Last October, American Ballet Theatre’s Xuelan Lu stepped out of the corps for the first time, to perform a leading role in Twyla Tharp’s Deuce Coupe. As one of two dancers who open the ballet, she provided a kind of throughline from beginning to end. It’s not a role that requires flash, but it takes […]

During Kathryn Manger’s very first Nutcracker season with Pennsylvania Ballet in 2015, an injury and a hunch prompted artistic director Angel Corella to cast her in the role of Sugarplum Fairy. She learned it overnight. “That’s all quite rare for an apprentice,” says assistant artistic director Samantha Dunster, who has known the dancer since her […]