Check out my latest video with thoughts on the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company Le Corsaire Suite from the Winter Festival. The ABT Studio Company presented its Winter Festival in February on YouTube with great dancing from the young dancers. One segment was the Le Corsaire suite with the popular pas de deux and solos. The Ali/Medora roles were filled by four dancers: Elisabeth Beyer, Elwince Magbitang, Jake Roxander, Katomi Yamoda. The solos were exciting, filled with great dynamic depth and technical prowess, demonstrating the dancers’ solid training and maturity. It won’t be long before dancers in the festival are a foundation of ABT and seen on the big stage at the Metropolitan Opera House. The Studio Company is affiliated with ABT and serves as a feeder into the main troupe with nearly 80% of the 2020 dancers advancing through the studio company including Herman Cornejo, Christine Shevchenko, Calvin Royal III, Isabella Boylston. Check out my commentary on Le Corsaire solos with the entire segment in the second half of this video.
The work was filmed at the Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, New York, in the Fall of 2020. The company presented the the Act II pas de deux from Le Corsaire with four dancers taking on the Medora/Ali roles with Studio Company Artistic Director Sascha Radetsky staging the work.