Three Ballet Theater Principals to Retire
— September 30, 2014 0 4Three Ballet Theater Principals to Retire
By MICHAEL COOPER SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 6:00 PM
Paloma Herrera, center, in 2013. Andrea Mohin/The New York Times
American Ballet Theater will celebrate its 75th anniversary this season by performing key dances from its past, staging a new production of “The Sleeping Beauty” choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, and appearing as the subject of a new public television documentary by Ric Burns. But it will also close a more recent chapter of its history, as three ballerinas retire.
Julie Kent in 2013. Ruby Washington/The New York Times
Xiomara Reyes in 2012. Andrea Mohin/The New York Times
Three principal dancers — Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent and Xiomara Reyes — will retire this spring near the end of Ballet Theater’s 2015 season at the Metropolitan Opera House, the company announced Tuesday.
“With them, an era of our history resides,’’ Kevin McKenzie, Ballet Theater’s artistic director, said in a statement. “Their remarkable careers will be three more reasons to celebrate our 75th anniversary season.”
Ms. Reyes will give her farewell performance May 27 dancing the title role in “Giselle,” Ms. Herrera on June 9 as Princess Aurora in the company’s new production of “The Sleeping Beauty,” and Ms. Kent on June 20 as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet.”
The anniversary season will feature some of the ballets that helped shape Ballet Theater’s identity in its early years, including Fokine’s “Les Sylphides,” Balanchine’s “Theme and Variations,” and Agnes de Mille’s “Rodeo.” The company’s new “Sleeping Beauty” will have its premiere March 3 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, Calif. A gala is being planned for May 18 at the Met. And that month the company will be the subject of a documentary by Mr. Burns shown on the “American Masters” series on public television.
Reference: The New York Times
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