Latest news with #ParisOperaBallet
New York Times
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
In Paris, a Reminder of French Ballet History and Style
Manuel Legris, lithe in a tracksuit, held up a hand. 'Stop! Stop!' he called out as Francesco Mura, a Paris Opera Ballet principal dancer, smoothly executed a tricky passage. 'It's lovely, but I've lost the character,' Legris told Mura. 'I'm just seeing technique.' Legris, 60, knows about technique. A former étoile, or star, of the Paris Opera Ballet, and a former director of the Vienna State Ballet and La Scala Ballet, Legris was the supreme classicist of his era — the Roger Federer of ballet — his unobtrusive virtuosity always informed by an elegant refinement. On this day, though, Legris was focused on character and intention as he worked with a cast of Paris Opera dancers in his ballet 'Sylvia,' at a public rehearsal in the Opera Bastille amphitheater. 'Imagine you are a young, fresh shepherd, bursting with joy and life,' he told Mura as he ran onstage. The character of Sylvia, he explained to Inès McIntosh, is 'strong and sensual; this isn't 'Sleeping Beauty.'' 'Sylvia,' set to an enchanting score by Délibes, was the first ballet performed at the Palais Garnier, a year after it was inaugurated in 1875. Choreographed by Louis Mérante, it had a mixed reception, with most plaudits going to the score. ('What riches in the melody, the rhythm, the harmony,' Tchaikovsky wrote, after seeing it in 1877.) Versions of the ballet came and went over the next century. Frederick Ashton's for the Sadler's Wells Ballet (the forerunner of the Royal Ballet) in 1952, with a resplendent Margot Fonteyn in the title role, put the ballet back into the mainstream repertory, though it wasn't performed by the Royal from the mid-1960s to 2004. American Ballet Theater will present it at the Metropolitan Opera House in July. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Coming to City Center: A Flurry of Dance From Around the World
New York City Center will welcome an array of dance companies from around the world for its 2025-26 season, the theater announced on Tuesday. The season opens with the center's 22nd Fall for Dance Festival (Sept. 16-27), with its most international lineup since the pandemic. 'It was absolutely an intentional choice on our part,' said Michael S. Rosenberg, City Center's president and chief executive. 'This feels like a very important moment to have global perspectives on our stage in New York City because of all that's happening in the world.' The festival includes the Social Tango Project from Argentina; the Stuttgart Ballet from Germany; San Francisco Ballet; and a restaging of Jerome Robbins's 'Afternoon of Faun' starring the Paris Opera Ballet étoiles Hannah O'Neill and Hugo Marchand. Festival tickets are $20 (plus fees). 'There's really no point in bringing the world's best to our stage if people can't afford to be in the audience,' Rosenberg said. Beyond Fall for Dance, City Center also presents Paris Opera Ballet (Oct. 9-12), in its first engagement in New York since 2012. The company will perform the New York premiere of Hofesh Shechter's 'Red Carpet,' featuring costumes created in partnership with Chanel. The New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck returns to the theater with 'Turn It Out With Tiler Peck & Friends' (Oct. 16-19). The program includes William Forsythe's 'The Barre Project, Blake Works II,' set to music by James Blake; Peck's 'Thousandth Orange,' set to live music by the Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw; and Alonzo King's pas de deux 'Swift Arrow,' with music by Jason Moran. The program closes with the 2022 City Center commission 'Time Spell,' a collaboration of Peck, Michelle Dorrance and Jillian Meyers. Dutch National Ballet (Nov. 20-22) follows with two programs featuring the former Bolshoi star Olga Smirnova and dances by Ted Brandsen, Wubkje Kuindersma, Robbins and a new work by Alexei Ratmansky, which is to have its premiere at the Holland Festival in June. Presented by Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, Lyon Opera Ballet (Feb. 19-21) returns with a double bill of works: Merce Cunningham's 1999 'Biped' and the U.S. premiere of Christos Papadopoulos's 2023 'Mycelium,' set to electronic music by Coti K. Martha Graham Dance Company's centennial celebration (April 9-12) will bring three Graham classics — 'Night Journey,' 'Chronicle' and 'Appalachian Spring,' each with stage designs by the sculptor Isamu Noguchi and scores played by the Mannes Orchestra — along with newer works by Jamar Roberts and Baye & Asa. Other highlights include Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's five-week holiday season (Dec. 3-Jan. 4); the 25th Flamenco Festival (Feb. 26-March 8); Dance Theater of Harlem, which will perform 'Firebird,' a reimagining of the classic Russian folk tale in a lush Caribbean setting (April 16-19); and Ballet Hispánico's 'Mujeres: Women in Motion,' the company's second program dedicated to female choreographers (April 23-26). Musical theater programming, including the annual gala presentation and 2026 Encores! series, will be announced at a later date. 'What we're doing is presenting New Yorkers with opportunities for discovery,' Stanford Makishi, City Center's artistic director, said about the visiting dance companies. 'Even though their work is performed all over the world,' he said, 'it's not done so much here.'
Courier-Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Courier-Mail
Real reason Natalie Portman quit US to live in France
Natalie Portman has shed light on her decision to leave the US and move to France, where she is raising her family. The Oscar winner ditched Los Angeles and moved to Paris when her then-husband Benjamin Millepied accepted a job as the director of the Paris Opera Ballet. The 'Black Swan' actress shares two children, Aleph, 13, and Amalia, 8, with Millepied. Speaking with Marie Claire, Portman said Paris was 'one of the most exciting places to be in the world,' while praising the city's impressive art scene. 'It's really central in terms of the arts. It feels like things are happening in L.A., you know?' she said. 'New York is more where art is bought than where art is made. 'When Ben asked me if I wanted to go to Paris, I freaked. Everyone dreams of living in Paris.' MORE: Cruise's life of Scientology to $926m empire DiCaprio exposed as $4.6m fortune blown Shock couple in Prince Andrew-trashed Queen's pad The couple ended up calling it quits after Millepied had an alleged affair with a 25-year-old climate activist named Camille Étienne. The New York native stayed in Europe following the break-up with Millepied, revealing the Parisians understand her boundaries. 'They're very good at privacy here,' she told Net-a-Porter. 'I feel like the biggest compliment is 'elle est très discrète' ['she is very discreet'].' The Hollywood starlet said she also enjoys soaking up all the culture the European city has to offer. 'Even when it's cold and grey, there's always some incredible exhibit or concert or dinner party or writers in town; something fascinating and stimulating happening … and the frequent vacations are so clutch!' she said. The 43-year-old pushed back on a stereotype that Parisians are 'rude', pointing out the 'weird' social differences between the US and France. 'I find the people here are actually incredibly friendly – you just have to know how to interact, so that we're not the ones being rude,' she said. 'Now, when I go back to the US, I'm like, oh, I would go into a store and not say hello to everyone there? It's weird.' 'I think we have an assumption that Western cultures are all the same, and kind of evened out by all this pop culture that everyone consumes. It's not true: it's extremely specific here.' However, Portman has not cut all ties with the US. The 'Star Wars' actress retained residence in Los Feliz, Los Angeles she purchased in 2009 for $US3.3 million. Eight years later, Portman purchased a second California property in Montecito, which she picked up for $US6.5 million in June 2017. However, she quietly offloaded the home in an off-market deal in 2021 for $US8 million after relocating to France. According to Realtor, the sale netted the 'V for Vendetta' star a tidy profit, with $US1.5 million more than she bought it for. Portman's career has continued since she moved to Europe. The actress racked up numerous credits since she relocated in 2014, including roles in Marvel's blockbuster 'Avengers' series. She'll make her next appearance in the Guy Ritchie-directed heist movie, 'Fountain of Youth,' in which she stars alongside John Krasinski. Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and was republished with permission. Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox. MORE: Insane amount Meghan, Harry pay staff 'Toxic' Ellen's US escape plan unravels with dud deal JLo, Affleck suffer huge divorce setback
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Real reason Natalie Portman quit US to live in France
Natalie Portman has shed light on her decision to leave the US and move to France, where she is raising her family. The Oscar winner ditched Los Angeles and moved to Paris when her then-husband Benjamin Millepied accepted a job as the director of the Paris Opera Ballet. The 'Black Swan' actress shares two children, Aleph, 13, and Amalia, 8, with Millepied. Speaking with Marie Claire, Portman said Paris was 'one of the most exciting places to be in the world,' while praising the city's impressive art scene. 'It's really central in terms of the arts. It feels like things are happening in L.A., you know?' she said. 'New York is more where art is bought than where art is made. 'When Ben asked me if I wanted to go to Paris, I freaked. Everyone dreams of living in Paris.' The couple ended up calling it quits after Millepied had an alleged affair with a 25-year-old climate activist named Camille Étienne. The New York native stayed in Europe following the break-up with Millepied, revealing the Parisians understand her boundaries. 'They're very good at privacy here,' she told Net-a-Porter. 'I feel like the biggest compliment is 'elle est très discrète' ['she is very discreet'].' The Hollywood starlet said she also enjoys soaking up all the culture the European city has to offer. 'Even when it's cold and grey, there's always some incredible exhibit or concert or dinner party or writers in town; something fascinating and stimulating happening … and the frequent vacations are so clutch!' she said. The 43-year-old pushed back on a stereotype that Parisians are 'rude', pointing out the 'weird' social differences between the US and France. 'I find the people here are actually incredibly friendly – you just have to know how to interact, so that we're not the ones being rude,' she said. 'Now, when I go back to the US, I'm like, oh, I would go into a store and not say hello to everyone there? It's weird.' 'I think we have an assumption that Western cultures are all the same, and kind of evened out by all this pop culture that everyone consumes. It's not true: it's extremely specific here.' However, Portman has not cut all ties with the US. The 'Star Wars' actress retained residence in Los Feliz, Los Angeles she purchased in 2009 for $US3.3 million. Eight years later, Portman purchased a second California property in Montecito, which she picked up for $US6.5 million in June 2017. However, she quietly offloaded the home in an off-market deal in 2021 for $US8 million after relocating to France. According to Realtor, the sale netted the 'V for Vendetta' star a tidy profit, with $US1.5 million more than she bought it for. Portman's career has continued since she moved to Europe. The actress racked up numerous credits since she relocated in 2014, including roles in Marvel's blockbuster 'Avengers' series. She'll make her next appearance in the Guy Ritchie-directed heist movie, 'Fountain of Youth,' in which she stars alongside John Krasinski.
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Natalie Portman enjoys the privacy Paris offers after leaving Los Angeles
Natalie Portman is fini with Los Angeles as she enjoys her under-the-radar life in Paris with her two children. "They're very good at privacy here," Portman, who just went through a public divorce with French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, told Net-a-Porter this week. "I feel like the biggest compliment is 'elle est très discrète' ['she is very discreet']." The "Black Swan" star recently moved back to Paris before her divorce, and decided to stay to raise their two children, Aleph, 13, and Amalia, 8, there. "All the kids that come to my house are, like, 'bonjour Madame' – and give me the bise [cheek-to-cheek kiss]," she said. "And before they leave, they are, like, 'thank you for having me' – and if I'm not nearby, they'll come and find me to say it." The couple previously moved to Paris in 2014 after Millepied was hired as the director for the Paris Opera Ballet, but came back to Los Angeles in 2016. At the time, she told Jimmy Kimmel after moving back to the States that everyone seemed really friendly in L.A. as opposed to France, where people are a bit "cool." She explained to the comedian that there are a lot of "codes of behavior" compared to L.A., where it's "looser." Portman told Net-a-Porter, "I think we have an assumption that Western cultures are all the same – and kind of evened out by all this pop culture that everyone consumes. It's not true: it's extremely specific here; and the culture is very different in both deep and surface ways." She added, "I find the people here are actually incredibly friendly – you just have to know how to interact, so that we're not the ones being rude. Now, when I go back to the U.S., I'm like, 'Oh,' I would go into a store and not say hello to everyone there? It's weird." The New York native said she also enjoys soaking up all the culture the City of Light has to offer. "Even when it's cold and gray, there's always some incredible exhibit or concert or dinner party or writers in town; something fascinating and stimulating happening… and the frequent vacations are so clutch!" she said.
