by Julia Guiheen | Apr 29, 2020 | TBT
In this 2006 clip of Myrtha’s entrance in Giselle, former Paris Opéra Ballet étoile Marie-Agnès Gillot gives an other-worldly performance that is chilling, ethereal and technically sublime. Her footwork throughout the solo is mesmerizing, and it receives full...
by Amy Brandt | Sep 11, 2018 | Career, Profiles
With a large exhale, Katherine Williams steps into a series of arabesque chugs, as if the force of her breath is propelling her forward. “Big step out, big,” coaxes ballet mistress Irina Kolpakova, watching from the front of a small studio at American...
by Julia Guiheen | Jul 25, 2018 | Profiles, TBT
The story of Giselle has emotional power in the way it blurs the lines between good and evil. Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, is often considered the villainess, but her character is far more complex than the bad guys in most ballets. A wounded spirit determined to...
by Michaela Deprince | May 20, 2018 | Career, Profiles, Technique
As told to Amy Brandt. Myrtha is a role I’ve always loved to watch, but when Tamara Rojo asked me to dance it for English National Ballet’s Giselle in 2017 as a guest artist, I thought she was crazy. The role is usually for a tall, strong dancer. I’m...
by Amy Brandt | Feb 1, 2015 | Career, Profiles, Technique
This story originally appeared in the April/May 2015 issue of Pointe. She’s Giselle’s anti-heroine: Myrtha, the cold-hearted spirit queen who leads the Wilis in nightly crusades against mortal men. With three back-to-back variations that involve a mix of...