2024/2025 Season Press Release

For Immediate Release

August 14, 2024

New Jersey Ballet Announces A Riveting 2024/2025 Season Featuring Masterpieces By Renowned Choreographers Including Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, And A World Premiere by Harrison Ball

Morristown, NJ – August 14, 2024 – New Jersey Ballet (NJB) is thrilled to announce its eagerly anticipated 2024/2025 Season, featuring a dazzling array of works by celebrated choreographers including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Justin Peck, Peter Martins, Lauren Lovette, and a World Premiere by former New York City Ballet principal dancer Harrison Ball.

Artistic Director Maria Kowroski has curated a season of exceptional performances, highlighting new and exciting works, which significantly raise the level of dance in New Jersey. Among the season’s highlights are George Balanchine's Serenade, which recently celebrated its 90th anniversary since its premiere in 1935, and Jerome Robbins' In the Night, performed with live piano accompaniment.

In April, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) will present NJB in the Victoria Theater on April 24 and 25. The program will feature Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs and the highly anticipated World Premiere by former New York City Ballet principal dancer Harrison Ball, marking his second world premiere for NJB. The Ballet’s Spring Gala will be held on April 24 at NJPAC, with further details to be announced soon.

As the Resident Ballet Company at the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) in Morristown, NJB will present:

Creative Forces on Friday, November 8 featuring Justin Peck’s Murder Ballades, Jerome Robbins’ In the Night and more.
The Nutcracker from December 13 through December 26. NJB and MPAC will present 14 performances of New Jersey’s holiday favorite, The Nutcracker, with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
Masterpieces in Motion on Saturday, March 15 featuring George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco and Tarantella and more
Once Upon A Time, a family friendly program on Sunday, March 23 featuring excerpts from Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet and Sleeping Beauty
Timeless Masterpieces on Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18 featuring Swan Lake Act II and George Balanchine’s Serenade and Rubies

NJB will return to Two River Theater in Red Bank on Saturday, November 16, with Creative Forces, featuring Justin Peck's Murder Ballades, Jerome Robbins' In the Night and more.

On February 22, NJB will return to the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) for two performances with Masterpieces in Motion, including George Balanchine's Concerto Barocco and Tarantella, Jerome Robbins' In the Night and Peter Martins’ Hallelujah Junction.

NJB will present its annual performance of The Nutcracker at BergenPAC in Englewood on December 7 and 8, followed by Once Upon A Time on Sunday, April 6, a family friendly production featuring excerpts from Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet and Sleeping Beauty.

In partnership with the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway, NJB will present two Sensory Friendly programs: The Nutcracker on Sunday, December 1, and Once Upon A Time on March 30. Both Sensory Programs are one hour in length.

2024/2025 Season Performances

August 24, 2024 - Asbury Park Dance Festival @7:00PM, Asbury Park, NJ

TICKETS: https://www.apdancefest.org/tickets (SOLD OUT)

Two Dancers from New Jersey Ballet, Ilse Kapteyn and Felipe Valentini will be performing

November 8, 2024 @7:30PM - Creative Forces: Peck, Robbins and more

Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ

TICKETS: https://www.mayoarts.org/shows/new-jersey-ballet-presents-creative-forces-peck-robbins-and-more/

November 16, 2024 @ 2:00PM & 7:30PM - Creative Forces: Peck, Robbins and more

Two River Theater, Red Bank, NJ

TICKETS: On Sale Soon

December 1, 2024 @ 3:00PM – The Nutcracker: Sensory Friendly, One hour performance

Union County Performing Arts Center, Rahway, NJ

TICKETS: On Sale Soon

December 7 @1:00PM & 4:30PM – The Nutcracker

December 8 @1:00PM & 4:30PM – The Nutcracker

Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ

TICKETS: https://www.bergenpac.org/events/detail/new-jersey-ballets-nutcracker-6

December 13 - 26, 2024 Times Vary – The Nutcracker with New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ

TICKETS: https://www.mayoarts.org/shows/new-jersey-ballets-nutcracker-with-new-jersey-symphony/

February 22, 2025 @ 2:00PM & 7:30PM - Masterworks in Motion: Balanchine, Martins and more.

New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, New Brunswick, NJ

TICKETS: https://secure.nbpac.org/masterworks

March 15, 2025 @ 7:30PM - Masterworks in Motion: Balanchine and more.

Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ

TICKETS: https://www.mayoarts.org/shows/new-jersey-ballet-presents-masterpieces-in-motion-balanchine-martins-and-more/

March 30, 2025 @ 2:00PM - Once Upon A Time: Sensory Friendly, One hour performance

Union County Performing Arts Center, Rahway, NJ

TICKETS: On Sale Soon

April 6, 2025 @ 2:00PM - Once Upon A Time

Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ

TICKETS: On Sale Soon

May 17, 2025 @7:30PM - Timeless Masterpieces: Swan Lake Act II, George Balanchine’s Serenade and Rubies

May 18, 2025 @2:00PM - Timeless Masterpieces: Swan Lake Act II, George Balanchine’s Serenade and Rubies

Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ

TICKETS: https://www.mayoarts.org/shows/new-jersey-ballet-presents-timeless-masterpieces-swan-lake-act-ii-and-more/

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.njballet.org.

New Jersey Ballet is committed to enriching lives through the joy of ballet. With a rich history of artistic excellence, NJB continues to captivate audiences with its innovative programming and dedication to the art of dance.

ABOUT THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

MARIA KOWROSKI was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she began her ballet training at age seven with the School of Grand Rapids Ballet. Ms. Kowroski entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in the fall of 1992. She became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in the summer of 1994 and was invited to join the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in January of 1995. In the spring of 1997, Ms. Kowroski was promoted to the rank of soloist and in the spring of 1999, she was promoted to principal dancer.

Ms. Kowroski has danced many principal roles in the Balanchine repertory including, Agon, Apollo, Concerto Barocco, Mozartiana, Diamonds, Rubies and Emeralds from Jewels, Prodigal Son, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Chaconne and Bugaku. Ms. Kowroski has had the pleasure of being created on by several choreographers including Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Mauro Bigonzetti, Justin Peck, Peter Martins, Boris Eifman, and Helgi Tomasson. She has also had the great privilege of working with the great choreographers Alexei Ratmansky and William Forsythe. Ms. Kowroski was a guest artist with the Mariinsky ballet performing Swan Lake in 2003, a mixed Balanchine program in 2006 and 2019. In 1994 Ms. Kowroski was the recipient of the Princess Grace Award and in 2011 she received the Jerome Robbins award.

Ms. Kowroski became Acting Artistic Director of New Jersey Ballet in November 2021 and Artistic Director in September 2022. Under Ms. Koworski's directorship, a new work was commissioned and choreographed by former New York City Ballet principal dancer Harrison Ball with costumes by fashion designer Zac Posen. Most recently Ms. Kowroski won an Emmy as Creative Director for New Jersey Ballet's 2022 marketing video.

ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHERS

TWYLA THARP – Since graduating from Barnard College in 1963, Ms. Tharp has choreographed more than one hundred sixty works: one hundred twenty-nine dances, twelve television specials, six Hollywood movies, four full-length ballets, four Broadway shows and two figure skating routines. She received one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, nineteen honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts, the 2008 Jerome Robbins Prize, and a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor. Her many grants include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

In 1965, Ms. Tharp founded her dance company, Twyla Tharp Dance. Her dances are known for creativity, wit and technical precision coupled with a streetwise nonchalance. By combining different forms of movement – such as jazz, ballet, boxing and inventions of her own making – Ms. Tharp’s work expands the boundaries of ballet and modern dance.

In addition to choreographing for her own company, she has created dances for The Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Boston Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Martha Graham Dance Company, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Today, ballet and dance companies around the world continue to perform Ms. Tharp’s works.

Ms. Tharp's work first appeared on Broadway in 1980 with WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG, followed by her collaboration with musician David Byrne on THE CATHERINE WHEEL and later by SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN. In 2002, Ms. Tharp’s dance musical MOVIN' OUT, set to the music and lyrics of Billy Joel. Ms. Tharp later worked with Bob Dylan’s music and lyrics in THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ and COME FLY AWAY, set to songs sung by Frank Sinatra.

In film, Ms. Tharp has collaborated with director Milos Forman on HAIR, RAGTIME and AMADEUS. She has also worked with Taylor Hackford on WHITE NIGHTS and James Brooks on I'LL DO ANYTHING.

Her television credits include choreographing SUE'S LEG for the inaugural episode of PBS' DANCE IN AMERICA IN 1976, co-producing and directing MAKING TELEVISION DANCE, and directing THE CATHERINE WHEEL for BBC Television. Ms. Tharp co-directed the television special BARYSHNIKOV BY THARP.

In 1992, Ms. Tharp published her autobiography PUSH COMES TO SHOVE. She went on to write THE CREATIVE HABIT: Learn it and Use it for Life, followed by THE COLLABORATIVE HABIT: Life Lessons for Working Together. In 2019, her fourth book was published, KEEP IT MOVING: LESSONS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Today, Ms. Tharp continues to create.

JUSTIN PECK is a Tony Award winning choreographer, director, filmmaker, and dancer based in New York City.

He is currently the acting Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet.

Justin began choreographing in 2009 at the New York Choreographic Institute. In 2014, after the creation of his acclaimed ballet EVERYWHERE WE GO, he was appointed as Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet. He is the second person in the institution’s history to hold this title.

After attending the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center from 2003-2006, Justin was invited to join the New York City Ballet as a dancer in 2006. As a performer, Justin has danced a vast repertoire of works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, Benjamin Millepied, Christopher Wheeldon, and many others. In 2013, Justin was promoted to the rank of Soloist, performing full-time through 2019 with the company.

Justin has created over 50 dance-works -- more than 20 for New York City Ballet. His works have been performed by Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Australian Ballet, Dresden Semperoper Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Boston Ballet, Juilliard, National Ballet of Canada, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, LA Dance Project, Dutch National Ballet, the School of American Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Houston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Ballet Austin, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Bordeaux, Finnish National Ballet, Ballet MET, Royal Danish Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, University of Southern California (USC), and Ballet Arizona.

Working on a wide array of projects, Justin’s collaborators include composers Sufjan Stevens, The National, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, Dan Deacon, Caroline Shaw, Chris Thile, Stephen Sondheim, M83, Dolly Parton; visual artists Shepard Fairey, Marcel Dzama, Shantell Martin, John Baldessari, Jeffrey Gibson, George Condo, Steve Powers, Jules de Balincourt; fashion designers Raf Simons, Mary Katrantzou, Humberto Leon (Kenzo, Opening Ceremony), Tsumori Chisato, Dries Van Noten; and filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Sofia Coppola, Damien Chazelle, Elisabeth Moss, Frances Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Jody Lee Lipes.

In 2014, Justin was the subject of the documentary BALLET 422, which presents Justin’s craft and creative process as a choreographer in great detail, as he creates New York City Ballet’s 422nd commissioned dance.

Justin has worked extensively as a filmmaker. In particular, his focus has been exploring new innovative ways of presenting dance on film. Peck choreographed the feature films RED SPARROW (2016) starring Jennifer Lawrence and directed by Francis Lawrence; WEST SIDE STORY (2021) in collaboration with director Steven Spielberg; and MAESTRO (2022) in collaboration with director/actor/writer Bradley Cooper. Peck's work as a director-choreographer for music videos include: THE DARK SIDE OF THE GYM (2017) for The National; THANK YOU, NEW YORK (2020) for Chris Thile; and THE TIMES ARE RACING (2017) for Dan Deacon. In 2018, Justin directed the New York Times GREAT PERFORMERS Series (starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Lakeith Stanfield, Glenn Close, Toni Collette, Yoo Ah-in, Emma Stone, Olivia Colman, Regina Hall, Yalitzia Aparicio, Elsie Fischer, and Rachel Weisz).

Justin choreographed the 2018 BROADWAY revival of CAROUSEL. The production was directed by Jack O'Brien and starred Jessie Meuller, Joshua Henry, & Renée Fleming.

Justin’s honors include: the National Arts Award (2018), the Golden Plate Honor from the Academy of Achievement (2019), the Bessie Award for his ballet RODEO: FOUR DANCE EPISODES (2015), the Gross Family Prize for his ballet EVERYWHERE WE GO (2014), the World Choreography Award for WEST SIDE STORY (2022), and the Tony Award for his work on Broadway’s CAROUSEL (2018).

JEROME ROBBINS received equal kudos for his work in commercial theater — Broadway. He was a director of musicals, plays, movies, and television programs. This dual interest produced a staggering number of ballets and stagings of musical plays, notable for their diversity, brilliance, lyric beauty, and humor. His work is characterized by the intensity and compactness of its expression and its wide variety of mood — whether it be rhapsodic, introspective, poignant, or hilarious. He had the ability to make the most complex movement appear effortless, and totally reflective of the musical score, as if it were created spontaneously for that exact moment in time. His career as a gifted ballet dancer developed with Ballet Theatre where he danced with special distinction the role of Petrouchka, and character roles in the works of Fokine, Tudor, Massine, Lichine and de Mille, and of course his first choreographic sensation: Fancy Free (1944). This ballet, followed by Interplay (1945) and Facsimile (1946), was performed by Ballet Theatre, after which he embarked on a prolific and enormously successful career as a choreographer and later as a director of Broadway musicals and plays. His first musical, On the Town, (1945), was followed by Billion Dollar Baby (1946), High Button Shoes (1947), Look, Ma, I'm Dancing (which he co-directed with George Abbott in 1948), Miss Liberty (1949), Call Me Madame (1950), and the ballet "Small House of Uncle Thomas" in The King and I (1951). His work continued with Two's Company (1952), Pajama Game (again co-directed with Mr. Abbott in 1954), and Peter Pan (1954), which he directed and choreographed. In the same year, he also directed the opera The Tender Land by Aaron Copland. Two years after that, he directed and choreographed Bells are Ringing (1956), followed by the historic, operatic, and balletic West Side Story (1957). He then performed the same tasks for Gypsy (1959) and Fiddler on the Roof (1964). He was simultaneously creating ballets for the New York City Ballet, which he joined in 1949 as Associate Artistic Director with George Balanchine. Among his outstanding works were The Guests (1949), Age of Anxiety (1951), The Cage (1951), The Pied Piper (1951), Afternoon of a Faun (1953), Fanfare (1953), and The Concert (1956), the latter the most hilarious of all ballets. For his own company, Ballets U.S.A. (1958 - 1962), he created N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz (1958), Moves (1959), and Events (1961). The company performed to acclaim in the United States and Europe. He directed the Ford 50th Anniversary Show with Mary Martin and Ethel Merman for television in 1953, followed by a 1955 telecast of Peter Pan for which he received an Emmy Award. He co-directed and choreographed the movie West Side Story (1960), for which he received two Academy Awards. Off-Broadway, he directed the play by Arthur Kopit, Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad (1962). The following year, he directed and co-produced Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. For American Ballet Theatre's twenty-fifth anniversary (1965), he staged Stravinsky's dance cantata, Les Noces, a work of shattering and immense impact.

GEORGE BALANCHINE served as artistic director for the New York City Ballet, choreographing (either wholly or in part) the majority of the productions the company has introduced since its inception. Among them were Firebird (1949; restaged with Jerome Robbins, 1970); Bouree Fantasque (1949); La Valse (1951); The Nutcracker (his first full-length work for the Company), Ivesiana and Western Symphony, (1954); Allegro Brillante (1956); Agon (1957); The Seven Deadly Sins (a revival of the original Les Ballets 1933 production) and Stars and Stripes, (1958); Episodes (1959); Monumentum Pro Gesualdo and Liebeslieder Walzer (1960); A Midsummer Night's Dream (1962); Movements for Piano and Orchestra and Bugaku, (1963); Don Quixote (in three acts) and Harlequinade (in two acts), (1965); Jewels — his first and only full-length plotless ballet — (1967); and Who Cares?, (1970). In June 1972, Balanchine staged the New York City Ballet's first festival, an intensive one-week celebration of the music of his longtime friend and collaborator, Igor Stravinsky. Of the 20 works that received their world premieres during the Festival, he choreographed eight: Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Duo Concertant, Choral Variations (on Bach's "Vom Himmel Hoch," Scherzo A La Russe, Symphony in Three Movements, Divertimento from "Le Baiser De La Fee," and new versions of Pulcinella (with Robbins) and Danses Concertante. An authoritative catalogue of his works lists 465 works created by Balanchinhis lifetime, beginning with a pas de deux in 1920 (LA NUIT) and ending with a solo, Variations for Orchestra (though he had used the Stravinsky score for a 1966 ballet, this work was entirely re-choreographed), in 1982. In between he created a body of work as extensive as it is diverse, ranging from the expansive Symphony in C and the lavishly theatrical Orpheus to such small-scale gems as Pavane. Though it is for his ballet choreography that Balanchine is most noted, he also worked extensively in theater and movies. He choreographed numerous musical comedies, including On Your Toes, Cabin in the Sky, Babes in Arms, Where's Charly?, Song of Norway, I Married an Angel, The Boys from Syracuse, The Merry Widow and The Ziegfeld Follies of 1935 and his film credits include Star Spangled Rhythm, I Was an Adventuress and Goldwyn Follies. Balanchine also choreographed numerous opera-ballets throughout his career. He staged many of his ballets (or excerpts) for television, as well as creating works especially for the medium: in 1962 he collaborated with Stravinsky on the original television ballet, Noah and the Flood, and in 1981 redesigned his 1975 staging of L'enfant et les Sortileges to include a wide range of special effects, including animation. Through television medium, millions of people have been able to see the New York City Ballet in their own homes. "Choreography by Balanchine," a four-part "Dance in America" presentation on the PBS series "Great Performances" began in December 1977. Included on the programs have been The Four Temperaments, Tzigane, Prodigal Son, Allegro Brillante, and segments of Jewels and Ballo Della Regina. Balanchine travelled to Nashville with the Company for the video tapings in 1977 and 1978 and personally supervised every shot, in some cases revising steps or angles to be compatible with the camera. The series has been broadly applauded by critics and audiences all over the country and was nominated for an Emmy. In January 1978, the New York City Ballet participated in the acclaimed PBS series "Live from Lincoln Center" for the first time. Coppelia, choreographed by Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova in 1974, was seen live from the stage of the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. This presentation also netted Balanchine an Emmy. The Company worked again with "Live from Lincoln Center" eight years later, this time performing Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

HARRISON BALL, Choreographer, was born in Houston, Texas, and began his dance training at age four at The Charleston Ballet Theatre in South Carolina. Ball began studying at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet (NYCB), as a full-time student in the fall of 2007. In June of 2011, he became an apprentice with NYCB, and in July of 2012 he joined NYCB as a member of the corps de ballet. He was promoted to soloist in February 2017 and later to principal in 2022. In April 2023, he retired from New York City Ballet. During his tenure at New York City Ballet, he performed featured roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Peter Martins, Kyle Abraham, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Justin Peck, Mauro Bigonzetti and many others. Ball is the recipient of the Mae. L Wein Award and the Janice Levin Award. Purcell Suite was his first choreographic commission. Ball resides between San Francisco and New York City and is pursuing careers in acting and choreography.

LAUREN LOVETTE personifies the intertwining of dance and choreography, moving seamlessly from one to the other. Her work has been commissioned and performed by leading dance companies and festivals, including the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Vail International Dance Festival, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Nevada Ballet Theatre, as well as a self-produced evening entirely of her own work in which she also danced, Why It Matters. Born in Thousand Oaks, California, Lovette began studying ballet at the age of 11 at the Cary Ballet Conservatory in Cary, North Carolina. She enrolled at SAB as a full scholarship student in 2006. In October 2009, she became an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in September 2010. Promoted to soloist in February 2013 and to principal dancer in June 2015, she stepped down from her position at the company in 2021 in order to embark on a career devoted to dance and choreography in more equal measure. She is now the choreographer in residence at the Paul Taylor Dance Company and performs as a guest principal dancer around the world. Lovette received the Clive Barnes Award for dance in December 2012 and was the 2012 – 2013 recipient of the Janice Levin Award.

Artistic Director: Maria Kowroski

2024/2025 Season Press Release