Texas Ballet Theater Selected for Historic Performance at China Shanghai International Arts Festival

Texas Ballet Theater Selected for Historic Performance at China Shanghai International Arts Festival

Trip made possible due to support from American Airlines, DFW International Airport and Visit DFW Campaign

DALLAS and FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Ballet Theater, the preeminent professional ballet company of Dallas and Fort Worth, announced today that it has accepted an invitation to attend the China Shanghai International Arts Festival, one of the world's most prestigious cultural events. North Texas' premier ballet company will head to China from DFW on October 23, due to the generosity and collaborative efforts of American Airlines, DFW International Airport and the Visit DFW Campaign.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080229/LAF012)

Texas Ballet Theater is the first North Texas arts group ever invited to perform and it is also the first performing arts organization from the United States to confirm participation in the 2008 festival. The company's first Chinese performance, the full-length production Cleopatra, will be danced in Shanghai before a television audience of more than 500 million people.

The historic announcement was made by Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., artistic director of Texas Ballet Theater, during a joint press conference held today with American Airlines, DFW International Airport and the Visit DFW Campaign in the state-of-the-art International Terminal D. Following a special performance by 19 members of Texas Ballet Theater's company, remarks were made by Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief, as well as Marilyn DeVoe, vice president of American Airlines' DFW Hub and Jeff Fegan, CEO of DFW International Airport.

The timing of the China tour is significant because in December 2007, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on tourism between China and the U.S. took place, opening the door to leisure travelers from China for the first time. Texas Ballet Theater's participation in the festival supports the continued efforts by American Airlines and the Airport's Visit DFW Campaign to raise the visibility of North Texas in China. It also helps them to open another direct portal to China, in addition to American's parallel route to Beijing.

"As the Ballet company of Dallas and Fort Worth, we are most grateful to American Airlines, DFW International Airport and the Visit DFW Campaign for sponsoring our China tour, giving us the opportunity to represent the U.S. and North Texas at this world renowned festival," said Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., artistic director of Texas Ballet Theater. "American Airlines has provided significant support to our company for many years, and we are delighted they will be flying out of DFW's International Terminal D. We also hope our presence at the festival helps both American Airlines and DFW Airport in their efforts to reach new visitors from China to the U.S."

"Once again, Fort Worth and Dallas come together to make our region stronger, to make all of us stronger," said Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief. "We meet here in the middle at our great Airport to congratulate the ballet and also to recognize the importance of China to our international business and cultural future. We will build new relationships and an entire new world audience will see what our great cities have to offer."

"The Texas Ballet Theater is going to give our region, our civic leaders, our business leaders and our Airport another fantastic opportunity to build meaningful relationships that will bring our two countries closer," said Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert. "We are all fully committed to making Dallas and Fort Worth truly international in all aspects of business and culture. This is another great stride forward."

The festival, which is hosted by the Ministry of Culture and organized by Shanghai Municipal People's Government, will be held October 18-November 18, 2008. The event is attended by dignitaries of all branches. In 2007, the month-long showcase of international arts and culture featured 60 live performances of Western Ballet and Chinese dance, classical and pop music, opera and theatrical productions. Texas Ballet Theater joins a prestigious list of many of the world's premier names in the performing arts that have presented at the festival, including American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Kirov Ballet, James Galway, Andrea Bocelli, Yo-Yo Ma, and others. In addition to the company's performance in Shanghai, the Ballet also will dance in Beijing and Guangzhou.

"As a company devoted to promoting the arts in the communities we serve, American Airlines is proud to send Texas Ballet Theater to share our home town culture with China -- a nation where we are committed to growing our business," said Marilyn DeVoe, vice president of AA's DFW Hub.

"It is most appropriate as DFW celebrates the 'Year of the International Traveler' and continues to expand air service around the world that the ballet's trip will begin right here at our great Airport," said Jeff Fegan, CEO of DFW International Airport. "Our Airport and our region is in the midst of aggressive outreach for more global trade and tourism to North Texas -- especially in China. We are proud to support our local world-class talent as they take the world stage."

Festival organizers issued an invitation to Texas Ballet Theater in recognition of the company's artistic excellence and China's long-standing ties with the Ballet's artistic director, Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. Mr. Stevenson first traveled to China on behalf of the United States government as part of the first cultural delegation to visit the country after President Nixon's historic visit in 1972, and has returned almost every year since to teach at the Beijing Dance Academy. He is the only foreigner to have been made Honorary Faculty Member of the Beijing Dance Academy and the Shenyang Conservatory of Music, and it was under his direction that the Houston Ballet performed at the festival in 1995.

In addition, Mr. Stevenson took two Texas Ballet Theater company dancers, Andre Silva and Lonnie Weeks, to China in August 2007 for the Shanghai International Ballet Competition. They brought home the silver and bronze medals in their respective age categories and both will return to China to dance with the company in the festival.

Special Thanks

Texas Ballet Theater's trip to the 2008 China Shanghai International Arts Festival is supported by these generous sponsors including American Airlines, DFW International Airport; the Visit DFW Campaign; Henry Winston, Dianne and Don Patterson of Dallas, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Erle Nye of Dallas and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

About Texas Ballet Theater

Founded in 1961, Texas Ballet Theater is the premier resident professional ballet company of North Texas. Under the direction of artistic director Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., the ballet brings unprecedented talent, beauty and artistic expression to the stages of Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall, Dallas' Music Hall at Fair Park and the historic Majestic Theatre in downtown Dallas. Texas Ballet Theater will become the resident ballet company for the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts when it opens in 2009. Season sponsors include Star-Telegram, American Airlines, Steinway Hall of Fort Worth, The Dallas Morning News, Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, TACA and Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. For more information, go to texasballettheater.org.

About American Airlines

American Airlines is the world's largest airline. American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection(R) airlines serve 250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 4,000 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 1,000 aircraft. American's award-winning Web site, AA.com, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld(R) Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve nearly 700 destinations in over 140 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. American Airlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE:AMR) .

About DFW International Airport

Located halfway between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW International Airport is the world's third busiest, offering nearly 1,900 flights per day and serving 60 million passengers a year. Ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Large Airports" in North America by J.D. Power and Associates, and named "Best Airport for Customer Service in North America" by an Airports Council International survey of passengers in 2006 and 2007, DFW International Airport provides non-stop service to 136 domestic and 40 international destinations worldwide. For the latest news, real-time flight information, parking availability or further details regarding the many services provided at DFW International Airport, log on to http://www.dfwairport.com/. For J.D. Power and Associates Award information, visit http://www.jdpower.com/.

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Source: Texas Ballet Theater; DFW International Airport

CONTACT: John Toohey of Texas Ballet Theater, 1-877-828-9200, ext. 122,
jtoohey@texasballettheater.org

Web site: http://www.dfwairport.com/
http://www.texasballettheater.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment