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American Ballet Theatre introduces a new apprentice program.

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.....The selected dancers will train under Kate Lydon, ABT Studio Company’s artistic associate, and Clinton Luckett, ABT’s Ballet master, for 10 weeks beginning in September, and they will then advance to apprentice level with American Ballet Theater during the company’s performances of “The Nutcracker” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. According to the announcement, training will provide full immersion into the ballets in ABT’s repertory, including tutorials in ballet story lines, history, style and mime.

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Reviews of the English National Ballet in "Swan Lake."

The Independent

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English National Ballet has had its share of offstage dramas recently, from a sudden switch of directors to a visa crisis. On stage, the company dance Swan Lake with care and confidence, from swan dances to the human relationships.


As a result of visa delays, Erina Takahashi and Zdenek Konvalina replaced Daria Klimentová and Vadim Muntagirov in the leading roles. A small, light Swan Queen, Takahashi moves in clear lines, the big poses glowing. Her footwork is speedy, the steps cleanly articulated. Meeting Konvalina’s prince for the first time, Takahashi is touchingly unsure of him.............

The Evening Standard

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As Odette, Takahashi is the saddest white swan you have ever seen (for being a woman trapped in the body of a swan is not a happy lot) and Konvalina’s Prince Siegfried is just as miserable, another mournful soul adrift. Presented with a parade of possible brides by his mother, a veritable all-you-can-eat-buffet of princesses, he looks like a man who has seriously lost his appetite. They’re a well-matched couple and Konvalina is another pure and precise mover, reeling off deliciously smooth turns. Their partnership works, even if it doesn’t thrill, but the ballet’s inherent drama is enough. A good, solid Swan Lake, once you get past those pesky courtiers.

The Stage

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ENB’s current production of Swan Lake is by its one-time director Derek Deane, which is a version of his in-the-round staging modified for proscenium arch theatres. It is an accessible, traditional telling of the famous ballet, with Deane generally deferring to the Petipa/Ivanov choreography and the central story of the doomed love of the Swan Queen and Prince. Although looking a little tired (inevitably perhaps, at the end of a long season), the corps were committed, with the swans in the famous Act II lakeside scene precisely lined up. The equally famous ballroom scene in Act III was colourful, with Crystal Costa and Barry Drummond especially good in the Neapolitan dance. Both deserve to be given more prominent roles.

[dirac]

Ballet Manila kicks off its seventeenth season this month.

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Taking on the lead roles are Macuja-Elizalde as the goddess Luningning, Nazer Salgado as the mortal Kapuy whom she falls in love with, and Francis Cascaño and Yanti Marduli as the twins Sibol (Bloom) and Gunaw (Doom) who become locked in a battle over Mother Earth — one intent on its protection and the other on its destruction. Dancing as the young Sibol and Gunaw are Missy Elizalde and Elmoe Dictado, respectively.

Alamat: Si Sibol at Si Gunaw is based on the children’s book by Palanca hall of fame awardee and STAR columnist Ed Maranan, published by Bookmark with illustrations by Ronaela B. Maranan. The author has described Ballet Manila’s interpretation of his work to be “fantastic, spectacular, fully realized, truly inspired and profoundly innovative.”

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Benjamin Millepiedmakes an honest woman of Natalie Portman.

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Natalie Portman said "I do" on Saturday night to her fiancé of two years, French dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, on the scenic central California coast of Big Sur, a source confirms to PEOPLE.

Related.

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Portman, 31, chose a traditional white gown from Rodarte, the same house that made the purple dress that Portman wore to the 2010 Oscars, and wore a crown of white wildflowers in her hair. The groom, 35, wore a midnight blue tux.

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A report from the Vail International Dance Festivalby Alastair Macaulay in The New York Times.

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Friday’s was simply the best gala I have attended in decades. And though Saturday’s was patchier, several of its items were even more historic. Established stars performed in unfamiliar partnerships and repertory; one of George Balanchine’s very last works of choreography, not seen for 30 years, was revived; young ballet dancers at soloist or corps level received prestigious breakthrough opportunities.