DE MILLE WORKING GROUP TO PRESENT "AGNES DE MILLE AND THE INTRINISIC AMERICAN," AN EVENING OF DISCUSSION AND PERFORMANCE AT NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, MONDAY, OCTOBER 2 AT 6:00PM

Continuing its recognition of the 80th anniversary of Agnes de Mille’s groundbreaking ballet Rodeo, The De Mille Working Group and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will present “Agnes de Mille and the Intrinsic American,” a panel discussion and performance honoring the late dancer and choreographer,  on Monday, October 2 from 6-8:00PM at the Library’s Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center. Moderated by Norton Owen, Director of Preservation at Jacob’s Pillow, the program will examine what de Mille’s work, narratives, and storytelling language reveal and why her choreographic work was considered quintessentially American. The program is the second in a two-part series that began in April 2023 with “Agnes de Mille: The Female Narrative.”

Panelists encompass noted past interpreters and current répétiteurs of the choreographer’s work including American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Régisseur Susan Jones; ABT Artistic Director Emeritus Kevin McKenzie; former dancer, vocalist, and Broadway choreographer Hope Clarke; former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer and current teacher Sarita Allen; and former New York Theatre Ballet (NYTB) principal dancer Elena Zahlman. The program will also showcase de Mille’s work through excerpts of archive film and live performance. The de Mille works to be discussed include Rodeo, Oklahoma!, Fall River Legend, Paint Your Wagon, Kwamina, and The Four Marys.

Performers scheduled to appear for “Agnes de Mille and the Intrinsic American” include ABT apprentice Madison Brown, former NYTB principal dancers Amanda Treiber-Scales and Elena Zahlman, and NYTB principal dancer Giulia Faria. Excerpts from de Mille’s Rodeo, Oklahoma!, and Paint Your Wagon will be performed.

“Agnes de Mille and the Intrinsic American” is curated for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts by Diana Byer and Diana Gonzalez. The program is offered free to the public with registration requested. For more information and to register, please visit Agnes de Mille and the Intrinsic American | The New York Public Library (nypl.org).