City Ballet Stars Retire

Four major New York City Ballet stars recently announced that they will say goodbye next season. Jenifer Ringer and Jonathan Stafford—who are both also stars of city.ballet.—will be taking their final bows in the spring, as will husband-and-wife team Janie Taylor and Sébastien Marcovici.

If you’ve been following city.ballet., you’ll know that Ringer (a 2011 DM Award recipient) has expressed her desire for a second career as a “full-time mom.” She’s also coming out with a memoir, titled “Dancing Through It: My Journey in the Ballet,” to be published in February. Her last performance will be February 9 in Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering and Balanchine’s Union Jack.

Stafford
, whose last performance will be May 25 in Balanchine’s Jewels, will become a ballet master for NYCB and continue to teach at the School of American Ballet.

Taylor and Marcovici
plan to move to Los Angeles after their final show on March 1 in Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun and Balanchine’s La Valse. Marcovici will become ballet master for his former fellow NYCB-er Benjamin Millepied’s L.A. Dance Project.

We will miss them all, but wish them the best in their next steps!