Ballet

Pioneering ballerina Michaela DePrince dies at 29

10:16am September 14, 2024

DePrince, born in Sierra Leone, lost both her parents during the country’s civil war. She became the youngest principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and later joined the Boston Ballet.

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Wu-Tang Clan's RZA goes classical with ballet score

4:33am August 30, 2024

by Steve Inskeep

Rapper RZA, who helped launch the Wu-Tang Clan hip-hop group in the 1990s, tries his hand in classical music by composing for a ballet inspired by Greek musical scales during the pandemic.

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Alicia Graf Mack, dean and director of The Juilliard School's Dance Division (center), speaks with fourth-year dance students Kailei Sin (left) and Nyoka Wotorson (right) in between classes.

Arts

West African dance and hip-hop play a key role in a revamped Juilliard track

12:36pm March 26, 2024

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Alicia Graf Mack about how she's reshaping Juilliard's prestigious Dance Division to make it more relevant than ever.

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Scene from UNCSA production of Nutcracker.

Arts & Music

UNC School of the Arts brings 'Nutcracker' tradition to Greensboro

10:32pm December 06, 2023

by David Ford

Thursday is opening night for the UNC School of the Arts

Thomas Bangalter, half of the former Daft Punk duo, composed the score for the ballet Mythologies, choreographed by fellow Frenchman Angelin Preljocaj.

From Daft Punk to ballet: Thomas Bangalter makes full swing to classical

11:08am April 07, 2023

by Olivia Hampton

Thomas Bangalter, formerly of French electronic music duo Daft Punk, has released a classical music album: the score to a ballet titled Mythologies that draws on American minimalism and Baroque works.

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A ballet dancer warms up before an open rehearsal at the Audi automobile factory in Gyor, Hungary, on Thursday. The Ballet Company of Gyor is rehearsing at the factory after being forced to shutter its rehearsal hall in response to soaring energy prices.

An energy crunch forces a Hungarian ballet company to move to a car factory

1:04pm February 18, 2023

by The Associated Press

The Ballet Company of Gyor began rehearsing at a local Audi factory last month after being forced to shutter its rehearsal hall in response to soaring energy prices.

Iryna Zhalovska and other dancers with The United Ukrainian Ballet train at The Kennedy Center. The company is performing Giselle there this week.

60 dancers who fled the war now take the stage — as The United Ukrainian Ballet

4:19pm February 02, 2023

by Elizabeth Blair

The company, based in The Hague, is currently in Washington, D.C., performing Giselle at The Kennedy Center. The Ukrainian Ambassador says the ballet corps is like a secret weapon.

The United Ukrainian Ballet is made up of dancers taking refuge in the Netherlands. The company will perform Giselle, choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Arts

Ballet dancers from across Ukraine bring 'Giselle' to the Kennedy Center

5:10am January 27, 2023

by Elizabeth Blair

The United Ukrainian Ballet Company is made up of dancers taking refuge in the Netherlands. The company travels to Washington, D.C., to perform Giselle, choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky.

Anna Dobrova, 19, rehearses for a production of The Snow Queen by the Kyiv National Ballet at the National Opera in Kyiv on Sunday. The medley will be performed without music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Prokofiev this year.

Ukraine is calling for a boycott of 'The Nutcracker.' Ballet companies aren't budging

5:00am December 09, 2022

by Emily Olson

Ukraine's culture minister said his country's allies could stop Russia from weaponizing its culture by temporarily boycotting Russian artists, including The Nutcracker composer Tchaikovsky.

Oleksandr Shapoval volunteered to fight after the Russia invasion. The National Opera of Ukraine says he was killed on the battlefield.

Ukrainian ballet dancer Oleksandr Shapoval is killed on the battlefield

4:44pm September 15, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

The 48-year old Shapoval volunteered to fight after Russia invaded Ukraine. His unit was recently sent to one of "the hottest zones" in the country, according to The National Opera of Ukraine.