The rollout of vaccinations is helping the U.S. turn a corner during this coronavirus pandemic, and artists and audience members alike are looking forward to enjoying live performances once again. It couldn’t be more perfect timing, then, for the inaugural Kaatsbaan Spring Festival, which will feature 16 presentations on two outdoor stages in New York’s […]
Kevin McKenzie, American Ballet Theatre’s longtime artistic director, announced yesterday that he will retire at the end of 2022, after three decades at the helm. He will continue to oversee the company’s 2021–22 season while a search for his successor begins this summer. In an interview with The New York Times’ Rosalyn Sulcas, McKenzie noted […]
The dominant narrative of how a young ballet dancer gets into a professional company generally goes something like this: You’re accepted into a prestigious summer session at a company school, and then get invited to stay year-round. You perform a bit with the company for The Nutcracker and, if you’re lucky, in a few other […]
It’s that time of year again—summer intensive audition season. But as the ballet world continues to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, what are schools planning for summer programs? What will auditions be like, and what are schools expecting of dancers? Pointe surveyed schools nationwide for their summer 2021 forecast. Hopes Are High—but Realistic Many schools […]
This spring was supposed to be one of highly anticipated debuts at American Ballet Theatre, a chance for many soloists to test their mettle in major leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera House. While the coronavirus pandemic shutdown put those debuts on pause, the company has shown a major leap of faith in its up-and-coming […]
While American Ballet Theatre and Complexions Contemporary Ballet fall into very different size and repertoire categories, both institutions’ dancers start their day with pliés and tendus—even in quarantine. A ballet class seemed like a natural connection point for a recent teacher swap initiative between the two organizations. Sascha Radetsky, artistic director of ABT Studio Company, […]
We revisited some of Pointe‘s past cover stars for their take on how life—and ballet—has changed. Robbie Fairchild, April/May 2007 Then: New York City Ballet corps member. He shared the cover with former NYCB dancer Callie Bachman, then a 16-year-old student at the School of American Ballet. Now: Broadway and film actor, singer and dancer On […]