by Julia Guiheen | Jun 23, 2021 | TBT
It seems hard to believe, but the last time that Alessandra Ferri and Carlos Acosta performed together was more than 20 years ago. At the Havana International Ballet Festival in 2000, Ferri, who was then a principal with American Ballet Theatre, and Acosta, a Royal...
by Julia Guiheen | Oct 21, 2020 | TBT
When Sir Frederick Ashton premiered Thaïs Pas de Deux, a duet set to the “Méditation” interlude from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs, the ballet was immediately acclaimed as one of his masterpieces, despite the fact that it is only a few minutes long....
by Julia Guiheen | Oct 7, 2020 | TBT
Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon shows the extremes of opulence and poverty, love and greed, bliss and sorrow. While the ballet ends in tragedy, the bedroom pas de deux at the end of Act I is one of its most joyful, brimming with promise and passion. In this clip...
by Julia Guiheen | Sep 23, 2020 | TBT
Gelsey Kirkland and Mikhail Baryshnikov share the unique experience of having danced at both American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet during their careers. The two overlapped at ABT in the mid-’70s, where they developed one of the best-known partnerships...
by Julia Guiheen | Sep 9, 2020 | TBT
Creating an authentic, youthful character onstage often requires an enormous amount of artistic maturity. Such is the case with former American Ballet Theatre principals Alessandra Ferri and Angel Corella. In this 2000 performance of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s...
by Julia Guiheen | Jun 24, 2020 | Viral Videos
Yuan Yuan Tan and José Martínez both left their respective homes in China and Spain as teens to join top ballet companies. Tan was quickly made a principal at San Francisco Ballet and Martínez rose to étoile at the Paris Opéra Ballet, both becoming sought-after...
by Julia Guiheen | May 27, 2020 | Viral Videos
The charming and exuberant Antoinette Sibley became a principal at The Royal Ballet in 1960, when she was just 21 years old. Sibley dazzled alongside many danseurs during her career, including former principal Brian Shaw, a bravura dancer known for his virtuosic turns...
by Julia Guiheen | Dec 18, 2019 | Everything Nutcracker, TBT
On this day in 1965, The Bell Telephone Hour broadcast a Christmas special featuring New York City Ballet principal dancers Melissa Hayden and Jacques d’Amboise. The pair performed the Snow Pas de Deux from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, choreographed by...