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Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2008

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - In the tradition of great dance gala performances worldwide, Metropolitan Classical Ballet will present Paul Mejia’s Romeo and Juliet and a series of Classical Divertissements danced by the company members joined by special International guest artists from the Bolshoi in Moscow and the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Belgium. The performance will be held on June 21st at 8:00 PM at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall. The Metropolitan Classical Ballet Orchestra under the direction of Music Director Ron Spigelman will accompany this spectacular Evening with the Stars. The evening promises to be full of excitement and beauty on this one night only performance brings the season to a close.

Opening the evening will be Paul Mejia’s Romeo and Juliet. A fantasy overture composed by Tchaikovsky in 1869, it was one of three compositions inspired by Shakespeare. Paul Mejia became intrigued by all three of the overtures because of the musical impression of each story as a whole, in terms of their emotional and psychological impact, and challenged himself as a choreographer to bring them to life. Romeo and Juliet premiered in Guatemala in 1977, and was later performed by legendary ballerina Suzanne Farrell in New York City. It has since been performed throughout Europe and the United States to great public and critical acclaim. Metropolitan Classical Ballet principals, Olga Pavlova and Yevgeni Anfinogenov will perform the title roles..

Olga Pavlova and Yevgeni Anfinogenov
in Romeo and Juliet

The second part of the evening will be a selection of Divertissements from the Classics staged by Alexander Vetrov. They will offer great bravura dancing that will showcase the strong artistic personalities of the Company dancers and international guest artists. Guests from the Bolshoi in Moscow are leading principal Marianna Ryzhkina, who holds the title Merited Artist of the Russian Federation and leading soloist Ruslan Skvortsov, 2000 bronze medalist of the International Ballet Competition in Moscow. Guests from the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Belgium are first soloists Olga Voloboueva and Howard Quintero. Ms. Volobuyeva, from St. Petersburg, Russia, was a former dancer with the Kirov Ballet. Cuban born Howard Quintero was a silver medalist at the Paris International Dance Competition in 1998.

Programming, program order and casting for all productions is subject to change without notice.

Single ticket are $10, $25, and $38 and are available by calling Bass Performance Hall Ticket Office at (817) 212-4280 or by calling Metropolitan Classical Ballet at (817) 275-0598, or online at www.mcballet.org. Group discounts are available.

Metropolitan Classical Ballet’s 2007 / 2008 Season is made possible in part by its generous sponsors: American Airlines, The University of Texas at Arlington, and the law firm of Hill Gilstrap.

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Media Note: Further information may be obtained by contacting Maria Kudyakova at (817) 465-4644. Information can also be found on Metropolitan Classical Ballet’s website www.mcballet.org.