Yesterday, the Paris Opéra announced the death of Yvette Chauviré, a dazzling star of its ballet company in the 1940s through the 1960s. She was 99. Throughout her long career at the Paris Opéra Ballet, she was heralded as a muse of then director Serge Lifar, and his neoclassical Suite en Blanc was one of several works created on […]
Misty Copeland in Swan Lake. Photo by Darren Thomas/QPAC The moment everyone—dancers, dance lovers, and even non-dance fans—has been waiting for is here. Today, American Ballet Theatre announced that Misty Copeland will become a principal dancer. She’s the first African American female to reach that rank in the company’s 75-year history. Go Misty! Another principal […]
Many U.S. dancers dream of dancing abroad—of spending time experiencing cities and companies that, to us, seem “exotic.” But at the same time, dancers from around the world fantasize about joining our hometown troupes. What is it that draws them here? photo by Lucas Chilczuk for DanceMedia LLC Mayara Pineiro Corps de ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet […]
He’s not David Hallberg, but he’s tall and thin, has beautiful feet and magnificent ballon, and is now in a Russian ballet company. Meet Mario Vitale Labrador, the 24-year-old from the Bay Area who graduated from the Bolshoi Academy in Moscow and then joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet. Last April he won some of the top […]
It’s official: Benjamin Millepied is the new designated director of the Paris Opéra Ballet. Millepied will begin his post in fall 2014, when current director Brigitte Lefèvre retires. It’s a puzzling appointment. He’s clearly a celebrity, bolstered by his marriage to Natalie Portman. He has organized various pick-up troupes in the past—Danses Concertantes, Benjamin Millepied and […]
David H. Koch Theater Lincoln Center, NYC July 11–22, 2012 After a 16-year absence, the Paris Opéra Ballet returned to New York with an ambitious season of two full-length works, a mixed bill, and eleven performances. As director of dance, Brigitte Lefèvre has guided the company’s fortunes since 1995, revamping the repertoire and nurturing a […]
The Paris Opéra Ballet has come and gone. This famed company made an impression of loveliness and beauty, and many of us appreciated the history lesson of the first “French” program showing works by Lifar, Petit, and Béjart. The different casts of their Giselle (the ballet was made on POB in 1841) were watched carefully. […]
New York City Center November 8–13, 2011 Performances reviewed: Nov. 8, 9, 12 (matinee) & 13 After skipping a couple of seasons at City Center, ABT returned to the renovated theater, which suited the company’s contemporary repertory season, even if just for one week. The selected works reminded us of the extant riches produced by […]
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