Search results for: David Hallberg

I had just come back from Russia when I saw American Ballet Theatre’s new production of Onegin. While Cranko’s heart-wrenching ballet is performed often in Europe and Canada, this was the first time in years that New Yorkers got to see it. Santo Loquasto’s sumptuous sets of birch trees and chandeliers (courtesy National Ballet of […]

Purity and elegance make this ABT corps dancer stand out.     “Use that God-given fifth position,” demands artistic director Kevin McKenzie as he coaches Joseph Gorak on his pirouettes. An American Ballet Theatre Nutcracker rehearsal is underway, and choreographer Alexei Ratmansky stands by to help. Gorak’s ability and potential have been drawing a lot […]

At American Ballet Theatre’s La Bayadère on Tuesday evening, Veronika Part gave a performance of Nikiya for the ages. She articulated her luxuriously arched feet with clarity and purpose. Her port de bras was expansive and expressive: Part has a wonderful way of using her elbows when moving from one position to another, gathering the […]

In just a few weeks Jacob’s Pillow will open its 80th anniversary season! That is surely cause to celebrate. (The Gala is Saturday June 16th.) Jacob’s Pillow is located in the Berkshire of Massachusetts. From Ted Shawn to David Hallberg, eventually everyone passes through that place. It’s worth a trip to Massachusetts this summer if […]

We were in the presence of jewels, of incredible riches at the ABT gala last night. Every performance had a grandeur, every dancer was someone you wanted to keep watching. And there was just enough variety to keep you wanting more. It didn’t feel like a grab bag of hits, as it can sometimes feel. […]

The ABT Gala is always very different from the NYCB gala. Whereas NYCB usually unveils a premiere or two (this spring they got lucky with Benjamin Millepied’s Two Hearts) plus a sturdy Balanchine ballet, ABT offers a sampler in the form of excerpts from the upcoming season’s rep. Tonight, we’ll see parts of Christopher Wheeldon’s […]

I think Makarova was overwhelmed by the love and adulation heaped upon her Saturday night by Youth America Grand Prix. The evening was fittingly titled “Ballerina Assoluta: Gala Tribute Honoring the Legendary Natalia Makarova.” We were already cheering at the top of our lungs during the standing ovation, when Kevin McKenzie gestured to Marcelo Gomes […]

One foot in ABT, the other in the Bolshoi, David Hallberg is at the pinnacle of international ballet. All photos by Matthew Karas unless otherwise credited. It’s simply never been done before. Period. An American had never been asked to join the Bolshoi Ballet at the principal level until last September, when the insular Russian […]