News Clipping: Lauren Cuthbertson beat life threatening illness, judge on Trump's name on The Kennedy Center, Naomi Osaka's tennis dress

The Sunday Times published an interview with Lauren Cuthbertson, former Royal Ballet Principal and currently Principal Guest Artist of the company, in the last weekend of May 2026. She suffered from life threatening meningitis due to viral infection and was unable to move her legs for six weeks. She also talked about the recovery to the stage as well as the challenges of being a mother and a professional ballerina. Click here to read the full article (subscription required).
A U.S. federal judge ordered that The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts remove President Donald Trump’s name from the building’s façade and all official branding, major news outlets reported on 29th May 2026. The judge also temporarily blocked the art institution from closing in July for renovations, and said that Congress must be consulted on any name change. U.S. President expressed his frustration on his social media. The centre announced its intension to appeal. Here is an explainer on The New York Times (subscription required).

Not exactly ballet related, but I personally confess I love Naomi Osaka's tennis dress at the French Open. According to the Tennis365 website, she told a press conference that Niki started preparing the dress at least a year and half prior. The sequined bronze-gold dress would perfectly work for ballet, right? And it does not constrain the performance of Osaka. I was recently asked by a professional freelance ballerina to alter a ballet stage costume, which was not my work, and was surprised how heavy it was. The ballerina said the costume was not comfortable. We can all guess an extraordinary amount of money and work went into Osaka's dress and not everyone is a superstar like her. Still, I have to learn from Nike's dress making.