On January 1, 2021, Uruguayan ballerina María Riccetto officially became the new director of her national ballet company, Ballet Nacional de Sodre. Seldom has the selection of a new leader felt so apt. Riccetto’s career has been a model of hard work, perseverance and attention to craft, rewarded by recognition and responsibility. Many ballet lovers […]
This story originally appeared in the December 2015/January 2016 issue of Pointe. Why did you return to Uruguay and join the Ballet Nacional Sodre, after being at American Ballet Theatre for nearly 14 years? I’d been a soloist for 10 years and had danced a lot of great roles. But there were so many more […]
An artist who, surprisingly, often slips under the radar, she gives some of the company’s most memorable performances. Petite, with long arms and beautifully etched legs and feet, she dances with technical strength and an innately dramatic quality that is palpable. With her natural, unaffected beauty, the Uruguayan-born dancer looks like she could be one […]
On September 20 of last year, a violent hurricane, almost a Category 5, hit Puerto Rico head-on. The mega-storm laid waste to the American territory, knocking out power, flooding roads and houses, flattening buildings, and killing 2,975 people as it barreled northward. Large swathes of the island remained without electricity or running water for weeks—in […]
Julio Bocca injects his experience and flair into Uruguay’s Ballet Nacional Sodre. Julio Bocca’s performances during his 20 years at American Ballet Theatre had the tangible feel of verismo. Whatever character he danced—Romeo, Albrecht, Onegin—grabbed you from the stage and swept you into the action. So why wouldn’t the Argentinian star demand energy and excellence […]
Natalie Portman’s character loses her grip on reality in Black Swan. Photo by Niko Tavernise. Sarah Lane is standing onstage holding a syringe of fake blood. “When do you want me to start dripping it?” she yells out to the house. It’s the last day of filming the dance scenes in Black Swan, and I’m […]
Dancer: Sarah Van Patten Company: San Francisco Ballet Ballet: Marius Petipa’s Swan Lake San Francisco Ballet principal Sarah Van Patten always commands the stage in roles that call for dramatic depth and musicality. But because she is not usually thought of as a strong technician, she was a long shot to be cast as Odette/Odile […]
Spring Renewal Martins on NYCB’s “Architectural” Season New York City Ballet’s spring season, which begins April 29, is chock-full of “new”: seven premieres, four commissioned scores, five sets by architect Santiago Calatrava. And yet, says Artistic Director Peter Martins, it’s all […]