The New York City ballet. Photo credit: Stacey Lauren-Kennedy ©2011
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) will again offer educational preshow conversations with performers and other arts personalities during its Pre-Performance Talks presented by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Aimed at connecting audiences with artists performing at SPAC, Pre-Performance Talks offer the opportunity for guests to interact with stars in the worlds of dance and classical music.
Prior to performances of Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, New York City Ballet, National Ballet of China, and the Philadelphia Orchestra at SPAC in 2015, SPAC will host intimate 30-minute discussions with world-renowned dancers, choreographers, musicians, conductors, authors, and critics. Talks are held in the Hall of Springs Gold Room, and begin one hour before performances (1 p.m. for matinees, 7 p.m. for evening performances). Admission to the Pre-Performance Talks is $5 and requires a ticket to the performance, and seating is limited.
“Pre-Performance Talks allow arts lovers to gain personal insights shared by prominent performers and scholars,” said Marcia White, SPAC’s president and executive director. “With luminaries including Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Fei Bo, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin all scheduled to give a behind-the-scenes look at the life of an artist, these informative presentations provide a unique educational experience in the arts.”
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will be the title sponsor of SPAC’s 2015 Pre-Performance Talks series. As it approaches its bicentennial anniversary in 2024, the Institute is defining The New Polytechnic: a new paradigm for teaching, learning, and research—a view of the technological research university as a fresh, collaborative endeavor across disciplines, sectors, and global regions that leads by using advanced technologies to unite a multiplicity of disciplines and perspectives. The New Polytechnic ignites students’ imaginative abilities, enhances critical thinking, and fosters intellectual agility through ART_X@Rensselaer—the exploration of form, function, patterns, processes, dimensionality, and relatedness across all disciplines.
“Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is proud to partner with SPAC to inspire and educate guests of all ages at its 2015 Pre-Performance Talks series,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “We look forward to a summer of behind-the-scenes anecdotes and advice for aspiring artists in discussions with many of the world-class performers who will take the stage at SPAC this season.”
SPAC’s 2015 Pre-Performance Talks Presented by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute:
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
June 17, 7 p.m. Lar Lubovitch, Artistic Director, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
New York City Ballet
July 7, 7 p.m. Peter Martins, Ballet Master-in-Chief, NYCB
July 8, 7 p.m. Justin Peck, NYCB Resident Choreographer, soloist
July 9, 1 p.m. Conversation with a NYCB dancer
July 9, 7 p.m. Nancy Goldner, dance critic, author
July 10, 7 p.m. Robert Maiorano, former soloist, NYCB
July 11, 1 p.m. Costumes & Conversation with Norma Attride, NYCB Wardrobe Mistress
July 14, 7 p.m. Christine Redpath, Ballet Master, NYCB, with Jay Rogoff, poet; lecturer in English, Skidmore College; dance critic
July 15, 7 p.m. Deborah Jowitt, dance critic, author
July 16, 1 p.m. Deborah Jowitt, dance critic, author
July 16, 7 p.m. William Otto, former NYCB dancer
July 17, 7 p.m. Mindy Aloff, professor of dance, Barnard College
July 18, 1 p.m. Conversation with a NYCB dancer
July 18, 7 p.m. Mindy Aloff, professor of dance, Barnard College
The National Ballet of China
July 21, 7 p.m. Fei Bo, choreographer of The Peony Pavilion
Photo credit: SPAC
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Aug. 5, 7 p.m. David Kim, Concertmaster, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Aug. 6, 7 p.m. Jean-Yves Thibaudet, pianist
Aug. 7, 7 p.m. Stéphane Denève, Principal Guest Conductor, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Aug. 8, 7 p.m. TBA
Aug. 12, 7 p.m. Emanuel Ax, pianist
Aug. 13, 7 p.m. Steven Reineke, conductor
Aug. 14, 7 p.m. Bramwell Tovey, conductor
Aug. 15, 7 p.m. Johannes Moser, cellist
Aug. 19, 7 p.m. Conversation with a Philadelphia Orchestra musician
Aug. 20, 7 p.m. TBA
Aug. 21, 7 p.m. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Music Director, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Aug. 22, 7 p.m. Robert Cafaro, cellist, The Philadelphia Orchestra