Kathleen breen combes biography channel
It involves, of all things, corsets.
Yanowsky’s two babies are not unrelated. While the choreographer and his wife were visiting his family in Spain with the happy news that they were expecting, discussion turned to the old tradition of wearing a corset post-partum to help support healing muscles and slim the figure. Yanowsky’s mother, a former dancer, brought out his grandmother’s old corset, and Combes tried it on for fun. Yanowsky grabbed hold and began playfully twirling his wife around. An idea was born.
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While, historically, corsets have been used for constriction, the 42-year-old Yanowsky saw only freedom and possibility. He began experimenting with an expanded range of partnering, developing new techniques to take advantage of what the corsets could facilitate. Boston Ballet’s manager of costumes and wardrobe, Charles Heightchew, designed and customized the handmade corsets with handles that allow the male dancers to manipulate their female partners very differently from the way they do in traditional partnering. Swings and swivels, lifts and carries, suspensions and balances, slides and glides — all have a visceral physicality. The handles also facilitate intricate contortions and deep leans. The gimmickry of the corsets is lost in the rush of extended, free-flowing movement.
For the men, Yanowsky says, the corsets provide a totally different grip, allowing significantly more wrist rotation for positioning, but the palms take a beating from the friction of the handles.
For the women, meanwhile, the corsets are truly a mixed blessing. “It is a really great feeling and you have more room to explore movement,” says Boston Ballet soloist Rachele Buriassi. “But it’s also really hard because you have to keep yourself together, you can’t just let go. And the corset is very tight, strong, and thick. It feels great to take it off!”
“Smoke and Mir In Boston Ballet’s ‘La Mer,’ Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen Wants You to Go on an Inner Journey | GBH News, April 14, 2023 Sweat drips down Kathleen Breen Combes’ face as she stands on the largest stage ever built on Boston Common, preparing yesterday to celebrate Boston Ballet’s 50th season. The company will perform for free at 7 p.m. tonight for all the city to see. The ballet will dance to songs from the Rolling Stones to works by Igor Stravinsky. “Ballet is sometimes thought of as this elitist art form,” said Breen Combes, a principal dancer in the ballet. “But ballet is art, and art touches everybody.” Breen Combes said that’s the spirit behind the outdoor show. While the dancers sweated out arabesques and pirouettes in the studio this week, technicians drilled down boards and lifted metal poles to create the stunning stage. Before this, the biggest stage is thought to be built in the 1980s for a series called “Concerts on the Common.” Boston Ballet’s production manager and technical director, Ben Phillips, made sure his stage was a little bigger. “It’s mostly folklore that is passed down from showman and stage people,” Phillips said of the largest stage records. “I hope that people take advantage of the opportunity to see what we do,” Breen Combes said. “And I hope that people that thought it was only girls in white tutus, that they’ll come and see that that’s not what we do.” Originally Published: 2023 JURY & SELECTION COMMITTEE Igor Antonov was born in Zaporozie, Ukraine. Upon graduation from the Kiev Choreographic Institute, he joined the Donetsk Ballet (Ukraine) as a soloist. In 1990, he was invited to join Richmond Ballet, where for five seasons he danced leading roles in works by George Balanchine, John Butler, Antony Tudor, William Soleau, Malcolm Burn, and Stoner Winslett. During that time, he was also a medalist and best couple award winner at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. For the next several years, he danced with Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf, Germany, and made guest appearances with major ballet companies in Berlin, Madrid, and Nice. In 2003, he returned to Richmond Ballet, and while continuing to perform with the Company, he began conducting rehearsals and teaching at the School of Richmond Ballet. After his retirement from the stage, Mr. Antonov stepped into the role of leading Richmond Ballet’s second company, Richmond Ballet II Amy Brandt has been the editor in chief of Pointe magazine since 2014, following a 19-year dance career. She received her initial dance training at Dancenter North in Libertyville, Illinois, and at the Milwaukee Ballet School. She later joined the Milwaukee Ballet, where her repertoire included 19th century classics as well as works by Antony Tudor, George Balanchine, Mark Godden and Alonzo King, among others. She joined The Suzanne Farrell Ballet in 2003, dancing soloist roles in Balanchine’s Agon, La Valse, Pas de Dix and Divertimento No. 15. In 2005, she performed in honor of Ms. Farrell at the nationally televised Kennedy Center Honors. Ms. Brandt has also danced with Dances Patrelle, New Chamber Ballet, Ad Hoc Ballet and Ballet NY. She has written extens Boston Ballet in the News
2022-2023 Season
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Boston Ballet presents its best ‘Don Quixote’ yet | The Boston Globe, March 17, 2023
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Michaela DePrince | WCVB, Feb 24, 2023
Boston Ballet expert offers fixes for common foot problems | WCVB, Feb 22, 2023
10 delightful dance picks to carry you through to spring | The Boston Globe, Jan 20, 2023
From classical to experimental, here are the dance performances to watch this winter | WBUR, Jan 10, 2023
Asian American ballet dancers making a more inclusive Nutcracker | NBC Nightly News, Dec 22, 2022
How do they do that? A look behind the scenes of The Nutcracker’s special effects | CBS Boston, Dec 21, 2022
As this year’s performances proved, dance offers more than just beautiful moves | The Boston Globe, Dec 9, 2022
Boston Globe critics’ top 10 dance performance Jury Panel Archives
IGOR ANTONOV
RICHMOND BALLET
ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE &
RICHMOND BALLET II DIRECTORAMY BRANDT
POINTE MAGAZINE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF