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☆ Michaela Mabinty DePrince: Ballerina, 29, who starred in Beyoncé video dies
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Rosa Rahimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Michaela Mabinty DePrince, the ballerina born during a civil war in Sierra Leone who performed in Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ visual album, has died aged 29, according to an announcement posted to her official Instagram page. DePrince told the WSJ she thought it was a joke when she heard the singer wanted her for the video, who told DePrince in person it was an ‘honor’ to have her star. Ballerina Michaela DePrince teaches a ballet class at One World Observatory in New York City on April 26, 2017. “From the very beginning of our story back in Africa, sleeping on a shared mat in the orphanage, Michaela (Mabinty) and I used to make up our own musical theater plays and act them out. Michaela DePrince in Johannesburg, South Africa on July 9, 2012.

Persons: CNN — Michaela Mabinty DePrince, Mia, DePrince, ’, –, – DePrince, ”, “, Ballerina Michaela DePrince, Jason Kempin, Michaela, Mabinty, “ I’m, Michaela DePrince, Denis Farrell, Misty Copeland, “ Michaela, Ballerina ’, Child Holland, CNN’s Nkepile Mabuse Organizations: CNN, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dutch National Ballet, Boston Ballet, American Ballet, America Grand Prix Locations: Sierra Leone, Sierra, New York City, New Jersey, United States, Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa, ’

☆ Virginia Woolf, but Make It a Polyphonic, Sensory Ballet
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a rehearsal room at American Ballet Theater’s studios earlier this month, Alessandra Ferri and Roman Zhurbin paused during a pas de deux, waiting to take their next steps. “Where’s Big Ben?” Ferri asked. It tolls throughout Virginia Woolf’s novel “Mrs Dalloway,” coldly marking and making clear the passage of time. Big Ben plays a similar role in the first part of “Woolf Works,” Wayne McGregor’s full-length ballet that evokes elements of Woolf’s biography and the essence of three novels, including “Mrs. Dalloway.” Having premiered at the Royal Ballet in 2015 to strong reviews, it arrives in New York on Tuesday, as part of Ballet Theater’s Metropolitan Opera House season.

Persons: Alessandra Ferri, Roman Zhurbin, “, Ben, ” Ferri, Dalloway, ”, Big Ben, “ Woolf, ” Wayne McGregor’s, Romeo, Juliet, Christopher Wheeldon’s Organizations: Ballet, Royal Ballet, Opera Locations: Westminster, London, Virginia, “, New York

☆ Review: Dance Theater of Harlem Is in New (and Capable) Hands
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Gia Kourlas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And on Thursday, Garland showed that he was getting some things right: Dance Theater, now in its 55th season, has a vintage kind of glow. The company, along with its dancers, seems to be more sure of itself: It’s growing into a sense of style. Honoring Mitchell was a reminder of why Dance Theater, born after the assassination of the Rev. Along with showcasing the transformative power of ballet, Garland writes in the program, Mitchell used Dance Theater as a means for social justice in part by way of its repertoire: George Balanchine ballets were performed alongside works by Black choreographers like Geoffrey Holder. 2,” which braids social dance with classical ballet.

Persons: Robert Garland, “ Arthur Mitchell, ‘, Robert, ’, — Mitchell, Garland, Mitchell, Martin Luther King Jr, George Balanchine, Black, Geoffrey Holder, curation, —, ”, Marius Petipa Organizations: New York City Center, Dance Theater of Harlem, “ Locations: New

☆ Misty Copeland reflects on the ‘generational trauma’ felt by Black ballet dancers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Matt Marshall | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And that wasn’t always the case.”There were also instances of discrimination that could have easily turned Copeland away from dance all together. “There were times that I was not cast in certain roles because I would stand out too much and kind of ruin the aesthetic, especially if it was a performance that was being filmed,” Copeland told Wallace. “I think about this kind of generational trauma for Black dancers that comes with that role,” she said. And I feel that that’s what I’ve done with a lot of the roles I’ve taken on, but especially Swan Lake,” Copeland told Wallace. Misty Copeland and James Whiteside perform in "Swan Lake" at Lincoln Center in New York, June 24, 2015.

Persons: Misty Copeland, Copeland, “, ” Copeland, CNN’s Chris Wallace, Chris Wallace, ”, who’s, “ I’ve, it’s, wasn’t, Wallace, “ Odette, Odile ”, Theatre’s, “ We’ve, that’s, Odette, Swan, James Whiteside, Julieta Cervantes, ABT, Jackie Robinson, haven’t, Daniil Simkin, Kevin Sullivan, Max Organizations: CNN, American Ballet Theatre, New York Times, Lincoln Center, Register, Getty, Motion Productions, ”, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Misty Copeland Foundation Locations: American, Swan, ”, Swan Lake, “, New York, Orange

☆ At City Ballet, 2 Sparkling Premieres and Many Moments to Remember
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Gia Kourlas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For a company to unveil a decent new ballet is a strange and marvelous occurrence. To unveil two in one season? Quality choreography that celebrates classicism, that highlights musicality — that even pushes the form into new realms — isn’t the norm. But at New York City Ballet this season, two premieres were worthy of many more viewings — and in the case of Alexei Ratmansky’s harrowing “Solitude,” set to Mahler, endless ones. Inspired by a 2022 photo of a Ukrainian father kneeling before the body of his dead son, the ballet filled the stage with bodies expressing the tangible ache of grief and love.

Persons: Alexei Ratmansky’s, ”, Mahler, Ratmansky, —, “, Tiler Peck, Francis Poulenc, Peck, Peter Martins, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine’s, Mary Thomas MacKinnon’s Organizations: New York City Ballet, City Ballet, della Locations: New, Ukrainian, della Regina

☆ A War-Haunted Choreographer Steps Into a New Role at City Ballet
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Marina Harss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, the last two years have brought an uncomfortable intermingling of life and art. “My parents in Kyiv are awoken at night by explosions,” he said in an interview at Lincoln Center. “It gets harder and harder and heavier because no one sees any light. Ratmansky, 55, has kept the image filed away, part of a mental gallery of the horrors of war. Now it has found its way into a dance, his first for New York City Ballet in his new role as artist in residence.

Persons: Alexei Ratmansky, “, ”, can’t, Gustav Mahler Organizations: Lincoln Center, New York City Ballet Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Kharkiv

PARIS (AP) — An air of surrealism enveloped Chanel’s Spring Couture show Tuesday as celebrity guests including Naomi Campbell and Kendrick Lamar faced a navigational challenge: walking past a towering pair of open metal scissors. Here are some highlights of Tuesday’s spring couture shows:BUTTONS AND BALLETThe button is a humble icon, but it was not always so. Viard used the button-jewels as a spice for the drama of the ballet stage, scattering them across contrasting and often segmented silhouettes. The house was keenly aware of its history: 2024 marks a century since Coco Chanel first ventured into ballet design. In a world that often seeks the innovative, Mabille reminds us of the enduring allure of classic couture.

Persons: Naomi Campbell, Kendrick Lamar, Baz Luhrmann, Gabrielle “ Coco ” Chanel, “, Virginie Viard, Viard, Coco Chanel, Léon Bakst, Sergei Diaghilev, Chanel, ” Viard, Karl Lagerfeld, didn’t, Margaret Qualley, Andie MacDowell, Dave Free, Barbra Streisand’s, ”, Rue, Anna Mouglalis, Alexis Mabille Organizations: PARIS, Palais, Russes, Rue Cambon Locations: Paris

☆ Alina Cojocaru: A Freelance Ballerina, Forging Her Own Path
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Roslyn Sulcas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ballerinas like Sylvie Guillem, Diana Vishneva and Natalia Osipova have also pursued independent paths but turned mainly to contemporary work. Dancers today are phenomenal, even better than when I began, and apart from myself, I wanted to create opportunities. The experience of being a freelance dancer during the pandemic, and not being protected by a company, made me realize I would like to do something for other freelancers. I was pregnant with my second daughter, Ella, and I had to deal with other people’s decisions and choose another path. I have seen what works, what doesn’t, the director’s point of view, the dancers’ points of view.

Persons: Sylvie Guillem, Diana Vishneva, Natalia Osipova, Ella Organizations: Ballet

REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, no longer welcome in Western concert halls since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was named on Friday as director of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. After performing for decades on the world's biggest classical stages, Gergiev has been shunned in the West since the start of the war in February 2022. The following month he was fired as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra after the city's mayor said Gergiev had declined to "clearly and unambiguously" distance himself from the invasion. Gergiev, also a former principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, has long been controversial outside Russia because of his support for President Vladimir Putin. He spoke out in favour of Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014.

Persons: Valery Gergiev, Lisi Niesner, Gergiev, Vladimir Urin, Urin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, we're, we've, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, REUTERS, Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, Mariinsky Theatre, Munich, Orchestra, Bolshoi, London Symphony Orchestra, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Russian, Vienna, Austria, Ukraine, St Petersburg, West, Russia, Crimea, Palmyra, Syria, Islamic State, China

☆ Review: Ballet Theater Revisits Its Past With a Hit and Two Misses
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Gia Kourlas | More About Gia Kourlas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

American Ballet Theater opened its fall season on a high note: Alexei Ratmansky’s “Piano Concerto No. The program, part of the first New York season created by the company’s artistic director, Susan Jaffe, gradually lost steam. “Petite Mort” (1991) is flimsier than ever. Devon Teuscher’s clean, classical elegance lent the overlong work a boost of grace and energy, but the ballet, created in 1948, is hardly a good time capsule. In a program note, Lander describes his ballet as “an expression of myself, and of my thoughts on dance.

Persons: Alexei Ratmansky’s “, Mort ”, Jiri Kylian, Harald Lander, Susan Jaffe, Devon Teuscher’s, George Balanchine’s, Frederick Ashton’s “, ”, “, Lander Organizations: Ballet Theater, New, Lincoln Center Locations: New York

☆ As City Ballet Celebrates Its 75th, Dancers (Hundreds) Take a Bow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Gia Kourlas | More About Gia Kourlas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

George Balanchine, by his own admission, always admired jewels, a quality he attributed to his Georgian roots. “I like the color of gems, the beauty of stones,” he wrote in “101 Stories of the Great Ballets.”When, in 1967, the curtain rose at New York City Ballet on his opulent triptych, known as the first full-length plotless ballet, it had no unifying title. “Emeralds” possesses the fragrant earthiness and secrecy of nature; “Rubies” is heat and playfulness, with the games and posturing of a summer scape in New York City; and “Diamonds” casts a dazzling spell of cool refinement that wavers between soft and hard. “Jewels,” as it came to be called, is an occasion as well as a ballet. (The music was performed live, though before the show, members of the New York City Ballet Orchestra held a rally in front of Lincoln Center’s plaza to protest delays in contract negotiations.)

Persons: George Balanchine, ”, Balanchine, Lincoln Kirstein, Suzanne Farrell, Allegra Kent, Patricia McBride, Edward Villella — Organizations: New York City Ballet, City, Lincoln Center, New York City Ballet Orchestra Locations: New, New York City, Lincoln

☆ Erik Aschengreen, 88, Dies; Historian and Critic Illuminated Danish Dance
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Alastair Macaulay | More About Alastair Macaulay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The 1979, 1992, and 2005 festivals of Bournonville’s ballets flooded the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen with dance authorities from many countries. Mr. Aschengreen did much to welcome, entertain and enlighten them as a spokesman at many presentations by the Danish company. From 1964 to 2005 Mr. Aschengreen was the dance critic for the Copenhagen-based Berlingske Tidende (now known simply as Berlingske), one of the world’s oldest newspapers still in print. He also taught ballet history at the Royal Danish Ballet School from 1971 to 1993 and dance history at the Danish School of Contemporary Dance from its founding in 1990. He traveled extensively to see international dance and to investigate dance education.

Persons: Erik Bruhn, Peter Martins, Ib Andersen, Nikolaj Hübbe, August Bournonville, Aschengreen, ”, Alexei Ratmansky, Marina Harss, Ratmansky Organizations: Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Danish Theater, New York City Ballet, Berlingske Tidende, University of Copenhagen, Royal Danish Ballet School, Danish School of Contemporary Locations: Danish, America, Denmark, United States, Copenhagen, Ukrainian American

☆ The Long Life and Long Reach of George Balanchine’s Butterflies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Brian Seibert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While celebrating its 75th anniversary this fall, New York City Ballet is performing 18 ballets by its founding choreographer, George Balanchine. But to get a sense of the global standing of Balanchine, 40 years after his death, other numbers might be more telling. Last year, for instance, around 50 other ballet companies across the world performed his works, about 75 dances in total. Balanchine likened his ballets to butterflies: “They live for a season.” But they have lasted much longer than that. They have become classics, cornerstones of the international repertory, 20th-century equivalents of 19th-century staples like “Swan Lake,” danced everywhere by all the major ballet companies and most of the minor ones, too.

Persons: George Balanchine, Balanchine, ” Organizations: New York City Ballet, Ballet Locations: New, ”, America

☆ Dance Performances, Festivals and More Coming This Fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Margaret Fuhrer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Anniversary celebrations abound this year, in a dance season that seems conspicuously preoccupied with the past. September2023 CROSSING THE LINE FESTIVAL The dance offerings at the French Institute Alliance Française’s annual festival range from celebratory to contemplative. The choreographer Tatiana Desardouin’s “Les 5 Sens,” a collaboration with the artist Nubian Néné, offers an all-night hip-hop dance party at the Standard Hotel’s Boom Boom Room (Sept. 14). And Olivier Tarpaga’s “Once the dust settles, flowers bloom” considers the plight of refugees from Burkina Faso (Oct. 3-8, the Joyce Theater). The multidisciplinary artist Matthew Lutz-Kinoy’s “Filling Station,” a world premiere presented by The Kitchen, reimagines that work for a different America.

Persons: Agnes de Mille, Tatiana Desardouin’s “, ”, “, FIAF Florence Gould, Olivier Tarpaga’s “, MATTHEW LUTZ, KINOY, Lincoln, Lew Christensen’s, Matthew Lutz, serpentwithfeet, Raja Feather Kelly, Wu Tsang Organizations: Russes, French Institute Alliance, FIAF Florence Gould Hall, Ballet, Horatio, Gas, Dia Locations: U.S, Burkina Faso, ”, America

☆ Venice Film Festival: All Your Questions About Bradley Cooper’s ‘Maestro’ Answered
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Kyle Buchanan | More About Kyle Buchanan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

If you refer to “Maestro” as a biopic, expect a sternly worded email from the movie’s reps. It’s also true that “Maestro” doesn’t play by traditional biopic rules. What’s up with that fake nose? But when the film flashes back to Bernstein as a young man, the prosthetic proves intermittently distracting. It’s both too much and not enough: Unlike the fake nose in “The Hours,” which really did render Nicole Kidman unrecognizable, young Bernstein just looks like Bradley Cooper wearing a big beak.

Persons: ” Bernstein, Montealegre, “ Oppenheimer ”, Ferrari, Maestro ”, Bernstein, It’s, ”, Ken ”, “ Barbie, Cooper, Leonard Bernstein, Bradley, he’s, Nicole Kidman, Bradley Cooper Organizations: Netflix

CNN —The director of Rome’s Colosseum has called for an end to concerts at the nearby Circus Maximus, after a performance by US rapper Travis Scott on Monday sparked fears of an earthquake. Italy’s fire service confirmed to CNN that it received “hundreds of calls” from concerned residents who feared there had been an earthquake in the Italian capital. Now, Alfonsina Russo, director of the head of the Colosseum Archeological Park, has called for an end to performances at the Circus Maximus, the ancient Roman chariot-racing and entertainment venue. “The Circus Maximus is a monument. “Rock concerts should be held in stadiums so as not to endanger public safety.”The Circus Maximus, situated at the bottom of the Palatine Hill near the Colosseum, has become a popular concert venue in recent years.

Persons: Maximus, Travis Scott, ”, Scott, Kanye, Alfonsina Russo, Russo, Bruce Springsteen, Scott’s Organizations: CNN Locations: Rome, Italian, Palatine, ”, Giza, Egypt, Houston

☆ The Ups and Downs of Europe’s Most Interesting Opera Festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Joshua Barone | More About Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Its draw is also in the departures from tradition. Without them, Aix would be another Salzburg instead of the most interesting opera festival in Europe — though at this point in Pierre Audi’s tenure as artistic director, “opera” is too limiting a label, with a slate over the past week of film, music theater, concerts and, yes, opera, including two new works, each of vastly different character. Many summer festivals exist primarily for the pleasure of music-making beyond the usual concert halls and theaters. In this edition, not everything succeeded artistically (or with audiences); some of what I saw was reckless, some of it offensive. In the pit, so to speak, was the Orchestre de Paris under the baton of its music director, Klaus Mäkelä.

Persons: Pierre Audi’s, ”, —, Klaus Mäkelä Organizations: Ballets, Vitrolles, Orchestre de Paris Locations: Aix, Salzburg, Europe

☆ It’s Story Time at Ballet Theater, With a Best Seller Twist
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Marina Harss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The partnering grows increasingly steamy — an intimacy consultant was brought in to ensure that everyone felt comfortable. (On the Ballet Theater website, the production comes with a parental advisory, advising discretion for children under 13.) “People are sometimes afraid because they don’t know exactly what ballet is,” he said. “But maybe we can bring in new audiences because they think they’re going to get a theatrical and dynamic experience. Maybe they’ll be able to experience ballet through the art of storytelling, which is more accessible.”

Persons: “, Wheeldon, ”, Cassandra Trenary, Tita, they’ll Organizations: Ballet Theater

☆ Robin Wagner, Visionary Set Designer of Broadway Hits, Dies at 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Richard Sandomir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robin Wagner, the inventive Tony Award-winning set designer of more than 50 Broadway shows, including the 1978 musical “On the Twentieth Century,” in which a locomotive appeared to be racing toward the audience with the actress Imogene Coca strapped to the front of it, died on Monday at his home in New York City. His daughter Christie Wagner Lee confirmed the death but said she did not yet know the specific cause. She did not say in what borough he lived. Mr. Wagner designed sets on Broadway, Off Broadway and for regional theater, for operas and ballets, and, in 1975, for the Rolling Stones’ Tour of the Americas. His stage for those concerts was shaped like a six-pointed lotus flower that was raked upward to the back in a delicate curve.

Persons: Robin Wagner, Coca, Christie Wagner Lee, Wagner, Clive Barnes, ”, Christ, ” “ Young, Tony Kushner’s Organizations: Broadway, Americas, The New York Times Locations: New York City, The, America

☆ Standing (and Dancing) Strong at New York City Ballet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Gia Kourlas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If New York City Ballet’s spring season could be bottled into a fragrance, it would be fresh and green, with the earthy, sweet scent of a breeze after a bout of rain. The company, seemingly all of a sudden, looks so strong, and more important, so light. As a new generation of dancers at City Ballet finds its way, there’s not only more individualism, but more cohesion among individuals. “Concerto Barocco” (1941) and “La Source” (1968) are brilliant dances. City Ballet is bigger than they are, but they know that they are its current caretakers.

☆ Italy's La Scala to open new season with Verdi classic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Sara Rossi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People watch a live broadcast of Modest Musorgskij's opera "Boris Godunov" on a giant screen at the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery during La Scala Opera House's gala season opener in Milan, Italy, December 7, 2022. The opening night of the La Scala season has become a highlight of the calendar for the country's business and political elite, coinciding with the city's Feast of St. Ambrose holiday. Verdi's works have been performed at La Scala since 1839 and the choice of a historical work by a local favourite is likely to prove less contentious on Dec. 7. La Scala last year mitigated the impact by cutting consumption of gas and electricity by 22% and around 15% respectively, its artistic director Dominque Meyer said on Monday. In its new season, La Scala will host 14 operas, seven ballets, as well as concerts featuring Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, Briton Daniel Harding and Russian-born Kirill Petrenko.

☆ Italy's La Scala goes live with opera and concert streaming service
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Italy's La Scala has launched a streaming service allowing viewers to watch its operas, concerts and ballets online, in an effort to widen its audience worldwide. The first concert will be broadcast live on "La Scala TV" on Saturday with three Mozart symphonies conducted by Daniel Barenboim, the renowned Milan-based opera house said in a statement. With a ticket price range between 2.9 euros and 11.9 euros ($3.1-$12.7), subscribers this year can choose between seven live opera performances, nine concerts and three ballets. The online service debuted on Tuesday with Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi opera' "The Sicilian Vespers", conducted by director Fabio Lusi. "The project is part of a broader effort to modernize the theatre ahead of the 2026 Olympics" that will take place in the Milan area, La Scala said.

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