\u201cBeing a part of the festival again this year means so much. It\u2019s such a beautiful opportunity for us dancers in New York to come together on one stage and share our love for dance in a spirit of community,\u201d Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer Yannick Lebrun agreed. \u201cThis program brings so much joy and hope to people and that\u2019s why it is important that we continue these collaborations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before long, it was time to cross Lincoln Center Plaza to catch the curtain rise on the night\u2019s programming. Guests dispersed from Tatiana with one final bite in the form of the restaurant\u2019s signature Boozie Jellies: Strawberry Daiquiri and Tequila Mango Jell-O Shots.<\/p>\n
At David H. Koch Theater, New York City Ballet\u2019s artistic director, Jonathan Stafford, and associate artistic director, Wendy Whelan, welcomed the audience to opening night. American Ballet Theater ushered in the performances with the world premiere of Zephyr, a romantic pas de deux choreographed by corps de ballet member Claire Davison. In the piece, \u201cthere\u2019s an emphasis on human connection and play,\u201d noted dancer Ingrid Thoms. \u201cI hope the audiences experience those themes with us and are inspired by the joy they see on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next came Dance Theater of Harlem\u2019s ensemble performance of Jodie Gates\u2019s Passage of Being, whereby a thread of urgency reverberated between the six dancers onstage. Alexandra Rene Jones, a dancer with the company, told Vogue: \u201cIt is a profound privilege to be part of a program as collaborative as BAAND\u2014one that reminds us all that the dance world is, at its heart, a true community.\u201d<\/p>\n
New York City Ballet followed with Lar Lubovitch\u2019s ethereal and haunting pas de deux, Each In Their Own Time. And Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater seemed to answer with an exploration of the tension between desire and distance in Judith Jameson\u2019s pas de deux, A Case of You. “<\/p>\n
Then came the finale performance, Tran\u00e7a (Braid), choreographed for Ballet Hisp\u00e0nico by Cassi Abranches. The percussive, hypnotic expression of community captivated all four rings of the theater until the lights came up\u2014and the curtain down\u2014for the last time that night. \u201cThis festival celebrates not only the unique identity of each company, but also what can happen when artists come together to share their work,\u201d reflected Ballet Hisp\u00e0nico dancer Andrea Mish. \u201cPerforming alongside dancers from different backgrounds and artistic perspectives gives us the opportunity to learn from one another, grow as dancers, and continue pushing our own artistry forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the opening night \u00e9sprit, Danchig-Waring remarked: \u201cTwenty-four years into my career, I\u2019ve never felt a house quite like this one. The energy is electrifying. Ballet doesn\u2019t need to defend itself, it needs to open its doors.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cBeing a part of the festival again this year means so much. It\u2019s such a beautiful opportunity for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[146,85,46,10855],"class_list":["post-567685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-vogue-parties"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}