Marius Petipa: Last News

British ballet dancer Xander Parish has made the decision to leave Russia and the country's prestigious Mariinsky Ballet amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Xander shared the news Sunday on Instagram.

Don Quixote.In honor of the center’s 50th anniversary season, the acclaimed New York-based company once again revives the signature duet of bravura dancing between the spirited maiden Kitri and her charming amour Basilio — this time performed in its proper place as the stirring climax to the full-length Don Quixote.A sweeping and romantic tale, the rollicking, high-spirited ballet was developed by legendary Russian choreographer Marius Petipa, with further refinement by Petipa’s former student and regular assistant Alexander Gorsky.Set to music by Ludwig Minkus in a staging by ABT’s Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie and longtime Regisseur Susan Jones, Don Quixote offers what the company calls “a feast of choreographic fireworks.”A different coupling of dancers from the company’s starry roster will be featured at each of five performances in the Opera House, kicking off with Isabella Boylston as Kitri and Daniil Simkin as Basilio on Thursday, March 31.The premiere dance organization, decreed “America’s National Ballet Company” by an act of Congress in 2006, will mark its return to the Kennedy Center earlier this week with two evening performances of the mixed-repertory program “ABT Forward.”Billed as a showcase of “the company’s artistry in three dazzling works by today’s modern masters of choreography,” the program includes Bernstein in a Bubble, a work by Alexei Ratmansky developed in pandemic quarantine and inspired by the variety, charm, and quintessentially American spirit of Leonard Bernstein’s Divertimento; ZigZag, a joyous piece, set to songs by iconic crooner Tony Bennett, from Jessica Lang, hailed as a “master of visual composition” by Dance Magazine; and Single Eye, a new, innovative work by Alonzo King and set

THE WASHINGTON BALLET: SWAN LAKEJulie Kent and Victor Barbee have been preparing for years to unveil a new production of Swan Lake. The married duo at the helm of the Washington Ballet — Kent as artistic director and Barbee as associate artistic director — had long planned for the quintessential classical ballet to follow, as Kent has put it, as “the logical next step in building the repertoire for the company,” following Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, and other kindred 19th-century romantic ballets in prior seasons.“Victor and I will curate and tailor the production to our company — drawing on our years of experience, the detailed [choreographic] notations, and various research — to present a wonderful marriage of dramatic theatricality and technical proficiency,” to quote Kent.Now, a full two years after its intended debut, postponed because of the pandemic, the company is ready to share the tragic love story set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s powerful score and featuring the iconic choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov — enhanced with additional staging and some refined movement by Kent and Barbee.The company’s dancers, including Adelaide Clauss as Princess Odette and Gian Carlo Perez as Prince Sigfried, will be aided by exquisite costumes and scenic design by Peter Cazalet and accompanied by a live orchestra conducted by Charles Barker to conjure senses of magic, intrigue, melancholy, and suspense — all in service to the Washington Ballet’s triumphant return to the Kennedy Center and specifically the Eisenhower Theater.Performances begin Wednesday, Feb.