Onstage This Week: Shades, Swans, Wilis and More!
Wonder what’s going on in ballet this week? We’ve pulled together some highlights.
Ballet Nacional de Cuba Continues U.S. Tour at the Kennedy Center
A few weeks ago we shared that the historic Ballet Nacional de Cuba is back in the U.S. after 40 years. The company has already made stops in Chicago and Tampa, and heads to The Kennedy Center May 29-June 2 as part of the Artes de Cuba festival with performances of Giselle and Don Quixote. The tour will conclude at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center June 6-8. Whether or not the company is heading to a city near you, you can catch a glimpse of Don Q in the below trailer.
Dancers Make Debuts in ABT’s La Bayadère
American Ballet Theatre continues their Met Opera season this week with La Bayadère. The run is marked by a number of exciting debuts and guest appearances. To start with, The Mariinsky’s Kimin Kim will be guest starring in the role of Solor on May 29 and June 1. ABT principals Devon Teuscher, Sarah Lane and Isabella Boylston will be making their debuts as Nikiya, corps dancer Joo Won Ahn and principal Jeffery Cirio will be debuting as Solor, and Christine Shevchenko, Skylar Brandt and Cassandra Trenary will be making debuts as Gamzatti. Check out the full list of casting here, and catch a glimpse at the Kingdom of the Shades below.
Swan Lake
at Milwaukee Ballet and Texas Ballet Theater
Milwaukee Ballet artistic director Michael Pink’s staging of Swan Lake returns May 31-June 2. Leading artist Annia Hidalgo, who will be dancing the role of Odile during select matinees, practiced her fouettés on camera (feel free to count along). Are you a Texas-based lover of Swan Lake? Texas Ballet Theater continues their run of the classic ballet June 1-3 in Dallas.
Love & Ballet at PNB
Pacific Northwest Ballet takes the stage in Seattle June 1-10 with four contemporary hits: Christopher Wheeldon’s Tide Harmonic and After the Rain pas de deux, Benjamin Millepied’s Appassionata and Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit. In the below video, PNB soloist Angelica Generosa talks about the experience of working with Peck on Year of the Rabbit after having had excerpts of the ballet created on her and her classmates at School of American in Ballet in 2010 (it was Peck’s first venture into choreography). We’re also giving away a pair of tickets to the June 7 performance of Love & Ballet. Enter now!
