David Hallberg Injury Update
David Hallberg tweets that his cast is off. He had foot surgery in August and said earlier that he plans to return to the stage in “a couple of months.”
NYCB Dancers on Broadway
The New York Times has an article on New York City Ballet dancers starring in musicals. Principal Dancer Robert Fairchild will star in an adaptation of the 1951 Gene Kelly film “An American in Paris” that opens in December in Paris and heads to Broadway next April. His wife Tiler Peck has the title role in Little Dancer, a new musical about the ballerina immortalized in sculpture by Degas that starts a monthlong debut run at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Oct. 25. Robert’s sister Megan will make her Broadway debut in a revival of On the Town that starts previews on Saturday.
“Robbie can tap, and he sings well, and he’s so hungry and daring,” Mr. (Christopher) Wheeldon said. “We felt he could bring a fresh interpretation to our reimagined version.”
Ms. Peck will miss only a few weeks of the company’s fall and “Nutcracker” performances, but Ms. Fairchild will be occupied on Broadway for all of the fall and spring seasons, returning for just a week of performances in the winter. Mr. Fairchild will be out for the winter and spring.
“Maybe to their surprise, I told them all to do it,” Mr. (Peter) Martins said. “Dancers’ careers are short.” He counseled them to take a ballet class daily, so that their technique would not deteriorate, but he wondered whether they might grow bored doing the same material seven times a week.
ABT Review in Australia
Michelle Potter of DanceTabs has a review of ABT in Australia. On Bach Partita:
Three principal couples were the centrerpiece of Bach Partita: the beautiful, serene Stella Abrera partnered by Calvin Royal III; Gillian Murphy, always engaging, partnered by Marcelo Gomes; and the pert Misty Copeland partnered by James Whiteside. And, while the six principals engaged in solos, pas de deux, or grouped together in other ways, the corps de ballet carried on with a small ballet of its own, sometimes engaging in counterpoint movement, sometimes moving in unison. Bach Partita, which was first performed in 1983 and only recently revived, is many ballets in one, always exciting, ever full of surprises. Every dancer was remarkable in his or her ability to project a range of emotions associated with the changing nature of the choreography.
New Miami City Ballet Season
The Miami Herald has a preview of Miami City Ballet’s upcoming season. The company is headed by former NYCB Principal Dancer Lourdes Lopez:
But in myriad ways, some visible to the balletgoer and many more behind the scenes, the company has been transformed. Artistic director Lourdes Lopez has asserted her vision with increasing authority since she took over from founder Edward Villella two years ago.
The most obvious changes are in the company leadership and staff. There has been an almost complete turnover — from a new board president and new executive director to new teachers at the company school. The board has become better organized and more functional, with a more clearly defined and helpful relationship with the company.
In a recent interview at the troupe’s Miami Beach headquarters, Lopez said she wanted to focus on new ballets — such as Heatscape, commissioned from New York City Ballet choreographer Justin Peck and a version of Carmen by British dancemaker Richard Alston, both slated for this season.