one of the greatest dance companies in the world. Revered as a living national treasure since its founding in 1939, few ballet companies rival ABT in size, scope, and outreach. Though located in New York
City, ABT annually tours the United States performing for 300,000 people each year, and is the only major cultural institution to do so. The Company has performed in all 50 U.S. states, 45 countries, and over 480 cities worldwide, bringing American ballet to the world.
Perhaps unmatched in the history of ballet, ABT’s celebrated repertoire includes beloved full-length classics from the nineteenth century and newly commissioned works by celebrated choreographic minds of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including ballets by George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Jerome Robbins, Agnes de Mille, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Alexei Ratmansky, and Christopher Wheeldon, among others.
On April 27, 2006, by an act of Congress, American Ballet Theatre was designated America’s National Ballet Company.
Find out more at www.ABT.org
