At last, New York City Ballet corps member Russell Janzen has found the success that had seemed inevitable when he joined the company in 2008. Though a stretch of injuries sidelined him at first, major roles are now regularly coming his way at age 25. The 6′ 3″ dancer, who trained at The Rock School […]

What makes choreography compelling? Whether you consider a work’s musicality or steps, formations or narrative, it often comes down to one thing: the element of surprise. Justin Peck is a master of this. He’ll bring two partners together for what seems like the beginning of a sumptuous lift—and then have them take off in opposite […]

The NYCB Dancer moves with joy and energy.   Rehearsing Justin Peck’s In Creases Rosalie O’Connor, Courtesy NYCB The first pas de deux of Jerome Robbins’ I’m Old Fashioned may have the most daunting entrance in New York City Ballet’s repertory. Dedicated to Fred Astaire, it opens with a film clip from You Were Never […]

  Robert Fairchild of NYCB in Justin Peck’s In Creases, the choreographer’s first NYCB commission, which premiered at SPAC last summer. Photo by Paul Kolnik, Courtesy SPAC.     There is a sense of reverence and nostalgia when people speak of New York City Ballet’s nearly half-century summer residency at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga […]

NYCB’s Georgina Pazcoguin Pazcoguin, wearing a dress designed for her by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung. Photo by Matthew Karas. It was the final days of New York City Ballet’s two-week Sleeping Beauty run last winter, and Georgina Pazcoguin had been alternating between the regal Fairy of Courage and the vindictive Carabosse. Shortly before she […]

It’s hard to wrap your mind around the many forms of Wayne McGregor’s brilliance. His work with Wayne McGregor/Random Dance, with The Royal Ballet, with a string of other companies, his educational initiatives, and his collaborations with scientists and artists is perhaps only understandable when you see him dance himself. Though he hasn’t performed in […]

Flying High at 10 Donald Byrd’s 10th season at Spectrum Dance Theater has been chock-full: a national tour of his Theater of Needless Talents, Byrd’s homage to artists who perished in the Holocaust; the premiere of A Meeting Place last winter; and a DanceMotion USA goodwill trip to Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. This month, […]

NYCB’s lyrical and elegant corps member     Laracey in Martins’ Swan Lake. Photo by Paul Kolnik, Courtesy NYCB   In Agon’s first pas de trois, Ashley Laracey surges through the intricate petit allégro without sacrificing the purity of her line. In Serenade, she shows a lyrical side, imbuing the simple steps with dreamy expansiveness. […]