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 […]

Gennadi Nedvigin is not the only early tenure director breaking out a new production of The Nutcracker this season. Sacramento Ballet The Sacramento Ballet on Instagram: “What is different about this year’s “The Nutcracker?” In the original E.T.A. Hoffman story of “The Nutcracker,” the narrative follows…” Amy Seiwert is putting her own stamp on the […]

Summer’s end is in sight, and while it might seem like everyone is on layoff (or at Jacob’s Pillow or Vail), there’s still plenty of dance to see before the fall season starts in earnest. Here are our top five performance picks for August. Natalia Osipova Bewitches as Isadora Duncan Natalia Osipova as Isadora Duncan. […]

The past few months have brought on a media storm surrounding accusations about the culture and employment practices at the Royal New Zealand Ballet. But it turns out, much of the reported information doesn’t tell the whole story. Caught up in the rumors has been newly hired artistic director Patricia Barker. The former Pacific Northwest […]

According to several reports from New Zealand–based news outlets over the past week, the Royal New Zealand Ballet is facing significant internal upheaval just a few months after Patricia Barker took over as artistic director. The New Zealand Herald reported that of the company’s 36 dancers who were employed for the 2017 season, 16 will […]

This summer, it was announced that two American ballet directors would be taking over major international troupes. Septime Webre is headed to Hong Kong Ballet, while Patricia Barker is taking the reins at Royal New Zealand Ballet. We caught up with Webre and Barker to get the scoop on their new posts and what’s coming […]

By the end of the summer, two major international ballet companies will have new artistic directors. And they’ll both be American. Today, The Royal New Zealand Ballet announced that current Grand Rapids Ballet artistic director Patricia Barker will take over the company later this month. The former Pacific Northwest Ballet star will succeed Francesco Ventriglia, […]