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American Ballet Theatre





HISTORY

The company was originally founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet, and then reorganized in 1940 with a new name as the '''Ballet Theatre''', with direction from Lucia Chase and Rich Pleasant . In 1956 it became the '''American Ballet Theatre''', and has kept that name ever since.

Throughout this time, the company has had several artistic directors:


In 1960, the company became the first American company to dance in the Soviet Union .

Principal dancers have included Alicia Alonso , Erik Bruhn , Anton Dolin , Leslie Browne and Natalia Makarova . {Link without Title}

Principal dancers today include Maxim Beloserkovsky, Jose Manuel Carreño, Irina Dvorovenko, Angel Corella , Paloma Herrera , Julie Kent, Vladimir Malakhov, Gillian Murphy , Xiomara Reyes, and Ethan Stiefel.


REPERTOIRE

Many Choreographers have staged works for ABT, including George Balanchine , Adolph Bolm , Michel Fokine , Léonide Massine , and Bronislava Nijinska . Antony Tudor , the British choreographer, made his American debut with the company. Agnes De Mille staged the majority of her ballet works with ABT. Others include Jerome Robbins , Twyla Tharp , and Alvin Ailey . ABT's 1976 production of "The Nutcracker", starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland, was televised in 1977 and has become a TV classic.


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