Pure Petipa, courtesy of American Ballet Theatre

Dance
In this great portrait by dance photographer Gene Schiavone, American Ballet Theatre principal dancers Marcelo Gomes (Prince Desire) and Diana Vishneva (Aurora) pose in “The Sleeping Beauty” the full-evening ballet that just had its world premiere at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. ABT resident choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s restaging of original choreography by Marius Petipa may ...

A triumph for ABT, Ratmansky’s “The Sleeping Beauty”

Dance · Fashion · Reviews
American Ballet Theatre celebrated its 75th anniversary last evening at Segerstrom Hall with its sublime new “The Sleeping Beauty” staged by Alexei Ratmansky using original choreography by Marius Petipa interpolated with contributions of his own. The sheer beauty of the production and the revelation of how fresh and compelling the Petipa language positions our national ...

Leon Bakst, Russian design genius, returns to Southern California

Dance · Fashion · Film
We await with great anticipation our voyage southward along Ye Olde 405 Freeway to Segerstrom Center for the Arts to experience the newly mounted production of “The Sleeping Beauty” — a joyous celebration of American Ballet Theatre’s 75th anniversary, choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky based upon original choreography by Marius Petipa. This production is a partnership ...

Stellar casting creates “Beauty”ful ABT quandary @ Segerstrom Center

Dance
Southern California, wake up! Stop your behind-the-wheel slumbering … Don’cha know that we’re hosting the dance event of the season? And it’s a real sleeper! That would be “The Sleeping Beauty,” in a prestigious new production presented by American Ballet Theatre. The new “Beauty” will have its festive premiere March 3 at the Segerstrom Center ...

Nacho Duato rehearses his new Sleeping Beauty in Petersburg

Dance
It’s hard to not be smitten by the deeply artistic looks of the Spanish choreographer, Nacho Duato, who headed up Spain’s Compania Nacional de Danza for 20 years before making the radical move of joining a Russian company, the Mikhailovsky Ballet. Duato is the second foreign choreographer to run a major Russian company—the Frenchman Marius ...

Hey, “Beauty”: Wake up!

Dance
Ah, “The Sleeping Beauty” ballet. Tchaikovsky, its composer, was lucky. They wrote his stuff down. The Russian Imperial Ballet choreographer, Marius Petipa, less so. No video cameras in 1890. So following Petipa’s original “Beauty,” a century of quibbling ensued over the grand spectacle’s staging, intentions, and shoot, its steps! A huge eye-glazing gob of ink ...