For 20 years, Molly Lynch has been the driving force behind the National Choreographers Initiative. A choreographer, an artistic director, and a professor in the dance department of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine, Lynch has cultivated a unique oppor­tunity for ballet-based choreographers from across the nation. At NCI’s annual event, artists are given freedom to create, explore, and refine their artistic ideas without pressure to complete a work.

Having just returned to New York City after a couple weeks of guesting in Southeast Asia, American Ballet Theatre principal Daniil Simkin is in rehearsal for the lead role in Alexei Ratmansky’s latest creation, Whipped Cream. In between this brief rehearsal period and ABT’s Metropolitan Opera House season, Simkin will be using any days off […]