It’s fitting that New Zealand, the first country to give women the right to vote, should also be the place where, for the first time, a major ballet company will pre­sent an entire 12-month dance season devoted to works by female choreographers. But according to Royal New Zealand Ballet’s artistic director, former Pacific Northwest Ballet […]

American Ballet Theatre is putting more women in charge of its ballets. Today, artistic director Kevin McKenzie announced that the company is launching a multi-year initiative called the ABT Women’s Movement. ABT will hire at least three female choreographers each season. The idea is that, in general, one woman will create a new ballet for […]

Royal Ballet dancers Yasmine Naghdi and Beatriz Stix-Brunell recently got together for a different kind of performance: no decadent costumes, sets, stage makeup or lighting. Instead, the principal and first soloist danced choreography by principal character artist Kristen McNally in a stark studio. The movement is crystal clear, and at the beginning, Naghdi and Stix-Brunell […]