Is Annabelle Lopez Ochoa the Busiest Female Ballet Choreographer on the Planet?

Sep 20, 2016

It seems everyone wants a work from Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. She has choreographed for Danza Contemporanéa de Cuba, Grand Rapids Ballet, English National Ballet, Whim W’Him and BalletX. And that's just in 2016!

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa rehearsing NYCB dancers, photo by Erin Baiano

And on September 20, she premieres her first piece for New York City Ballet. Known for her witty, sometimes surreal ballets, the Belgian/Colombian choreographer is working with Brooklyn designer Rosie Assoulin for NYCB's Fall Fashion Gala. According to the press release, Assoulin sounds like the perfect match for Lopez Ochoa: “At its core, her design aesthetic bridges the line between effortless elegance and the romantically fantastical—a blend of sculpted ease and bold lines.” The music is a set of cello pieces written by three composers: Luigi Boccherini, Edward Elgar and Pēteris Vasks.

Though it’s officially her choreographic debut with NYCB, Lopez Ochoa has been in the studio with some of the dancers before. In 2007, she participated in City Ballet’s New York Choreographic Institute, a kind of laboratory for trying out ideas. For this premiere, her stellar cast includes Tiler Peck, Sterling Hyltin, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Daniel Ulbricht and both Angles (Tyler and Jared). We are psyched!

And after the gala? Lopez Ochoa continues her globe-trotting pace. In October, she makes her sixth piece for Ballet Hispanico, which comes to The Apollo November 18 and 19. This fall she also makes a new ballet for Ballet Nacional de Cuba. In January she revives a piece for West Australian Ballet, and in April she revives one for the Joffrey Ballet. She’s also fitting in new works for the Royal Ballet of Flanders and Tulsa Ballet.

Our April 2012 issue

Lopez Ochoa has made a name for herself as someone who can work quickly, loves to challenge herself and encourages the dancers while also giving honest feedback. Plus, she has a record of making very different kinds of ballets: long, short; funny, serious; wacky, mysterious; dark, light. What about chaotic and orderly? That too. As Lopez Ochoa said in our 2012 cover story, “I love to choreograph chaos and find patterns within.”

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