THIS WEEK'S TOP BALLET NEWS
● The Sarasota Ballet Announces Promotions and New Dancers
● Natalia Osipova Presents Force of Nature at City Center
● Edward Clug Creates New Nutcracker for The Stuttgart Ballet
● BalletMet Brings Back Dracula
The Sarasota Ballet Announces Promotions and New Dancers
After the welcoming of its two newest Principals earlier this year, Macarena Gimenez and Maximiliano Iglesias, The Sarasota Ballet has announced promotions within the company:
Principal: Marijana Dominis;
Junior Principal: Richard House;
Soloist: Lauren Ostrander, Anna Pellegrino, Daniel Pratt, Yuki Nonaka, Arcadian Broad;
Coryphée: Dominique Jenkins and Emelia Perkins;
Corps de Ballet: Willa Franz, Andrea Marcelletti, Bel Pickering, Morgan Rust;
Apprentices: Allessandra Nova, Haeley Stinchcomb, Calen Sutherland, Israel Ellis.
Also, joining the company as Corps de Ballet dancers are Sierra Abelardo, Isabella Fenton, Gabriella Schultze, and Josh Fisk and as Apprentices are Javier Gutierrez Cuervo, Anna Victoria Martinez, and Jessica Templeton.
Natalia Osipova Presents Force of Nature at City Center
For the first time in New York – and the United States – Natalia Osipova will bring Force of Nature, a program of dance curated by the internally-renowned ballerina. New York City Center will be host to a one-night only performance on January 21, 2023 of Osipova in solos and duets that range from the classical canon to premiere contemporary pieces.
The program will include classics like the Act III pas de deux from Don Quixote (Petipa/Minkus) and The Dying Swan (Fokine/Saint Saens), as well as a new work, Ashes (co-choreographed by Osipova and Kittelberger), and pieces by British and American choreographers, among others. The full program will be announced at a later date.
“I have always loved to dance in New York,” said Natalia Osipova. “It’s a very special audience who love dance. I have been missing New York, and I’m so glad that I can come back in January with a new program, where I have selected pieces which I love from British and American choreographers, but also ones I have never danced in America, so I can share something new with the New York audience.”
Edward Clug Creates New Nutcracker for The Stuttgart Ballet
For over 50 years The Stuttgart Ballet has gone without the perennial classic The Nutcracker, but this year, things will change. Artistic Director Tamas Detrich has commissioned an all new production choreographed by Edward Clug and set and costume designed by Jürgen Rose.
Set to Tchaikovsky’s unmistakeable score, Clug bases his production on E.T.A. Hoffman’s tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”. He describes how for him, The Nutcracker is
“about the power of imagination, of allowing dreams and fantasy to flourish. It is also the story of Clara, generous of heart and spirit, who accepts and loves another being in spite of superficial appearances.”
Clug has a long-standing relationship with The Stuttgart Ballet having choreographed 5 works for the company all of which have been abstract one-act ballets. His Nutcracker will add to the company’s recognition of producing full-length ballets, especially by its director John Cranko; this time with Clug’s unique contemporary touch.
BalletMet Brings Back Dracula
After a six-year hiatus, the Columbus-based ballet company will showcase the return of an autumnal fan favorite – former Artistic Director David Nixon’s Dracula. Beginning on October 28 and running through the Halloween and All Saints Day celebrations, BalletMet will perform this production “filled with passion, horror, and of course, vampires” based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel.
“We are thrilled to bring back David Nixon’s Dracula. It will be performed just in time for the Halloween season, but even if you’re not a Halloween aficionado, Dracula has some of the most beautiful and timeless choreography,” Edwaard Liang, BalletMet’s Artistic Director said.
BalletMet first performed Dracula in 1999 and it has seduced patrons ever since – returning by popular demand 10 times since then, said Liang. From the dramatic smoke-filled entrance of Dracula in the first scene to the dark set design to the intense drama and sensual romance that unfolds on stage, Dracula continues to excite audiences. The ballet follows Count Dracula and his somewhat failed attempt to get revenge. Along the way, Dracula and his mark, Mina, fall passionately in love despite the torment he invoked upon her loved ones.
David Nixon will return to BalletMet to stage the production.
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Photo Credits: 1) Lauren Ostrander, Yuki Nonaka, Emelia Perkins, and Arcadian Broad in Jessica Lang’s Shades of Spring. Photo by Frank Atura; 2) Natalia Osipova. Photo by Ray Burmiston; 3) Edward Clug in rehearsal with The Stuttgart Ballet. Photo by Roman Novitzky; 4) Photo of dancers in Dracula from BalletMet’s website.
