'Next Generation' dancers, Youth Philharmonic to perform at Opera House

(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com)

The Boston Opera House.

Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen recently announced the programming for the third annual Next Generation performance at the Boston Opera House. Boston Ballet presents Next Generation on Wednesday, May 16, at 7:00 p.m. New England Conservatory’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra provides musical accompaniment to Boston Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Program students and Boston Ballet II.

“Next Generation is a wonderful and rare opportunity to see the dancers of tomorrow take a major stage today,” said Nissinen. “The talent coming from Boston Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Program and New England Conservatory’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra is thrilling. The community has embraced and celebrated these young and gifted students. Next Generation is a great bridge between their training and the exciting professional journeys that lie ahead of them.”

“Boston Ballet’s Next Generation is a unique opportunity for our students to perform in front of an audience and the chance for friends, families, and the public to see them on stage,” said Margaret Tracey, director of Boston Ballet School. “We welcome the greater Boston communities to enjoy a night at Boston Ballet’s home, the Boston Opera House, where many young students will take the theatre’s stage for the first time.”

Next Generation will feature the Pre-Professional Program students and Boston Ballet II with musical accompaniment by over 50 musicians from New England Conservatory’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. This year's program highlights original choreography by Boston Ballet School faculty, a new work by Boston Ballet principal dancer Yury Yanowsky, and George Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations.

Next Generation features top-tier artists of the future who have been trained in Boston’s finest arts education institutions. The dancers performing include Lauren Herfindahl, a Kingston native who trained with Boston Ballet School for seven years prior to joining Boston Ballet II in 2011. Herfindahl will perform the lead role in Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations. She will be joined by Matthew Gattozzi, a Hyde Park native who began his dance education in 2004 with Boston Ballet’s community outreach program, Citydance, which is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. Over 60 other pre-professional students from across the United States and around the world including Korea, Japan, Israel, Spain, and Canada, will perform in Next Generation.

Boston Ballet School, the official school of Boston Ballet, has a longstanding dedication to providing excellence and access to dance education. It reaches more than 4,000 students, age 9 months to adult each year through its four core programs: Children’s Program, Classical Ballet Program, Adult Dance Program and Pre-Professional Program at three locations in the greater Boston area.

For detailed ticket prices and to purchase tickets, call 617-456-6955 or visit http://www.bostonballet.org/school.

For information about Boston Ballet School or to sign up for classes at Boston Ballet School, visit http://www.bostonballet.org/school or call 617-456-6333.

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