American Ballet Theatre News

Meet new leading lady Taylor Quick, starring in the title role of Goodspeed's THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE!

John Cranko's Eugene Onegin is often referred to as a “story ballet for grown-ups” since it is devoid of the fantasy birds and other magical creatures that populate so much of the classical ballet canon. The dancers portray real people with real emotions as Cranko brings to life Alexander Pushkin's iconic verse novel. Cranko's version of the tale has new plot twists that some critics have found dismaying while others have applauded them. I fall into the latter category.

Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater, announced today the organization's programming for its 2017-2018 fall/winter season.

Ballet dancer extraordinaire Misty Copeland, the first African-American principal ballerina in the history of American Ballet Theatre, will be a guest judge on the July 18 and July 25 episodes of NBC's new high-rated competition series WORLD OF DANCE.

If ever someone were to look up “classical ballet” in the dictionary, an image captured from Swan Lake would certainly accompany its definition, thanks to its timeless grace and poise. On Wednesday June 14, 2017, American Ballet Theatre more than lived up to Swan Lake's storied reputation, as the company danced with both precision and pixie dust to create lyrical beauty that echoed Tchaikovsky's magical score.

American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Curriculum Certified faculty member, Michele Zehner, from the Florida School for Dance Education, guided West Palm Beach area children through a fun activity-based movement class designed to introduce them to the art form of classical ballet.

K-Squared Entertainment and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) are thrilled to announce the complete cast and creative team for the world premiere of PART OF THE PLAN, a new, original musical written by Kate Atkinson & Karen Harris and scored with the music and lyrics of celebrated singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg. 

American Ballet Theatre Soloist Cassandra Trenary and Principal Dancer James Whiteside will be special guests at Lincoln Center's annual Midsummer Night Swing on Friday, June 30.

Petipa, who of the three choreographers listed in the program has the most influence on American Ballet Theatre's Le Corsaire, knows how to create a dramatic excuse for dance. With a few notable exceptions, 'Giselle' and 'Romeo and Juliet' come instantly to my mind, declarative dance which spends twenty minutes to hammer out an 'I love you' through pirouettes can be draining and leave the audience thinking 'Just spit it out.' Petipa, clearly seeing this dramatic shortcoming, forms his ballets around vast pageants, processionals, and presentations. The Black Swan seduces by exhibition at a banquet, the last glorious act of The Sleeping Beauty is a virtually plotless celebration, and practically the entire Nutcracker is a series of vignettes formed around a presentation. Le Corsaire is no different. The first act features the presentation of several ballerinas. The second act is centered around the principal dancers performing to 'entertain the group'. Then, in act three, a pasha spends a lengthy amount of time in a dream sequence which features, what else, women and flowers. Superficially, this all works wonderfully and the dancers shamelessly take this opportunity to exploit their most acrobatic technique. The piece's issues begin upon the introduction of the words 'slave girls.'

Casting for the seventh and eighth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2017 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

???????The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, announces a national call for ALAANA (African, Latino(a), Asian, Arab and Native American) artists to submit applications for The Joffrey Academy's Eighth Annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition. The goal of the award is to recognize talented and emerging ALAANA choreographers whose unique perspective will ignite creativity in the form of original works of dance.  The deadline for application is September 1, 2017.

Taylor Quick moved to New York just nine short months ago, but she's already achieved the role of a lifetime: playing the title role in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE alongside some of New York's brightest stars. But, the young actress, who has family ties to the Great White Way, has neither lost her tenacious work ethic nor her adorable southern accent. Taylor and I chatted about how she booked this dream gig, and what working with a Tony Award-nominated director/choreographer has been like.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim announces the World Premiere of Works & Process Rotunda Project: Daniil Simkin Falls the Shadow with choreography by Alejandro Cerrudo

1914 is not a year that should conjure much nostalgia for those who survived it. Among smaller aggravations, the year marked the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and resulted in a half decade war, the likes of which the world had not seen. The year also marked the premiere of Fokine's 'The Golden Cockerel' by The Ballets Russes. Fokine, their first choreographer, was no stranger to '(Description) (Bird)' pieces whether it be 'The Dying Swan,' 'The Firebird,' or 'The Gold Cockerel.' 'The Golden Cockerel' was in his established career and it, unlike the previous year's infamous 'Rite of Spring,' was a jewel box escape from the hostile international climate. The warmth of this piece served a Parisian audience in search of the early 1910's glow, which was probably a distant memory by then. Today, scrupulously mounted by ABT under the direction of Ratmansky and with designs by Richard Hudson (off of the Natalia Goncharova originals,) 'The Golden Cockerel' is a charming aesthetic study even as it has waned as a satisfying evening of dance.

Spearheaded by American Ballet Theatre principal Daniil Simkin, with new choreography by Alejandro Cerrudo, and projection design by Dmitrij Simkin, Falls the Shadow is a new 30-minute work made in and for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum rotunda. 

Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced that MAD HOT BALLET: Northern Lights raised over $1.3 million. The annual fundraising gala took place last night in Toronto at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Eliot Feld's KIDS DANCE, called 'a New York City treasure' by The New York Times, makes its annual visit to The Joyce for six performances, June 8-11.   The remarkably poised, scrupulously schooled, and impeccably rehearsed whiz-kids, numbering 60, ages 11-17, will delight audiences young and old with Feld classics Meshugana Dance and The Jig is Up, along with two Feld works created especially for Kids Dance: Upside Dance and the new Pointing, a premiere for four young ladies en pointe.  And, continuing his commitment to expanding the repertory with works created expressly for youngsters, Feld will present two new dances: The Wild Current by Laura Careless set to a collage of music that ranges from Debussy to the Native Jazz Quartet, and ?It's The Effort That Counts a collaboration by Conner Bormann, Riley O'Flynn, and Stephanie Terasaki, in which the rhythms are provided by a metronome.

“A prolific choreographer of skillfully constructed dances that respectfully mesh with music and striking visual design” (The New Yorker), Jessica Lang and her company return to Jacob's Pillow for the ensemble's first Ted Shawn Theatre engagement, July 5-9. In addition to a Pillow-commissioned world premiere work, the program includes Lang's Thousand Yard Stare, a dance embodying the incredible pride and honor as well as the searing loss experienced by military veterans. The program will also include the East Coast and company premiere of Lang's Lyric Pieces as well as Solo Bach, Sweet Silent Thought, and The Calling. This season, the Pillow has formed a partnership with the Tanglewood Music Center, whereby Tanglewood Fellows and alumni will be providing the music accompaniment for this engagement.

San Francisco Ballet announces ten promotions, eight new Company members, and six apprentices for the 2017-18 Season. Soloist Jennifer Stahl has been promoted to principal dancer, and Isabella DeVivo, Jahna Frantziskonis, Esteban Hernandez, and Steven Morse have been promoted to soloist. In addition, SF Ballet Apprentices Alexandre Cagnat, Shene Lazarus, Davide Occhipinti, Nathaniel Remez, and Isabella Walsh have been promoted to the corps de ballet. Ulrik Birkkjaer and Ana Sophia Scheller join the Company as principal dancers and Solomon Golding, Gabriela Gonzalez, Blake Johnston, Madison Keesler, Wona Park, and Joseph Warton have joined SF Ballet as corps de ballet members. Ethan Chudnow, Anatalia Hordov, Carmela Mayo, Swane Messaoudi, Larisa Nugent, and Benjamin Pearson of San Francisco Ballet School have been promoted to the rank of apprentice.

Capezio, a fourth-generation family-owned and operated business, has named fashion industry veteran, Lynn Shanahan, as its CEO.  Shanahan is the first non-family member to run the dance industry's most revered footwear and apparel brand. She is also the company's first female CEO in its 130-year-old history and is herself, an award-winning, competitive ballroom dancer.