Philip Glass’s “Four Movements for Two Pianos” takes center stage as Peck, resident choreographer for New York City Ballet, explores expansive new places—challenging the body instrument to express movement in its fullest form.
CHACONNE Sasha Janes
The beautiful Bach Chaconne sets the mood for a work filled with contemporary ballet movement, Janes’ complex and visually stimulating approach to partnering, and the maturity these dancers demonstrate as they perform professional-level repertoire.
FÜR ALINA Edwaard Liang
This sad and soulful pas de deux invites the audience to contemplate loss—and invites the dancers to demonstrate the movement eclecticism of this world-renowned choreographer, now artistic director of BalletMet.
DONIZETTI VARIATIONS George Balanchine
Vivacious dances set to music from Gaetano Donizetti’s opera Dom Sébastien. Balanchine created this cheerful and sunny work for “Salute to Italy,” a 1960 New York City Ballet program celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary of Italy’s unification.
2021 Performances
Oct. 1, 2 Musical Arts Center 7:30 PM
Oct. 2 Musical Arts Center 2 PM
Explore our IU Jacobs School of Music Opera and Ballet Theater archive.
Choreography by Justin Peck Music: Excerpts from Four Movements for Two Pianos by Philip Glass
Premiere: July 14, 2012 | New York City Ballet Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Staged by Michael Breeden Julian Garvue and Lucy Zeng, Piano Duo Sarah Wroth, Ballet Master
Eli Diersing Daisy Ye Brandon Silverman Morgan Jankowski Aram Hengen Fletcher Barr Ariana Dickerson Aya Thygesen
Philip Glass’s Movement for Two Pianos creates the perfect background in both music and scenery for this successful work created by Justin Peck for New Your City Ballet in 2012. The dancers move in a kaleidoscope of patterns as energy is shared and passed from artist to artist. The resulting ensemble offers the audience a chance to appreciate neoclassical ballet in a contemporary work with style, precision and individual artistic expression.
Choreography by Sasha Janes Music: “Ciaccona” from Partita in D Minor for Violin Solo, BWV 1004 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Premiere: January 23, 2014 | Charlotte Ballet Charlotte Ballet Center for Dance (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Staged by Sasha Janes Jonathan Yi, Violin
Jack Grohmann Colin Canavan Brandon Silvermman Eli Diersing Sarah Knutson Elaina da Fonte Natalia Garcia
The strings of the violin in Bach’s “Ciaccona” accentuate the weight and dramatic tension between partners in this challenging and intricate work created by Jacobs School of Music Associate Professor, Sasha Janes. Dancers appear and disappear from the curtain at the back of the stage revealing new elements of artistry and unexpected punctuation throughout the work. The ballet was created for the professional dancers of Charlotte ballet and the work offers the majors a challenge to surpass the professional standard in technical skill, execution and artistry.
Choreography by Edwaard Liang Music: Für Alina by Arvo Pärt
Premiere: September 16, 2006 | New Ballet Choreographers Miller Theater (New York City)
Staged by Carla Körbes Lucy Zeng, Piano
Mairead Moore and Thomas Montgomery
There is a miraculous stillness incorporated into this work created by Edward Liang in 2006. The pianist essentially performs a musical dance with the artists moving onstage, exchanging moments of silence and true artistry in a passionate conversation about loss and longing. The ability to listen, emote and move in unison is a major contributor to the resonating success of the work.
Choreography by George Balanchine Music: Selections from Don Sebastian* by Gaetano Donizetti
Premiere: November 16, 1960 | New York City Ballet City Center of Music and Drama (New York City)
Staged by Kyra Nichols Christian Claessens, Ballet Master
Ruth Connelly and Colin Canavan
Maddie Brown Julie Fawcett Mia Gonzalez-Lloren Katie Zak Sarah Pfeiffer Christina Henares
with Aram Hengen Carson Van Popering Fletcher Barr
This ballet, originally titled Variations from “Don Sebastian,” was created for New York City Ballet in 1960 as a light-hearted piece in a program entitled “Salute to Italy.” The program celebrated the then 100th anniversary of Italy’s unification. This work demonstrates all the technical clarity and speed of Balanchine’s iconic style combined with allusions to the dramatic and exuberant passion of Italian dance.
*Recorded by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Daryl Griffith, conductor
Synopsis: Saturday, October 2, 2021 | 2 PM
Choreography by Justin Peck Music: Excerpts from Four Movements for Two Pianos by Philip Glass
Premiere: July 14, 2012 | New York City Ballet Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Staged by Michael Breeden Julian Garvue and Lucy Zeng, Piano Duo Sarah Wroth, Ballet Master
Eli Diersing Daisy Ye Brandon Silverman Morgan Jankowski Aram Hengen Fletcher Barr Ariana Dickerson Aya Thygesen
Philip Glass’s Movement for Two Pianos creates the perfect background in both music and scenery for this successful work created by Justin Peck for New Your City Ballet in 2012. The dancers move in a kaleidoscope of patterns as energy is shared and passed from artist to artist. The resulting ensemble offers the audience a chance to appreciate neoclassical ballet in a contemporary work with style, precision and individual artistic expression.
Choreography by Sasha Janes Music: “Ciaccona” from Partita in D Minor for Violin Solo, BWV 1004 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Premiere: January 23, 2014 | Charlotte Ballet Charlotte Ballet Center for Dance (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Staged by Sasha Janes Jonathan Yi, Violin Michael Vernon, Ballet Master
Joaquín Ruiz Aram Hengen Brandon Silvermman Eli Diersing Emmanuelle Hendrickson Elaina da Fonte Morgan Jankowski
The strings of the violin in Bach’s “Ciaccona” accentuate the weight and dramatic tension between partners in this challenging and intricate work created by Jacobs School of Music Associate Professor, Sasha Janes. Dancers appear and disappear from the curtain at the back of the stage revealing new elements of artistry and unexpected punctuation throughout the work. The ballet was created for the professional dancers of Charlotte ballet and the work offers the majors a challenge to surpass the professional standard in technical skill, execution and artistry.
Choreography by Edwaard Liang Music: Für Alina by Arvo Pärt
Premiere: September 16, 2006 | New Ballet Choreographers Miller Theater (New York City)
Staged by Carla Körbes Lucy Zeng, Piano Carla Körbes, Ballet Master
Paityn Lauzon and Xander Visker
There is a miraculous stillness incorporated into this work created by Edward Liang in 2006. The pianist essentially performs a musical dance with the artists moving onstage, exchanging moments of silence and true artistry in a passionate conversation about loss and longing. The ability to listen, emote and move in unison is a major contributor to the resonating success of the work.
Choreography by George Balanchine Music: Selections from Don Sebastian* by Gaetano Donizetti
Premiere: November 16, 1960 | New York City Ballet City Center of Music and Drama (New York City)
Staged by Kyra Nichols Christian Claessens, Ballet Master
Christina Henares and Aram Hengen
Elisabeth Shim Madison Buchholtz Emmanuelle Hendrickson Sarah Lewis Samatha Goodelle Tierney Solmo
with Eli Diersing Xander Visker Christopher Balbuena
This ballet, originally titled Variations from “Don Sebastian,” was created for New York City Ballet in 1960 as a light-hearted piece in a program entitled “Salute to Italy.” The program celebrated the then 100th anniversary of Italy’s unification. This work demonstrates all the technical clarity and speed of Balanchine’s iconic style combined with allusions to the dramatic and exuberant passion of Italian dance.
*Recorded by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Daryl Griffith, conductor
Synopsis: Saturday, October 2, 2021 | 7:30 PM
Choreography by Justin Peck Music: Excerpts from Four Movements for Two Pianos by Philip Glass
Premiere: July 14, 2012 | New York City Ballet Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Staged by Michael Breeden Julian Garvue and Lucy Zeng, Piano Duo Sarah Wroth, Ballet Master
Jack Grohmann Murray McCormack Xander Visker Mairead Moore Joaquin, Ruiz Keith Newman Maddie Tyler Jayda Hazelett
Philip Glass’s Movement for Two Pianos creates the perfect background in both music and scenery for this successful work created by Justin Peck for New Your City Ballet in 2012. The dancers move in a kaleidoscope of patterns as energy is shared and passed from artist to artist. The resulting ensemble offers the audience a chance to appreciate neoclassical ballet in a contemporary work with style, precision and individual artistic expression.
Choreography by Sasha Janes Music: “Ciaccona” from Partita in D Minor for Violin Solo, BWV 1004 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Premiere: January 23, 2014 | Charlotte Ballet Charlotte Ballet Center for Dance (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Staged by Sasha Janes Jonathan Yi, Violin Michael Vernon, Ballet Master
Jack Grohmann Colin Canavan Jack Grohmann Eli Diersing Sarah Knutson Daisey Ye Natalia Garcia
The strings of the violin in Bach’s “Ciaccona” accentuate the weight and dramatic tension between partners in this challenging and intricate work created by Jacobs School of Music Associate Professor, Sasha Janes. Dancers appear and disappear from the curtain at the back of the stage revealing new elements of artistry and unexpected punctuation throughout the work. The ballet was created for the professional dancers of Charlotte ballet and the work offers the majors a challenge to surpass the professional standard in technical skill, execution and artistry.
Choreography by Edwaard Liang Music: Für Alina by Arvo Pärt
Premiere: September 16, 2006 | New Ballet Choreographers Miller Theater (New York City)
Staged by Carla Körbes Lucy Zeng, Piano Carla Körbes, Ballet Master
Alexis Breen and Brandon Silverman
There is a miraculous stillness incorporated into this work created by Edward Liang in 2006. The pianist essentially performs a musical dance with the artists moving onstage, exchanging moments of silence and true artistry in a passionate conversation about loss and longing. The ability to listen, emote and move in unison is a major contributor to the resonating success of the work.
Choreography by George Balanchine Music: Selections from Don Sebastian* by Gaetano Donizetti
Premiere: November 16, 1960 | New York City Ballet City Center of Music and Drama (New York City)
Staged by Kyra Nichols Christian Claessens, Ballet Master
Jaya Dhand and Keith Newman
Maddie Brown Julie Fawcett Mia Gonzalez-Lloren Katie Zak Sarah Pfeiffer Christina Henares
with Aram Hengen Carson Van Popering Fletcher Barr
This ballet, originally titled Variations from “Don Sebastian,” was created for New York City Ballet in 1960 as a light-hearted piece in a program entitled “Salute to Italy.” The program celebrated the then 100th anniversary of Italy’s unification. This work demonstrates all the technical clarity and speed of Balanchine’s iconic style combined with allusions to the dramatic and exuberant passion of Italian dance.
*Recorded by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Daryl Griffith, conductor
Choreographers
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, George Balanchine is regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet. He came to the United States in late 1933, at the age of 29, accepting the invitation of the young American arts patron Lincoln Kirstein (1907-96), whose great passions included the dream of creating a ballet company in America. At Balanchine’s behest, Kirstein was also prepared to support the formation of an American academy of ballet that would eventually rival the long-established schools of Europe. This was the School of American Ballet, founded in 1934, the first product of the Balanchine-Kirstein collaboration. Several ballet companies directed by the two were created and dissolved in the years that followed, while Balanchine found other outlets for his choreography. Eventually, with a performance on October 11, 1948, New York City Ballet was born. Balanchine served as its ballet master and principal choreographer from 1948 until his death in 1983. Balanchine’s more than 400 dance works include Serenade (1934), Concerto Barocco (1941), Le Palais de Cristal, later renamed Symphony in C (1947), Orpheus (1948), The Nutcracker (1954), Agon (1957), Symphony in Three Movements (1972), Stravinsky Violin Concerto (1972), Vienna Waltzes (1977), Ballo della Regina (1978), and Mozartiana (1981). His final ballet, a new version of Stravinsky’s Variations for Orchestra, was created in 1982. He also choreographed for films, operas, revues, and musicals. Among his best-known dances for the stage is “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue,” originally created for Broadway’s On Your Toes (1936). The musical was later made into a movie. A major artistic figure of the twentieth century, Balanchine revolutionized the look of classical ballet. Taking classicism as his base, he heightened, quickened, expanded, streamlined, and even inverted the fundamentals of the 400-year-old language of academic dance. This had an inestimable influence on the growth of dance in America. Although at first his style seemed particularly suited to the energy and speed of American dancers, especially those he trained, his ballets are now performed by all the major classical ballet companies throughout the world.
Sasha Janes is associate professor of ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. He was born in Perth, Australia, and received his formal dance training from the Australian Ballet School. He has danced professionally with West Australian Ballet, Australian Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, and Dayton Ballet, performing principal roles in works by Jiří Kylián, George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Marius Petipa, Septime Webre, Anthony Tudor, Dwight Rhoden, Alonzo King, Twyla Tharp, Alvin Ailey, and many others. At the invitation of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and associate artistic director Patricia McBride, Janes joined Charlotte Ballet in 2003. In 2006, he was commissioned to choreograph his first ballet, Lascia la Spina, Cogli la Rosa, and has since choreographed several ballets for Charlotte Ballet, including Carmen, Dangerous Liaisons, We Danced Through Life, Last Lost Chance, Shelter, At First Sight, Loss, The Four Seasons, The Red Dress, Utopia, Playground Teasers, The Seed and the Soil, Chaconne, Queen, Sketches from Grace, and Rhapsodic Dances, which was performed as part of the Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America series in June 2013. The Washington Post called Janes “a choreographer to watch.” He was a participant in New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute and has been a guest choreographer for Richmond Ballet’s New Works Festival. He was a principal dancer with Charlotte Ballet for eight seasons before being named rehearsal director in 2007 then associate artistic director in 2012 and adding the title resident choreographer in 2013. In fall 2016, Janes premiered his ballet Saudade for the Jacobs School of Music, where he served as guest faculty. In spring 2017, he premiered his Wuthering Heights for Charlotte Ballet, inspired by Emily Bronte’s classic novel. In fall 2020, he premiered the first two movements of 19 at the Jacobs School.
A former dancer with New York City Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater, Edwaard Liang has built an international reputation as a choreographer. Over the last decade, he has created work for the Bolshoi Ballet, Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Kirov Ballet, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre, and Washington Ballet. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, and raised in Marin County, California, he began his dance training at age five with Marin Ballet. After studying at the School of American Ballet, he joined New York City Ballet in 1993. That same year, he was a medal winner at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition and won the Mae L. Wien Award. By 1998, he was promoted to soloist. In 2001, Liang joined the Tony Award–winning Broadway cast of Fosse. His performance in Fosse was later televised nationally in the PBS Great Performancesseries episode “Dance in America – From Broadway: Fosse” and subsequently released on DVD. By 2002, Liang was invited by Jiří Kylián to become a member of the acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) 1. While dancing with NDT 1, Liang discovered his passion for choreography. Since establishing himself as a choreographer, his works have been performed by dance companies around the world, and he has won numerous awards, including the 2006 National Choreographic Competition. In 2013, he was named artistic director at BalletMet, where he continues to choreograph new works for companies both domestically and abroad. In 2017, he received an Emmy Award for his short dance film Vaulted. In 2018, he created a new ballet with Roberto Bolle for the opening of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Justin Peck is a Tony Award-winning choreographer, director, and dancer based in New York City. He is currently the acting resident choreographer of New York City Ballet (NYCB). Peck 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 resident choreographer of NYCB. He joined NYCB as a dancer in 2006. As a performer, Peck 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, Peck was promoted to the rank of soloist, performing full-time through 2019 with the company. He has created over 40 ballets, 20 for NYCB. His works have been performed by Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, LA Dance Project, Dutch National Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Pennsylvania Ballet, to name a few. Notable collaborators include, among others, composers Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, Caroline Shaw, and Dolly Parton; visual artists Shepard Fairey, Marcel Dzama, and John Baldessari; fashion designers Mary Katrantzou, Humberto Leon, Tsumori Chisato, and Dries Van Noten; and filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Sofia Coppola, and Damien Chazelle. In 2014, Peck was the subject of the documentary Ballet 422, which followed him as he created New York City Ballet’s 422nd original dance, Paz de la Jolla. His directorial and choreographic work on film includes the feature film Red Sparrow, The New York Times Great Performers series (starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Emma Stone, Glenn Close, and others), and the upcoming film remake of West Side Story (with Steven Spielberg). His accolades include the National Arts Award (2018), Golden Plate Honor from the Academy of Achievement (2019), Bessie Award for his ballet Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes (2015), the Gross Family Prize for his ballet Everywhere We Go (2014), and the Tony Award for his choreography on Broadway’s Carousel (2018). (Photo by Henry Leutwyler)
Artistic Staff
Julian Garvue is a pianist from Seattle, Washington. A versatile musician, he has performed and recorded in genres ranging from classical to pop. As a soloist, he has performed at jazz clubs on both coasts, and in 2018, he played piano for the premiere of his composition Concertino for Piano and Orchestra with the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, he lived in Brooklyn, New York City, for three years and worked as a freelance jazz musician, choir and general music teacher, and ballet pianist. Garvue is a second-year master’s student at the IU Jacobs School of Music, where he studies collaborative piano with Anne Epperson and Kevin Murphy.
Jonathan Yi, a native of Richmond, Virginia, is a master’s degree student under the tutelage of Alexander Kerr at the IU Jacobs School of Music. An active performer at Jacobs, Yi has made appearances in chamber concerts and served in multiple leadership positions in the orchestras at the school. He was awarded second prize at the Mondavi National Young Artists Competition as well as the award for commissioned work. In 2014, he made his debut with the Louisville Orchestra as winner of the Louisville Orchestra Young Artist Competition. Yi has attended the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Music Academy of the West, and Aspen Music Festival as a fellowship recipient.
As a pianist growing up in New Zealand, Lucy Zeng was a featured artist in NZ Music Month 2020. Her international recognitions include third prize, Sonata prize, and People’s Choice awards at the 2014 and 2010 Kerikeri International Piano Competitions; semifinalist and Encouragement Award winner at the first Australian International Chopin Competition; and participation in the prestigious Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan. As a passionate and versatile collaborative pianist, Zeng was accepted into the collaborative fellowship program at the International Bowdoin Festival as well as at Academy of the West in 2020. Having special interest in playing new music, she performed at the National Student Composers Conference in 2018 and the Gamper New Music Festival in 2021. In summer 2019, Zeng worked at Interlochen Arts Camp as a collaborative pianist, performing with students in numerous recitals and master classes. This past summer, she was a fellow at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in the collaborative piano program. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music in Collaborative Piano degree at the IU Jacobs School of Music and has studied under Anne Epperson, Kevin Murphy, Aram Arakelyan, and Charles Prestinari. She regularly performs recitals with students from renowned faculty studios, including collaborating with Dale Clevenger on a horn studio recital. Zeng has served as an associate instructor at Jacobs since 2017.
Alice Trent is lighting supervisor at the IU Jacobs School of Music. She has designed extensively throughout the Midwest and South, and has worked as an assistant lighting designer at the Cleveland Play House, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Drama League, and Town Hall Arts Center of Denver. She received the 2019 Barbizon Lighting Company Jonathan Resnick Lighting Design Award and the 2019 Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Spiegel Theatrical Artist Award. Trent placed first in the 2019 SETC Projection Design Competition for her work on King Charles III and was a 2020 Gilbert Hemsley Internship Program Finalist. She earned an M.F.A. in Lighting and Digital Media Design from the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Michael Sean Breeden trained at the School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet before joining Miami City Ballet in 2006. In the 12 years he danced with the company, he performed principal roles in the works of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, and Liam Scarlett. Breeden also performed with Boston Ballet, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and Pennsylvania Ballet. In 2016, he started the podcast Conversations on Dance with cohost Rebecca King Ferraro. The podcast has enjoyed residencies at the Vail Dance Festival, Kennedy Center, and San Francisco Ballet, and now has more than 100 episodes. In 2018, Breeden began to stage the works of Justin Peck at companies around the world.
Carla Körbes is professor of ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Körbes was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and began training at the age of five. In 1996, Peter Boal encouraged her to come to the United States to study at the School of American Ballet. She joined New York City Ballet as an apprentice in 1999 and was made a member of the corps de ballet in 2000. She was promoted to soloist in 2005 and joined Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) as a soloist later that year. She was promoted to principal dancer at PNB in 2006 and retired from the company in 2015. Körbes danced numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, and Twyla Tharp, and performed classical works including Swan Lake, Giselle, and Don Quixote. Before joining the Jacobs School of Music faculty, Körbes served as associate director of the L. A. Dance Project and taught at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. (Photo by Patrick Fraser)
Kyra Nichols is professor of ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music, where she holds the Violette Verdy and Kathy Ziliak Anderson Chair in Ballet. Nichols began her early training with her mother, Sally Streets, a former member of New York City Ballet (NYCB). Nichols became an apprentice and then a member of the corps de ballet at NYCB in 1974 and was promoted to soloist in 1978. In 1979, George Balanchine promoted her to principal dancer, and she worked closely with both Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. She performed numerous leading roles in the NYCB repertoire, including Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto Number 2, Stars and Stripes, Liebeslieder Walzer, and Davidsbündlertänze. She has worked with an extensive list of choreographers, including William Forsythe, Susan Stroman, Christopher Wheeldon, Jacques D’Amboise, Robert La Fosse, and Robert Garland. Nichols retired from New York City Ballet in June 2007 after 33 years with the company, the longest-serving principal dancer in the company’s history. Immediately prior to joining the Jacobs School, she was ballet mistress at Pennsylvania Ballet.
Christian Claessens is lecturer in ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. He began his ballet training at the Conservatoire de la Monaie. In 1978, he came to New York on scholarship to the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre School. After graduating, he performed with the Kansas City Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. In 1984, he returned to Europe as a member of the Dutch National Ballet. As a soloist, Claessens toured internationally with Stars of the American Ballet, Stars of the New York City Ballet, Stars of the Hong Kong Ballet, and Kozlov and Friends. In 1991, he cofounded the Scarsdale Ballet Studio with Diana White. In 1999, he codirected the International Ballet Project with Valentina Kozlova and White, both of New York City Ballet. In 1998, he took over the directorship of the Purchase Youth Ballet. He was the director of La Leçon: Christian Claessens School of Ballet in Westchester, New York.
Michael Vernon is chair emeritus of the Ballet Department and professor of ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. He studied at the Royal Ballet School in London with Dame Ninette de Valois and Leonide Massine. He performed with The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera Ballet, and the London Festival Ballet before moving to New York in 1976 to join the Eglevsky Ballet as ballet master and resident choreographer under the directorship of Edward Villella. Vernon served as artistic director of the company from 1989 to 1996. He has choreographed for the Eglevsky Ballet, BalletMet, and North Carolina Dance Theatre, and Mikhail Baryshnikov commissioned him to choreograph the pas de deux In a Country Garden for American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Vernon’s solo S’Wonderful was danced by ABT principal Cynthia Harvey in the presence of President and Mrs. Reagan and shown nationwide on CBS television. Vernon served as the assistant choreographer on Ken Russell’s movie Valentino, starring Rudolph Nureyev and Leslie Caron. Vernon has taught at Steps on Broadway (New York City) since 1980 and been a company teacher for American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He has been involved with the Ballet Program of the Chautauqua Institution since 1996 and is the artistic advisor for the Ballet School of Stamford. He is permanent guest teacher at the Manhattan Youth Ballet and has a long association with Ballet Hawaii. For Indiana University, Vernon has choreographed Endless Night, Jeux, Spectre de la Rose, and Cathedral, and has staged and provided additional choreography for the full-length classics Swan Lake and TheSleeping Beauty. He has choreographed for many IU Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater productions, such as Faust and the world premiere of Vincent.
Sarah Wroth is chair of the Ballet Department and associate professor of ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. She began her training at the Frederick School of Classical Ballet in Frederick, Maryland. In 2003, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Education from the Jacobs School of Music. That same year, she joined Boston Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet. With the company, Wroth performed principal roles in works by William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Marius Petipa, Jerome Robbins, Helen Pickett, and Mikko Nissinen, and soloist roles in ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, and August Bournonville. She has performed with Boston Ballet internationally in Spain, England, South Korea, and Finland. In 2009, she was awarded the E. Virginia Williams Inspiration Award for her unwavering dedication to ballet and the Boston Ballet Company. Wroth earned a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University in 2015 and retired from Boston Ballet in May 2017.
Irina Ter-Grigoryan earned her degrees of piano performance, pedagogy, and accompaniment in the former Soviet Union. She served as a faculty member at the Baku State Conservatory and as an accompanist for the Azerbaijan State Theater Opera and Ballet. She was selected from a small pool of musicians to accompany international and regional competitions representing the Soviet Union. During her time in the United States, she has continued her work as an accompanist with the Temple Square Concert Series Recitals in Salt Lake City, Utah; University of Utah; and Ballet West Co.; and as a collaborative pianist at DePauw University. She currently holds the position of accompanist and music director with the IU Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department.
Students of the Ballet Department
Elizabeth Barnes Alexis Breen Colin Canavan Jack Grohmann Gabby Harris Morgan Jankowski Paityn Lauzon Murray McCormack Mairead Moore Keith Newman Brandon Silverman Daisy Ye Katie Zak
Madison Buchholtz Elaina da Fonte Jaya Dhand Ariana Dickerson Eli Diersing Julie Fawcett Mia Gonzalez-Llorens Samantha Goodelle Emmanuelle Hendrickson Sarah Knutson Sarah Lewis Thomas Montgomery Sarah Pfeiffer Joaquin Ruíz Elisabeth Shim Cameron Smith Xander Visker
Emma Brinton Maddie Brown Miguel Calero Ruth Connelly Sophia Irene Davis Joey DeCola Zoe Gallagher Natalia Garcia Jayda Hazelett Christina Henares Aram Hengen Sophia Long Sarah MacGregor Michael Martin-Mason Grace May Amanda Norcross Tierney Solmo Aya Thygesen Maddie Tyler
Christopher Balbuena Fletcher Barr Margaret Broadhurst Elizabeth Burnett Indiana Cote Ashlyn Dupree Kelly Gleason Annaliesa Gowe August Hartung Grace Jaramillo Brigitte Kossuth Christina Lewis Jessica Ousterhout Derrick Shirlan Allison Smith Carson Van Popering
