Major changes are afoot at The Washington Ballet. Although former American Ballet Theatre star Julie Kent doesn’t officially step into her role as the company’s artistic director until July, she’s already making moves in preparation for the 2016–17 season. This afternoon, she announced that another former ABT principal will be joining the team: Xiomara Reyes will head The Washington School of Ballet, […]
Lightness is the famously elusive quality that can make a dancer seem to float on air. But as with all things dance, what looks like pure ease onstage takes an incredible amount of effort behind the scenes. “It’s the proverbial carrot that I dangle for my patients,” says Melissa Buffer, a Boston-area physical therapist who […]
“Julie Kent was my first ballet crush,” Harry Warshaw admits with a shy smile. The curly-haired 17-year-old has just learned a variation from Swan Lake. “I remember watching Center Stage when I was about 10 or 11 just to see her.” Now he is taking technique class with the former American Ballet Theatre star and […]
Alexandra Wells can always tell when a dancer hasn’t read her summer intensive information packet. Sometimes, says Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s director of artist training, there’s a quick fix for the lack of preparation. “You can go and buy a long-sleeve shirt after you burn your shoulder really badly in that first floorwork class,” she […]
As she was stepping into her new role as artistic director of The Washington Ballet this July, ballet icon Julie Kent made a natural fit for the cover of our first-ever Feminist Issue. At the time, she was still just starting to get her feet wet. Writer Marina Harss’ profile of Kent covered some of her dreams for the troupe, like […]
Ballet school heads have shifted in the wake of changing company leadership. Miami City Ballet School. PC Pavel Antonov, Courtesy MCB. The change in artistic directors at both The Washington Ballet (where Julie Kent took over this year) and Pennsylvania Ballet (led by Angel Corella since 2014) has set off a chain reaction of new […]
PNB’s Maria Chapman in Balanchine’s Apollo. Photo by Angela Sterling, Courtesy PNB. Julie Kent. Carla Körbes. Paloma Herrera. Xiomara Reyes. Over the past year, each of these phenomenal ballerinas took their final bows. Yesterday, Pacific Northwest Ballet broke the news that another dancer of the same generation has retired: principal Maria Chapman. The sudden announcement wasn’t made until after her […]
Balletomanes are having a tough summer. Paloma Herrera and Xiomara Reyes retired from American Ballet Theatre last week; Julie Kent will soon follow. Sylvie Guillem is on her farewell tour (though she excitingly just announced that she will visit the U.S. in November). And this Sunday, the beloved Pacific Northwest Ballet principal Carla Körbes will […]
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