I have to admit – I’m not exactly up-to-date on my prima ballerinas. The names Veronika Part and Vitali Krauchenka didn’t mean anything to me before yesterday. But then I saw this tweet by esteemed New Yorker writer/Vanity Fair culture critic James Wolcott:
Veronika Part is dancing Giselle?! In Baltimore!? [crumples to floor, room begins to spin] http://t.co/DUzrHZkKHd
— James Wolcott (@JamesWolcott) June 9, 2014
So I decided to look into it. It turns out that Part and Krauchenka are big deals; the Baltimore Sun is comparing their appearance in Columbia to Mikhail Baryshnikov‘s 2003 appearance on a Baltimore stage. Furthermore, they describe Park as “a classical dancer with a beautiful line and gorgeous feet who brings her strong dramatic touch to the ballet.” Back in 2011, she told Dance Magazine that Giselle was one of the parts she was dying to play; now she’ll get a chance to dance it –for us!
Sounds like a lovely excuse to plan an evening out at the ballet. Part and Krauchenka will be dancing Giselle on June 14 at 6 p.m.; tickets are $40 ($20 for students), available here.
Did this performance ever happen? I see no reviews of it.