First Chicago ABT Pride Night Features Two Chi-town Premieres

Christopher Rudd’s Touché and Jessica Lang’s ZigZag highlight the first Chicago ABT Pride Night held at the Auditorium Theatre on April 15. Both pieces had their live-performance debuts during American Ballet Theatre‘s 2021 fall season, notably Touché during the company’s first-ever Pride Night held back in October of that year.

“ABT’s return to Chicago brings an exciting opportunity to share a mix of classical and new commissions with a new audience. The storytelling through a piece like Some Assembly Required and the fun and joy shared through ZigZag are great examples of the diversity in style and messaging that is capable in our art form. With the Touché panel discussion, we hope to extend the conversation about how we see ourselves reflected and represented on stage.”

Susan Jaffe

Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre

Also on the three-night only program is Alexei Ratmansky’s Songs of Bukovina and Clark Tippet’s Some Assembly Required.

Buy Tickets for Chicago ABT Pride Night ⤞

The Pride Night celebration also includes a post-performance chat hosted by by Dance Magazine’s Zachary Whittenburg. Audiences will learn more about the process behind the creation of Touché with Rudd and its original cast, ABT Principal Dancer Calvin Royal III and ABT corps de ballet member João Menegussi, as well as other ABT LGBTQIA+ works.

Auditorium Theatre CEO Rich Regan adds,

“We’re delighted to welcome back the world-renowned American Ballet Theatre to the Auditorium Theatre stage. Audiences will experience a dynamic program of duets and a crowd-pleasing finale set to a Tony Bennett score.
Plus, we’re honored to host the first-ever CHICAGO ABT PRIDE NIGHT CELEBRATION, featuring a rare post-show conversation with acclaimed choreographer Christopher Rudd fresh off the Chicago debut of his all-male pas de deux.
PRIDE NIGHT continues the Auditorium’s commitment to relevant programming for the LGBTQIA+ community, ranging from performances by Trixie Mattel and Katya Zimo, Jinkx & DeLa, and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo to Chicago Dancers United and Dance For Life.”

Chicago ABT Pride Night Casting

Friday, April 14, 7:30PM

Songs of Bukovina: Isabella Boylston, Daniel Camargo
Some Assembly Required: Katherine Williams, Jarod Curley
Touché: Calvin Royal III, João Menegussi
ZigZag: Devon Teuscher, Cory Stearns, Luciana Paris, Blaine Hoven, Cassandra Trenary, Joo Won Ahn

Saturday, April 15, 7:30PM

Songs of Bukovina: Catherine Hurlin, Blaine Hoven
Some Assembly Required: Zimmi Coker, Jonathan Klein
Touché: Calvin Royal III, João Menegussi
ZigZag: Devon Teuscher, Cory Stearns, Luciana Paris, Blaine Hoven, Cassandra Trenary, Joo Won Ahn

Sunday, April 16, 2PM

Songs of Bukovina: Christine Shevchenko, Calvin Royal III
Some Assembly Required: Katherine Williams, Jarod Curley
Touché: Blaine Hoven, Jose Sebastian
ZigZag: Isabella Boylston, Aran Bell, Katherine Williams, Tyler Maloney, Catherine Hurlin, Calvin Royal III

Featured Photo of for Chicago’s First ABT Pride Night of João Menegussi and Calvin Royal III in Christopher Rudd’s Touché. Photo by Rosalie O’Connor.