New moves for Misty Copeland
Misty Copeland‘s name is included on American Ballet Theater‘s current roster of principal dancers during its Metropolitan Opera House season (through July 22). But she is not scheduled for any performances, and has not appeared onstage with ABT since before the Covid pandemic interrupted performances in 2020. But Copeland was present nearby at Lincoln Center ...
Within her delicacy, strength: Raven Wilkinson appreciated 1
Feb
23
2023
Raven Wilkinson (1935-2018) broke as rigid a color barrier as could be found in the mid-fifties, when she was hired, in 1955, to join the all-white corps de ballet of Sergei Denham’s Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She went on to dance with the Dutch National Ballet as a soloist, and (similar to Janet Collins, ...
On Misty Copeland, gold is the new pink 1
May
13
2020
What ‘ballet pink’ has been for more than a century has gone redefined. It is high time. Enough of that insipid shade. Enter a new theme, dusky gold, the color magnificently worn in these photos by the glorious, triumphant ballerina and principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland. Seen sculpting space in the skyscraper ...
post sponsored by the Carpenter Center
A minute + five years: ‘A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham’ to Long Beach 1
Dec
19
2019
Drive (2017) It’s been a minute since Kyle Abraham’s velvety, street-smart choreography hit the dance-friendly stage of the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. In 2015 at the Center, Abraham was one of four choreographers to partner ballet goddess Wendy Whelan in the much-heralded “Restless Creature.” That minute has now extended to five years. On January 25, ...
Misty Copeland, de maximus, in ‘The Nutcracker’
Oct
26
2018
In anticipation of Copeland’s appearance in the soon-opening Disney feature film “The Nutcracker and The Four Realms,” let’s take a gander at this state-of-the-art ballerina, filmed in 2014, in the grand pas of “The Nutcracker.” One hopes that in the movie, Disney has captured her courage, physical exuberance and athleticism, and her musicality. Video gets ...
Los Angeles dance companies to take El Capitan stage in backing Misty Copeland in Disney ‘Nutcracker’
Ready, set, go! As soon as the calendar page turns to November, off with the Halloween costume and on with the Sugar Plum regalia! That’s ‘cuz the newest Disney live-action movie, THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS, will open that night at the wonderful, retro El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. Playing “the Ballerina,” in ...
Review: ABT’s Misty·fying ‘La Bayadere’ disappoints 3
Let’s start at the end: During curtain calls at American Ballet Theatre’s “La Bayadère” Friday night at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, ballerina Isabella Boylston gave her bouquet to her partner Jeffrey Cirio with a deferential flourish. Then, in a strange, gender-bending moment, she and third lead Misty Copeland curtsied, and curtsied some more to Cirio, ...
Ballet magic. Misty Copeland, Roberto Bolle open for La Scala @ Segerstrom
Jul
28
2017
Our friends at Segerstrom Center for the Arts have a rare selling-out situation in their beautiful Costa Mesa arts campus this weekend. Tonight, and continuing through the weekend, the La Scala Ballet opens a weekend run of “Giselle.” Dancing the leading roles of Giselle and Albrecht are the hot hot hot pairing of Misty Copeland ...
Stella Abrera, ABT’s proud Firebird, soon in flight at the Chandler 3
She’s a woman of color in a white ballerina world. She began her training in Southern California, joined American Ballet Theatre, had a serious injury, recovered and was promoted to principal in 2015. Misty Copeland, right? No, it’s Stella Abrera. A Filipina American, her career trajectory is similar to Copeland’s but without all the hoopla. ...
Pick your Sugar Plum Fairy NOW!
Hey, you Sugar Plums and Snowflakes! Stop dancing in our heads, and start whirling ’round the Segerstrom Hall stage. This will occur sooner than you can shake a candy cane. In a real first, Segerstrom Center of the Arts is presenting a big-city-style, lengthy run of American Ballet Theatre’s “The Nutcracker” at the esteemed Orange ...