Natalia Makarova News

Alonzo King LINES Ballet is pleased to announce its Spring Season at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, May 4-14. The season pairs visionary choreographer Alonzo King with Bob Holman, legendary founder of the Bowery Poetry Club, endangered language activist, poet and filmmaker.

Ballet Concerto en Miami, FL cerrara sus puertas despues de 55 años. Una de las escuelas de ballet clasico de mayor calidad en Miami, Ballet Concerto abrio sus puertas en 1961 y posteriormente fundo la primera compañia de ballet profesional en el sur de la Florida en 1964. La escuela produjo nombres reconocibles en el mundo de la danza, mas destacadamente Fernando Bujones, y la compañia creo un precedente para el ballet clasico en Miami al invitar a los mas extraordinarios artistas del ballet del siglo veinte al sur de la Florida por primera vez. Artistas invitados incluyeron a Rudolph Nureyev, Carla Fracci, Cynthia Gregory, Natalia Makarova, Ivan Nagy, Gelsey Kirkland y Alexander Gudonov para nombrar solo algunos. Ballet Concerto se conservara como una institucion clave en el desarrollo de las artes y la cultura en el sur de Florida, especialmente entre de la comunidad hispana. Las directoras Sonia Diaz y Martha del Pino, que se exiliaron del Ballet Nacional de Cuba, donde bailaron junto a Alicia Alonso y bajo la direccion de Fernando Alonso, implementaron y mantuvieron el plan de estudio riguroso que hoy en dia destaca al ballet clasico cubano. No hay duda de que el cierre de esta gran institucion deja un enorme vacio, sobre todo en el corazon de las tres generaciones que estudiaron y bailaron en Ballet Concerto y en la memoria de los que fueron testigo de la evolucion de las artes culturales en Miami entre los años sesenta y ochenta, cuando la escuela y compañia estaban en la cima.

Ballet Concerto School in Miami, FL will close after 55 years. One of the oldest and arguably one of the highest quality classical ballet schools in the region, Ballet Concerto opened its doors in 1961 and subsequently Miami's first professional ballet company, Ballet Concerto Company, in 1964. The school produced some recognizable names, most notably Fernando Bujones, and the company set a precedent for classical ballet in the area by bringing the most extraordinary ballet artists of the twentieth century to South Florida for the first time. Guest artists included Rudolph Nureyev, Carla Fracci, Cynthia Gregory, Natalia Makarova, Ivan Nagy, Gelsey Kirkland, and Alexander Gudonov to name a few. Ballet Concerto will be remembered as a key player in the development of arts and culture in South Florida, especially within the Hispanic community. Artistic Directors Sonia Diaz and Martha del Pino, who defected from Ballet Nacional de Cuba, where they danced alongside Alicia Alonso and under the direction of Fernando Alonso, implemented and maintained the rigorous classical curriculum that Cuban ballet has since become known for. There is no question of the void left by the closing of this Miami establishment, mostly in the heart of the three generations, and thousands of students who studied and danced at Ballet Concerto and in the memory of those who witnessed the evolution of the cultural arts in Miami between the 1960's and 1980's, when the school and company were at its peak.

LISA CHALMERS-NAUMANN and PHILLIP BROOMHEAD will be members of the faculty for the Shreveport Dance Academy's Summer Intensive from August 1-5, 2016 in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Robert Cuccioli and Glory Crampton will reunite at a special gathering for the official release of the new cast recording of the York Theatre Company production of Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Sherman Yellen's musical Rothschild & Sons on Monday, July 25 at 6:00pm at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).

Just about every Tony Award telecast contains an acceptance speech that gets a little nutty.

On a beautiful New York Sunday afternoon, April 17, 2016, American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Studio Company performed on their final day at The Joyce Theater. I was curious to watch these young dancers in Program C-a different repertoire. The line up consisted of La Bayadere Pas d'Action, Bier Halle, Libera!, Third Wheels, and Bolero. As I waited in wonderment of the coming piece, I too wondered if the ABT Studio dancers were anxious to knock the audience and myself out of my aisle seat with their talents. Tragically, I wound up holding the armrests from the anxiety created onstage.

March 4, 2016 (BOSTON, MA)—Boston Ballet's 52nd season continues with Kaleidoscope, a vibrant fusion of works by the most influential choreographic voices of the 20th century. The first of four works presented in this dynamic program is George Balanchine's Kammermusik No. 2, a “fascinating” and “unremitting” ballet, followed by the dazzling and technically demanding The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude by William Forsythe that returns to Boston Ballet after a critically acclaimed Company premiere last season (Brian Seibert, The New York Times). Adding to the evening's exceptional program is the graceful Pas de Quatre by unsung choreographer Leonid Yakobson, a classically romantic work noted for its “distinctive movement sensibility” (Roslyn Sulcas,The New York Times). Concluding the program is Léonide Massine's colorful Gaîté Parisienne, an effervescent ballet that evokes Moulin Rouge and Paris in the early 1900s, and ends with an unforgettable can-can.  Kaleidoscope will run March 17–26, 2016 at the Boston Opera House. 

March 4, 2016 (BOSTON, MA)—Boston Ballet's 52nd season continues with Kaleidoscope, a vibrant fusion of works by the most influential choreographic voices of the 20th century. The first of four works presented in this dynamic program is George Balanchine's Kammermusik No. 2, a “fascinating” and “unremitting” ballet, followed by the dazzling and technically demanding The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude by William Forsythe that returns to Boston Ballet after a critically acclaimed Company premiere last season (Brian Seibert, The New York Times). Adding to the evening's exceptional program is the graceful Pas de Quatre by unsung choreographer Leonid Yakobson, a classically romantic work noted for its “distinctive movement sensibility” (Roslyn Sulcas,The New York Times). Concluding the program is Léonide Massine's colorful Gaîté Parisienne, an effervescent ballet that evokes Moulin Rouge and Paris in the early 1900s, and ends with an unforgettable can-can.  Kaleidoscope will run March 17–26, 2016 at the Boston Opera House. 

Cynthia Harvey, a former Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre, has been appointed Artistic Director of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. Harvey's appointment, which becomes effective May 2016, was announced today by ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Harvey will succeed Franco De Vita, who was first named Principal of the ABT JKO School in 2005 and Artistic Director in 2013. De Vita will retire from the position in April 2016.

The Off-Broadway cast recording of the new Bock and Harnick musical, Rothschild & Sons, an intimate reimagining of the Tony nominated musical The Rothschilds, will be recorded and released by JAY Records.  Produced by John Yap, the recording will feature the original cast of The York Theatre Company production who will gather at The Avatar Studios on Monday, October 26, 2015 to lay down the tracks for the recording scheduled for release on JAY Records in early January.  Executive Producers are John Yap and Arnold Mittelman.

New York City Ballet will open its 2015-16 Season at Lincoln Center tonight, September 22 with eight performances of Peter Martins' production of Tschaikovsky's Swan Lake, through Tuesday, September 29, to launch the Company's 2015 Fall Season, which will continue for four weeks through Sunday, October 18.

Philadelphia, PA (September 15, 2015) – Pennsylvania Ballet and Artistic Director Angel Corella are pleased to announce that Charles Askegard, former Principal Dancer at New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater, will be joining the Company as Ballet Master. Kyra Nichols, former New York City Ballet Principal Dancer, will also expand her role by becoming a Ballet Master and five new dancers have joined the Company for the 2015-2016 Season.

Boston, MA—Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen has announced the 2015-2016 season roster, featuring 11 new dancers and six promotions from within the Company. The Company will be comprised of 68 dancers—including 10 dancers in Boston Ballet II (BBII)—representing 20 nationalities. The full company has returned to its 19 Clarendon Street studios in preparation for the 2015-2016 season.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced the faculty for its American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School that begins its full 36-week school year on September 14, 2015 and runs through June 11, 2016. The Center has added classes to accommodate the growing enrollment.

Set in the Royal India of the past, La Bayadere is a story of eternal love, mystery, fate, vengeance, and justice. On Tuesday, June 2nd, at the Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, I was transported to this far away place and time by a marvelous cast, with some of ABT's finest dancers, in a magnificent production, conceived, directed, and choreographed by Natalia Makarova, after Petipa. The rich and memorable music by Ludwig Minkus was specially arranged by John Lanchbery. The lavish scenery for both outdoor and indoor scenes by Pierluigi Samartani, the costumes, designed by Theoni V. Alldredge, and the effective lighting by Toshiro Ogawa, all contributing to the complete transportation to this other world.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. is thrilled to present the New York debut of the Polish National Ballet, Poland's leading ballet company based in Warsaw, from June 16-21. The company, under the artistic direction of Krzysztof Pastor, will present a program of three works: two by Pastor (Adagio & Scherzo, a US Premiere and Moving Rooms, a New York Premiere) and Emanuel Gat's acclaimed Rite of Spring.  Tickets range in price from $10-$49 ($26-$37 for Joyce Theater members), and can be purchased through JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or via the internet at www.joyce.org.  The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.

ABT's 75th Anniversary Gala, a balletomane's dream of a performance on May 18th 2015 at the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center, treated the nearly sold-out audience to a joyous celebration in dance and archival images of the American Ballet Theatre's seven-and-a-half decade reign as 'America's National Ballet Company'. That designation became official with an act of Congress on April 27th 2006, but the troupe founded by Richard Pleasant with Lucia Chase and Oliver Smith as Co-Directors in 1940 had embraced the ethos of this country right from the start.

Casting for the third and fourth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2015 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.