A Beginner’s Guide to the Boston Ballet

Principal dancer Kathleen Breen Combes by Rosalie O'Connor

The Boston Ballet wrapped up their first show series of the season (La Bayadere) on Sunday, signaling that it’s almost that most wonderful time of the year –yup, Nutcracker time. Opening the day after Thanksgiving and running through New Year’s Eve, this holiday tradition is probably one of the most well-recognized ballets among those normal people who don’t own more leotards than actual clothes. Sugar Plum Fairies and Snow Queens, an army of giant mice, and a guy in drag with a skirt large enough to house a horde of little munchkins in it (not as sketchy as it sounds) are all on the way.

So if you find yourself dragged to the Opera House this holiday season by a date or your grandma, or just want to check off the ballet on your list of Things to Do in Boston Before I Graduate, here’s a guide to Boston’s resident ballet company.

Dancers to Watch

The company added 19 new dancers to the roster this year, including a principal, yet the most talked about rookie is a member of the corps de ballet (in English, basically the backup dancers) – 21-year-old Keenan Kampa (check out a Boston Globe article on her here). Kampa is the first American ever to graduate from the legendary Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, which she was invited to attend when she was only 18. Although she’s doing the  requisite career due-paying in the corps, she is trained to be a standout and is worth looking for – watch for blonde hair, thin legs and huge extension.

My runaway favorites are Kathleen Breen Combes and Misa Kuranaga, both only in their second year as principal dancers. They represent a new wave of ballerinas, bringing explosive athleticism and engrossing performance quality to the stage in both classical and contemporary works. They both also have insane extension, which might be overrated but they both know how to use it with control and grace.

Larissa Ponomarenko, a veteran ballerina from Ukraine, has been with Boston Ballet continuously for 17 years. At age 40, she is still the epitome of the classical ballerina, and, incredibly, can even pull off roles that depend on youthful innocence, like Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) and Giselle (Giselle).

Making his Boston Ballet debut this year is new principal Lasha Khozashvili, who previously danced with the State Ballet of Georgia (the country, not the state). Also batting for the guys are acclaimed soloist John Lam and recently promoted principal James Whiteside. Both are extremely able and captivating dancers who can hold their own rather than just appearing to be sturdy props for the ladies.

Choreographers to Know

The version of The Nutcracker that the Boston Ballet stages is choreographed by the company’s Finnish artistic director Mikko Nissinen. It stays true to the original story and structure, but has more of a showy flair than more classical versions. Nissinen has been the artistic director since 2001 and is credited with rejuvenating the then-ailing company, adding a lot of contemporary works to the repertoire.

Other choreographers to know if you want to sound like an aficionado are Marius Petipa (who choreographed all the classic ballets like Swan Lake, Coppelia, and Sleeping Beauty in the mid- to late-19th century), Jorma Elo (a contemporary Finnish choreographer who is the Boston Ballet’s resident choreographer), George Balanchine (who founded the New York City Ballet in 1948 and revolutionized ballet in the United States), and William Forsythe (a contemporary American expat in Germany whose complex movement theories are hugely influential).

How to Go

You can order tickets through the company’s website, but the best way to go is with student rush tickets. Two hours before every performance, the box office window at the Opera House opens and anyone with a college ID can get $20 tickets for whatever seats haven’t been sold. Depending on the show, you can often score some pretty sweet seats if you’re first in line.

Fun Facts

Love is in the air at Boston Ballet, not unlike many professional dance companies. Among the married couples are principals Lorna Feijoo and Nelson Madrigal, both from Cuba; principals Kathleen Breen Combes and Frenchman Yury Yanowsky, who just tied the knot this summer; and second soloist Dalay Parrondo (from Cuba) and soloist Jaime Diaz (from Colombia).

The company also has dancers hailing from Mongolia, Brazil, the Netherlands, Hungary, Belarus, and Japan.

The company, currently made up of 47 dancers, was founded in 1963, and also has a sub-company called Boston Ballet II as well as the Boston Ballet School (the largest ballet school in the US).

For the full 2010-2011 season schedule, visit the company’s website here.

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