Opening Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center is IU Ballet Theater's annual production of The Nutcracker. The production will feature choreography created specifically for the Jacobs School's dancers by Michael Vernon, chair of the Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department.

Around the world, ballet companies from the Kirov to the Royal Ballet are planning performances that will honor the 100th anniversary of the first performance by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russes. Joining the celebration, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music's Ballet Theater will present its fall ballet program, Diaghilev Tribute. The evening features the work of two choreographers from the Diaghilev era, George Balanchine and Bronislava Nijinska, and new choreography from Michael Vernon, chair of the Jacobs School Department of Ballet.

Comedy, tragedy, magic, madness, jealousy, deceit and fantasy all will take center stage at IU Bloomington's Musical Arts Center during Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater's 2009-2010 season. Among the highlights will be Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, in celebration of the recent unprecedented gift from the family of Leonard Bernstein that contains the contents of his Fairfield, Conn., composing studio, and the history of Bernstein's long association with the Jacobs School.

Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music will present its annual "Ballet at the BCT: The Choreography Project" at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington on April 15-16 at 8 p.m., with a matinee performance April 16 at 2 p.m. The event is free, open to the public and appropriate for all ages.

In its 2008-2009 season finale, Indiana University Ballet Theater presents "Variations on a Russian Theme," with a new, contemporary classical version of Swan Lake and a world premiere choreography by Matthew Neenan, March 27 and 28 at the Musical Arts Center.

Violette Verdy, a distinguished professor in the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, has been named a Chevalier (Knight) in France's National Order of the Legion of Honor, an award from President M. Nicolas Sarkozy. The order is France's highest decoration.

Showcasing recent work by up-and-coming regional choreographers, Indiana University Ballet Theater will present "Ballet at the BCT: On the Edge" on Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington. General admission tickets are $10, and tickets are $5 for all students with a valid student ID.

Showcasing recent work by up-and-coming regional choreographers, Indiana University Ballet Theater will present "Ballet at the BCT: On the Edge" on Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington. General admission tickets are $10, and tickets are $5 for all students with a valid student ID.

The focus is on "community" as modern dance majors at Indiana University perform two guest artist pieces as well as original faculty creations during the IU Contemporary Dance Program's annual guest artist and faculty concert.

It's a year of significant anniversaries for Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music: The school is in the midst of celebrating the 60th anniversary of its Opera Theater. And opening Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center is IU Ballet Theater's 50th annual production of the holiday classic The Nutcracker. This Nutcracker production will feature choreography created specifically for the Jacobs School's talented dancers by Michael Vernon, chair of the Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department.

It's a year of significant anniversaries for Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music: The school is in the midst of celebrating the 60th anniversary of its Opera Theater. And opening Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center is IU Ballet Theater's 50th annual production of the holiday classic The Nutcracker. This Nutcracker production will feature choreography created specifically for the Jacobs School's talented dancers by Michael Vernon, chair of the Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department.

Indiana University Ballet Theater begins its 2008-2009 season Oct. 10 with Ballets of Our Time, featuring top choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries -- including IU Ballet Department Chair Michael Vernon, who will present the world premiere of his new ballet Endless Night, with music by Philip Glass and a guest performance by Daniel Ulbricht, principal dancer of the New York City ballet. In addition to Endless Night, Ballets of Our Time will include George Balanchine's The Four Temperaments and Twyla Tharp's Sweet Fields, set to live music for the first time ever.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music continues to nurture and present the world's greatest musicians. With four new IU Opera and Ballet Theater productions, in addition to the usual hundreds of other performances, the Jacobs School offers another ambitious season in 2008-09. Two internationally distinguished Jacobs faculty talents join forces to kick off the orchestral season on Sept. 17 as Leonard Slatkin conducts the IU Philharmonic Orchestra and violinist Joshua Bell at 8 p.m. in the IU Auditorium.

Continuing its ongoing partnership with the community, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music presents the annual "Ballet at the BCT: The Choreography Project" at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington on April 15-16 at 8 p.m. Presented by the IU Department of Ballet, the workshop will feature 13 new works choreographed and danced by its ballet majors.

The IU Ballet Department's origins as a means of supplying operas with dancers inspired Michael Vernon, chair of the IU Jacobs School's Ballet Department, to offer ballet audiences "A Night at the Opera (at the Ballet)." On March 21 and 22, dancers will perform to ballet music from beloved operas by Gounod, Rossini, Handel and Meyerbeer.

Familiar favorites combine with forays into fantasy in the 60th Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater season. The 2008-2009 lineup includes beloved standards like Verdi's La Traviata, Giulio Cesare by Handel and The Nutcracker ballet, in addition to fairy-tale fun in Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges and Massenet's Le Cendrillon, the Cinderella story interpreted in the French operatic style.

The Indiana University Ballet Theater continues its tradition of holiday excellence this year by introducing its classic The Nutcracker with a new twist. The 49th annual production, opening Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center, will feature new choreography by Michael Vernon, chair of the Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department, following a nine-year run of choreography by Jacobs School of Music professor Jacques Cesbron.

Indiana University Ballet Theater begins its exciting new season Oct. 5 and 6 with the fall ballet "Perspectives 1900s," a varied selection of vignettes, all rooted in one of the most inventive artistic periods in the history of dance. "The turn of the century was a particularly fertile time for the art of ballet," said Michael Vernon, chair of the IU Jacobs School of Music's Ballet Department. "It was a time when, instead of ballet following fashion, ballet actually influenced fashion."

Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater, which has staged a number of world premiere performances in recent years, will add to its list of firsts during its 2007-2008 season, announced today (March 5). The upcoming season at the IU Jacobs School of Music features the nation's first collegiate performance of the opera A Wedding by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom, who has commissioned IU Opera Theater for two previous collegiate premieres.

Indiana University Ballet Theater begins a new era Oct. 6 and 7 as it opens its 2006-07 season with the Fall Ballet "From Balanchine to Baker: An International Evening of Dance" at the Musical Arts Center. The program will mark Michael Vernon's official debut as the newly appointed chair of the IU Jacobs School of Music's Ballet Department, while his ballet Cathedral also makes its Bloomington debut the same weekend.

As the newly appointed chair of the Department of Ballet at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Michael Vernon has been charged with carrying on the tradition of excellence and high professional standards that have become synonymous with ballet in Bloomington, while also putting his own "stamp" on the ballet department. It's a mission, he says, that he looks forward to leading.

In its 30-year history, the New York Baroque Dance Company has been embraced by music and dance lovers worldwide and credited with the revival of 18th-century ballet. Its members have taken steps, literally, to ensure that future generations experience this influential style of dance. As part of that effort to reach out to future generations, Turocy and her troupe are now partnering with music and dance students at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. They are engaged in a two-week residency at the school, which will culminate with a performance with the IU Baroque Orchestra under the direction of IU violin professor Stanley Ritchie on April 2 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington.

Baroque dance, opera, ballet. In Bloomington, most people would associate these things with the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and they would be correct. However, this time there's a twist. Expanding its ongoing partnership with the community, the Jacobs School of Music is proud to present three world-class events at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington in April 2006. All events are free and open to the public!

Indiana University Ballet Theater will salute three patriarchs in the world of dance when it presents its annual Spring Ballet on March 24 and 25 at the Musical Arts Center. The evening of legendary ballets will feature ballets choreographed by Marius Petipa, the father of classical ballet who elevated Russian ballet to international fame; contemporary choreographer and American ballet founder George Balanchine; and August Bournonville, who led the Royal Danish Ballet during the height of the Danish Golden Age. Music for the concert will be performed by the IU University Orchestra, conducted by Ronald Zollman.

The Indiana University Ballet Theater will open its 2005-06 season Oct. 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center. The performance will feature four striking pieces, highlighting the talents and artistry of the dancers and faculty in one of the country's leading programs. Scheduled are two pas de deux, both significant in the development of contemporary ballet, and two world premieres.

The Indiana University Ballet Theater will debut a world premiere production of Cinderella on March 25 and 26 at the Musical Arts Center, the largest university performance stage in North America. The performances will feature all-new choreography, sets and costumes to accompany Sergei Prokofiev's score performed by students of the IU School of Music.

Two IU School of Music faculty members - Miriam Fried and Violette Verdy - and one doctoral student - Victoria L. Malawey - are recognized for their outstanding teaching and research at the annual Indiana University Founders Day celebration on March 6 at 1 p.m. in Bloomington's Assembly Hall.

Violette Verdy is one of the premier ballet dancers of the twentieth century and has dedicated her post-performance life to training future generations of dancers. Her remarkable achievements as a dancer, teacher, and administrator in several of the world's foremost dance companies and ballet schools have garnered her international acclaim. Now, she is honored with IU's Distinguished Professor title.

The following tip sheet provides information about music news and events happening at the Indiana University School of Music. This issue we feature an 85th birthday celebration in honor of Juan Orrego-Salas, founder of IU's Latin American Music Center and champion of Latin American classical music; the U.S. premiere by IU's New Music Ensemble of a composition by famed British composer Harrison Birtwistle; and a glimpse of a "not so ordinary" The Nutcracker as performed by students of IU's Ballet Theater.