News clipping: Cassandra Trenary interview, black dance as activism and healing, Fumi and Vadim, Hannah O'Neill in Paris, Étoile cancelled

Ikuko
9 hours ago
3 min read

Amazon's Prime Video cancelled Étoile after one season, Deadline first reported on 6th June 2025. The show, featuring two ballet companies in New York and Paris swapping their dancers for survival, was initially given a two-season contract. The Hollywood Reporter said, "Such deals often have contingencies, however, by which a streamer or network can opt out after part of a multi-season order. That was the case with Étoile." The show, for which filming took place in these two cities, was not cost effective for the mediocre viewership, media reports said. The Guardian newspaper review described Étoile "a ballet show that’s absolutely not on pointe." I personally have never watched the show because I do not have a Prime Video subscription. Let me know what you think/thought of it.

Gregory King, American artist, activist and educator, penned an op-ed titled, "Black Dance as Activism, Resistance, and Healing" for the U.S. Dance Magazine on 9th June. In the introduction to the article, he said "In this moment—when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs are under attack, when racial justice is dismissed as “woke,” when Black contributions to culture are systemically erased—the urgency of Black dance as activism and embodied resilience has never been greater." Click here for the full article.

The Royal Ballet Principals Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov spoke with Tatler as they were going to make a double debut as Tatiana and Eugene Onegin in Onegin. In the article published on 10th June, Vadim was initially hesitant to take on such an iconic role because he feared he was not ready. On the other had, Fumi described Tatiana as a dream role. They also shared how Vadim asked her in a surprise proposal. The golden couple of ballet!

Cassandra Trenary, currently American Ballet Theatre's (ABT) Principal, will leave New York City soon to join the Vienna State Ballet for the upcoming 2025-2026 season under the artistic direction of Alessandra Ferri. The 31 year-old ballerina told Maria Haas/Dancing Around on 11th June that there were many principals with the ABT but not enough shows while she was always "wrestling with time" as a professional dancer.

"My first conversation with her was me telling her that I love the way she works and that I wanted to find time to get in the studio once I was healthy."

"There was no intention of asking for a job, but perhaps, I thought, it might be possible to ask her if she might ever consider having me as a guest artist. And she said, “Would you be willing to pick up and move? Because I’m interested in creating something.” And that was the moment I asked myself, “Would I? Would I pick up and move?” Click here for the full interview. Apparently, Julio Bocca will be teaching at the Vienna State Ballet.

Paris Opera Ballet étoile Hannah O'Neill shared her typical day packed with rehearsals with the Pointe Magazine. The article published on 24th June said, '“I get to class quite last-minute usually,” she says. “But for me, class is very important, like meditation. If I’m not injured or sore, I will always do class to the end."'Apparently, she usually gets up at 8:30 am and goes to bed by midnight. Click here for the full article (Subscription required).