Manuel Legris at the Vienna State Opera. Michael Phon, Courtesy La Scala Ballet.
Former Paris Opéra Ballet etoile Manuel Legris has just been appointed artistic director of La Scala Ballet in Milan. Legris, who has directed the Vienna State Opera Ballet since 2010, posted on his Instagram page that he will assume his new position in December 2020. He replaces outgoing director Frédéric Olivieri. According to Frenchnews sites, Olivieri, who has led La Scala Ballet School since 2006, will continue to serve as the academy's director.
Aran Bell and Catherine Hurlin in Of Love and Rage. Erin Baiano, Courtesy American Ballet Theatre.
This spring, American Ballet Theatre unveils Of Love and Rage, a new evening-length work based on an unlikely source: a tale of love and adventure written in the first century AD. We're all aware of Greek mythology, of the tragedies and of the Greek philosophers. But it is much less widely known that a writer by the name of Chariton penned what is likely the first romantic novel in Western literature, or at least the oldest that has survived: Callirhoe.
Frances Chung as the title role in Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella. Erik Tomasson, Courtesy SFB.
Six-time Tony Award-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz has lit such Broadway musical hits as Frozen, Hello Dolly! and A Chorus Line. She is also one of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon's biggest collaborators, designing the lighting for works such as Broadway's An American in Paris, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Cinderella, a 2012 co-production ofSan Francisco Ballet and Dutch National Ballet. Shortly after SFB opened their 2020 season with Cinderella last month, Pointe caught up with Katz to talk about her career, her collaborative relationship with Wheeldon, and the lighting profiles of co-productions.
Irina Kolesnikova with Kimin Kim in Swan Lake. Courtesy Konstantin Tachkin.
This weekend, Irina Kolesnikova will appear on a U.S. stage for the first time, dancing alongside Bolshoi Ballet star Denis Rodkin. The Russian ballerina is a member of St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre, a touring company helmed by Konstantin Tachkin that will appear at the Brooklyn Academy of Music February 15-16. Before joining SPBT in 1998, Kolesnikova, a native of St. Petersburg, graduated from the city's esteemed Vaganova Ballet Academy. Koleniskova spent just two years in the company's lower ranks before being promoted to principal.
Brooklyn Ballet in Pas de Quatre. Courtesy Brooklyn Ballet.
There's a famous lithograph of Jules Perrot's Pas de Quatre, which had its debut in 1845 at London's Her Majesty's Theatre. The print depicts four of the most celebrated ballerinas of the time—Carlotta Grisi, Marie Taglioni, Lucile Grahn and Fanny Cerrito—with nearly indistinguishable light skin and brown hair, dressed in identical lily-white costumes. This weekend, 175 years later, Brooklyn Ballet recreates that image with a group of dancers of color, reflecting the community in which the company is housed. "Our mission is to represent Brooklyn and its diversity," says artistic director Lynn Parkerson.
The oldest ballet competition in the world doesn't have the funds for the show to go on: The 29th edition of the Varna International Ballet Competition, scheduled for July 12–30, 2020, has been postponed indefinitely.
The eight 2020 Prix de Lausanne prize winners. Rodrigo Buas, Courtesy PdL.
The 2020 Prix de Lausanne has officially come to a close after a thrilling week of classes, coaching sessions, competition performances and networking forums. The annual competition, which was live streamed around the world and watched over 1.1 million times, gave 77 dancers an opportunity to perform and take class in front of an international panel of judges. In addition to a classical variation, candidates had to master a contemporary solo by Mauro Bigonzetti, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Cathy Marston, Wayne McGregor, Heinz Spoerli or Richard Wherlock.
If you're like us, you've been watching the Prix de Lausanne live stream all week. And chances are, you've picked out a few favorites among the 77 competitors. Today the judges chose 21 dancers to advance to tomorrow's finals. From this group, seven will receive a scholarship and have the chance to choose among the world's most prestigious academies and companies.
Check out the 21 finalists below—three are from the U.S. And catch the finals' live stream tomorrow, February 8, on ARTE Concert, YouTube, Facebook, the Prix de Lausanne website and on Dance Australia starting at 2:30 pm in Switzerland (that's 8:30 am EST/5:30 am PST).
Christin Dior gown, 1947. Louise Dahl Wolfe, Courtesy The Museum at FIT.
Fashionistas, this one's for you. A new exhibition titled "Ballerina: Fashion's Modern Muse," running at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City from February 11–April 18, ties together a few of our favorite things: fashion, dance history and, of course, ballet.
