A harmonious mix of new works, company premieres and returning favorites, OBT’s Grand Tour season underscores Artistic Director Christopher Stowell’s ongoing commitment to fostering the important relationship between music and dance. Each set of performances focuses thematically on composers from a single country or region, with Germany/Austria, France, Russia and the United States all represented on separate programs.

Season highlights include:
• The world premiere of Christopher Stowell’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• OBT’s first performances of the work of William Forsythe
• A “French Dance Art” collaboration with the Portland Art Museum marked by the premiere of a new ballet set to Ravel’s Bolero
• The revival of critically acclaimed world premieres from recent seasons, Almost Mozart and Just
• New additions to the OBT repertoire by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins
• A rousing, Russian finale to the season, pairing Yuri Possokhov’s worldpremiere Raymonda with the return of Balanchine’s Rubies

“My goal in envisioning the Grand Tour,” said Christopher Stowell, “was to create an arc of programs that has a natural thematic flow and encourages people to get onboard for an entire season’s worth of performances. What they’ll witness is a sophisticated collection of varied musical styles and cultural influences.” By promoting this comprehensive experience, OREGON BALLET THEATRE expects to add further to a subscriber base that has grown by more than 50% during the 2006-07 season.

Founded in 1989, OREGON BALLET THEATRE is a not-for-profit, professional ballet company, with a school, based in Portland, Oregon. On July 1, 2003, Christopher Stowell became OREGON BALLET THEATRE’s artistic director and Damara Bennett joined as school director. OREGON BALLET THEATRE offers the highest quality ballet, in a repertoire of classic and contemporary work, to the people of Oregon, the Pacific Northwest and the United States. The School’s mission is the pursuit of excellence in dance training to produce pre-professional dancers of the highest caliber and increase the community’s awareness of dance.-->

For more information, visit www.obt.org