Ballet

Misty Copeland has been a principal ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre since 2015. She took a break from performing due to COVID-19 and the birth of her son in spring 2022, but she hopes to be back on stage in 2023

D'Amboise, who died May 2, began dancing at 7 and joined the New York City Ballet at 15. He later founded the National Dance Institute, which teaches dance to children. Originally broadcast in 1989.

Sarah Jessica Parker has spent much of her acting career exploring what it means to be in a relationship — and to be single. In the HBO series Sex and the City, which ran from 1998 until 2004, she played Carrie Bradshaw, a single writer chronicling her experiences with the Manhattan dating scene. Now, in the HBO comedy series, Divorce, she stars as Frances, a mother of two navigating the dissolution of her marriage.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new documentary, Ballets Russes, just out on DVD. It tells the story of ballet after the death of Sergei Diaghilev, who founded and ran the company until 1929.

Maggie Shipstead tells the story of a disciplined dancer who can't make it into the spotlight. Critic Maureen Corrigan says Shipstead is "Edith Wharton with a millennial edge."

Ballet's history is not just about choreography and technique -- it's also a history of nationalization, the changing ways we view the body, shifting gender norms and class struggles. Historian Jennifer Homans chronicles the art form in a new cultural history, Apollo's Angels.

In Darren Aronofsky's ballet thriller, a repressed ballerina must surrender to her sexuality to master Swan Lake's leading role. Critic David Edelstein says the dramatic film is a "camp classic -- like Showgirls remade by Roman Polanski."

The Black Swan star describes what it was like to train with members of the New York City Ballet in preparation for her role as a mentally unstable ballet dancer in Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the material of choreographer George Balanchine available on DVD and CD. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Balanchine's birth.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Robert Altman's new film The Company.

Artistic director for the Houston Ballet, Ben Stevenson. He’s been with the ballet for over 25 years, turning it into a premiere dance company. The New York Times’ dance critic said of Stevenson, (he) “is one of the most original figures in the development of regional ballet in America.” Stevenson’s own choreography for the Houston ballet include the full length works: “Swan Lake,” “Cinderella,” “Peer Gynt,” “Dracula,” and “Cleopatra.” Stevenson is a native of Britain.

Principal dancer for the Houston Ballet, and the first African-American to be a principal dancer, Lauren Anderson. She began studying at the ballet’s academy at the age of 7, and working with Stevenson at the age of 11 when he was hired by the ballet. Stevenson choreographed “Cleopatra,” for her.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews "Elusive Muse," the Academy Award-nominated documentary on ballet dancer Suzanne Farrell, who married choreographer George Balanchine. The documentary will be shown in an edited-for-TV version as a part of the PBS series "Dance in America" on June 25.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews "The Balanchine Library", a series of videotapes which document the work of choreographer George Ballanchine with the New York City Ballet.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the new recording of Kurt Weill's "The Seven Deadly Sins," featuring the New York Philharmonic and soprano Angelina Reaux.

Classical Music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of a major Stravinsky score, "Les Noces and Village Wedding Songs" performed by the Pokrovsky Ensemble on the Elektra label. This recording presents the pieces in the style of folk singing, rather than the usual concert style.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the trumpet player and composer's new double disc, Citi Movement, which finds Marsalis exploring longer forms.

Dancer and choreographer Edward Villella. Villella's new autobiography, "Prodigal Son," chronicles his rise as one of the best known male dancers and choreographers in the history of American ballet. It also looks at his often stormy working relationship with choreographer George Balanchine. (It's published by Simon and Schuster). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Lloyd Schwartz previews the next Dance in America presentation, highlighting works by choreographer Peter Martins, which the critic says often excel in irony.

Farrell had a deep, complicated relationship with her choreographer, George Balanchine. She spent over twenty years with the New York City Ballet. Farrell's new memoir about her career is called is "Holding on to the Air"