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This ABT Corps de Ballet Dancer Performed in 73 Shows Over 11 Weeks

Jin Zhang, Erica Lall and Betsy McBride in Swan Lake. Rosalie O'Connor, Courtesy American Ballet Theatre

Erica Lall, a member of American Ballet Theatre's corps de ballet, accomplished an impressive feat this spring: she danced in every single one of ABT's spring Metropolitan Opera House season performances. That's 64 shows—actually, as Lall notes, "it would technically be 69 shows at the Met," since she performed in all of the ABTKids performances as well.

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Ballet Stars

Three Smaller Summer Dance Festivals to Keep on Your Radar

American Ballet Theatre corps member José Sebastian (center) is launching the Hamptons Dance Project with a cast of fellow ABT dancers this August. Rochelle Brodin, Courtesy Hamptons Dance Project.

From coast to coast, and on the shores of Lake Michigan in-between, professional dancers and choreographers are going one step beyond putting together a summer pickup company. Some are now curating multi-evening festivals in their hometowns and beloved vacation areas, and featuring an impressive range of companies, dancers and dance styles. So get ready to plan your next trip—here are three dance fests in beautiful resort areas to keep on your radar.

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Trending

ABT's Baby Boom: Balancing Pregnancy and Parenthood with a High Stakes Ballet Career

From left: ABT's Alexandra Basmagy, Lauren Post and Gillian Murphy. Photo by April Giangeruso, courtesy ABT.

On the last day of America Ballet Theatre's 2018 tour of The Nutcracker in Costa Mesa, California, corps member Alexandra Basmagy couldn't hold it in any longer. She broke the news to fellow corps members Gemma Bond and Lauren Post that she and her husband are expecting a little boy in August.

Basmagy was not the first ABT dancer to announce her pregnancy this season—principal Gillian Murphy revealed in December that she and her husband Ethan Stiefel were expecting a boy—nor would she be the last. Post's own announcement soon followed! Artistic director Kevin McKenzie burst out laughing when she told him the news, Post says. "He was like, 'It always happens in threes. Since Gillian told me and then Alex, I've been waiting for the last shoe to drop.'"

There is a veritable baby boom at ABT—Gemma Bond, corps member Alexei Agoudine, soloist Luciana Paris and soloist Thomas Forster are all new parents, and Murphy gave birth to her son, Ax Nathaniel, last month. Basmagy and Post are both in their third trimesters, with due dates on August 5th and August 19, respectively. Pointe interviewed these two moms-to-be, and then caught up with Forster and Paris, to learn how they navigate pregnancy and parenthood alongside a ballet career.

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News

ABT's Aran Bell and Joo Won Ahn Have Been Promoted to Soloist

Aran Bell in Swan Lake. Photo by Gene Schiavone, Courtesy ABT.

Most years, American Ballet Theatre closes its spring Met season with a sweet surprise: company promotions. Artistic director Kevin McKenzie just announced that two members of the corps de ballet—Aran Bell and Joo Won Ahn—are being promoted to soloist, effective September 1.

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News

ABT's Fall Season To Celebrate Herman Cornejo, Includes World Premieres by Twyla Tharp and Gemma Bond

Gemma Bond in the studio with ABT's Cassandra Trenary. Jim Lafferty.

If, like us, you're already mourning the end of American Ballet Theatre's marathon Met season, don't fear. The company just announced the lineup for its fall season, and there's a lot to look forward to.

Running October 16-27 at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater, ABT's fall lineup includes world premieres by choreographers Twyla Tharp and Gemma Bond. While Tharp has been creating for ABT since 1976 (the company's Met season included a trio of her works), corps dancer Gemma Bond will be making her choreographic debut for ABT's main company. The season also shines a spotlight on principal Herman Cornejo, who will be celebrating his 20th anniversary with the company.

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Ballet Stars

7 Tough-Love Lessons from the Legendary Irina Kolpakova

Irina Kolpakova in the studio with Katherine Williams. Photo by Quinn Wharton for Pointe.

Being coached by a treasure like former Kirov prima Irina Kolpakova is an experience most dancers only dream of. But company members at American Ballet Theatre have been the lucky beneficiaries of her wisdom since 1990. Thanks to Instagram, where pros like Gillian Murphy and James Whiteside share snippets of their sessions with Kolpakova, any ballet lover can be a fly on the wall during rehearsals with the famed ballet mistress.

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Love It or Hate It, Our Editors Discuss All Things Jane Eyre

Devon Teuscher performing the titular role in Jane Eyre. Photo by Gene Schiavone, Courtesy ABT

Story ballets that debut during American Ballet Theatre's spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House are always the subject of much curiosity—and, sometimes, much debate. Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre was no different. The ballet follows the eponymous heroine of Charlotte Brönte's novel as she grows from a willful orphan to a self-possessed governess, charting her romance with the haughty Mr. Rochester and the social forces that threaten to tear them apart.

While the ballet was warmly received in the UK when Northern Ballet premiered it in 2016, its reception from New York City–based critics has been far less welcoming. A group of editors from Dance Magazine and two of our sister publications, Dance Spirit and Pointe, sat down to discuss our own reactions.

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Ballet Stars

Brooklyn Mack Thought It Was a Prank When ABT Asked Him to Guest—and Now He's Dancing the Opening Night of Le Corsaire

Brooklyn Mack in Le Corsaire. Photo by Carlos Quezada, Courtesy Mack

After almost a decade at The Washington Ballet, Brooklyn Mack has struck out on his own. Last summer, after unsuccessful contract negotiations with the company—now under the direction of Julie Kent—the 32-year-old star decided to go it alone. So far, his full-time freelance career has taken him to Hong Kong, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Georgia (the country, not the state) and various cities across the U.S. But his biggest debut is still to come. This month, he appears with American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House for four performances of Le Corsaire, playing both Conrad and Ali.

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Ballet Careers

ABT's April Giangeruso On Her New Leotard Brand, Chameleon Activewear, And Collaborating With Her Co-Workers

April Giangeruso in Chameleon Activewear's April's Read Carefully model. Courtesy Giangeruso.

If you keep a close eye on Instagram, you'll have noticed a long list of American Ballet Theatre dancers posting shots wearing unusual leotards accompanied by the hashtag "#momtard." And if your sleuthing skills are particularly superior, you'll have traced them back to corps de ballet dancer April Giangeruso, who has been sporting brightly flowered and confectionary-printed leos in the studio years before making them available to her colleagues and the rest of the ballet world.

Giangeruso officially launched Chameleon Activewear, her new set of boldly designed leotards, earlier this month, and the reactions have already been overwhelmingly positive. "It's so exciting to see other dancers happy in them, and to receive messages from students and professionals about how they love the prints and the way the leotards fit," she says. Ahead, we caught up with Giangeruso for all of the details on creating her company (and the cutest #momtard story you'll ever hear).

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News

ABT Celebrates Alexei Ratmansky’s 10th Anniversary With a World Premiere

Alexei Ratmansky in rehearsal for Harlequinade with ABT's Blaine Hoven and Christine Shevchenko. Rosalie O'Connor, Courtesy ABT.

This year marks Alexei Ratmansky's 10th anniversary as artist in residence of American Ballet Theatre.

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Ballet Stars

Four Professional Dancers Reveal Their Funniest Recital Memories

Amy Herchenroether in Giselle with Saint Louis Ballet. Kelly Pratt, Courtesy Saint Louis Ballet.

It's that time of year again: recital season! Memories will be made, including some hilarious ones. (Does it even count as a recital if something funny doesn't happen?) We asked four pros to share their most humorous recital memories from their student days, from costume malfunctions to onstage bloopers.

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Viral Videos

This NYC Restaurant Created a "Whipped Cream" Ballet-Inspired Sundae, and We Had 4 ABT Dancers Try It

ABT dancers in Alexei Ratmansky's Whipped Cream. Courtesy ABT.

Alexei Ratmansky's Whipped Cream, which American Ballet Theatre debuted in 2017, tells the story of a young boy who eats too many sweets, falls into a delirium, and is rescued by Princess Praline, who brings him to a world inhabited by fantastical confectionary characters. Last week the chefs at New York's Serendipity 3, the famous Upper East Side eatery best known for its frozen hot chocolate, tried their hand at bringing Ratmansky's ballet to life (or at least to the table). The result is Whipped Cream - The Sundae, available to diners from May 7-July 13.

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