News clipping: Nela, NYCB's shoe colourist, Hugo Marchand, Katherine Barkman, Trainspotting The Musical, Yoko Morishita, Scottish Ballet
- Ikuko
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
All dates are 2026 unless otherwise noted.
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The Guardian newspaper interviewed Marianela Núñez and published it on 28th July, the day before the premiere of Marianela: Timeless, her first ever curated programme. The Royal Ballet Principal told the news paper why it took so long to organise one: She does not have an agent. Neither did Sylvie Guillem. The 44-year-old Argentine-British superstar also talked about Argentinian football great Lionel Messi, and said “There’s no expiry date!” Yay! Click here for the full article.
The New York Times published an editorial about Tim Foster, the New York City Ballet's first ever full-time shoe colourist, on 27th July. He told the newspaper that the trickiest ballet in terms of shoe colouring point of view is Jerome Robbins' The Concert. Click here for the full article (subscription required). And here is the documentary created by filmmaker Joshua Charow. Inspiring edit and documentary, indeed.
The New York Times also published an editorial about Hugo Marchand, Paris Opera Ballet's étoile, on 22nd July ahead of his appearance in New York to perform Maurice Béjart's Boléro. It reads like a PR piece, it is worth a read nonetheless. Click here (subscription required).
Gramilano interviewed Jacopo Tissi, a Principal Dancer with the Dutch National Ballet on 16th July. The Italian dancer joined the company three years ago following a year of freelancing after he had left the Bolshoi Theatre in Russia. He told the online magazine that Dutch National Ballet's repertoire was one of the decisive factors to join the company, and that working with late Hans van Manen was a dream-come-true. Click here to read the full article.
Gramilano also spoke with Katherine Barkman, the recently promoted Principal Dancer of San Francisco Ballet, on 10th July. She talked about how she created the role of Tatiana in Yuri Possokhov's new Eugene Onegin as the first person to dance the role on stage, about how she applied the process to prepare for Kitri in Don Quixote, and about her career path. Click here for the full article.
Trainspotting The Musical received a poor review, with The Guardian newspaper calling it "a bad trip" in a review published on 23rd July. Alas. The musical was co-written by Irvine Welsh, the author of the book Trainspotting. But, any Trainspotting has to be controversial, right? Click here for the full article. And here for Iggy Pop's Lust for Life.
The Wall Street Journal ran an editorial piece titled The Prima Ballerina Still Going Strong After 75 Years on 22nd July. It features Yoko Morishita, 78, a prima ballerina of the Matsuyama Ballet in Tokyo, Japan, as the world's oldest active ballerina. Here is the full article (subscription required) and a movie clip on Facebook. Below is my personal opinion: Partnering with Rudolf Nureyev numerous times, she was probably one of the first Japanese ballerinas who brought Japanese ballet to an international level. She was certainly the person I looked up to as I grew up. I read a few of her books and got inspired. However, her career in the past couple of decades is not without discussion. Some say she is an eternal inspiration in the aging Japanese society. May be that's the point rather than artistry or technique.
Scottish Ballet had to cancel its planned shows between Christmas and New Year in Edinburgh due to financial pressure ahead of the introduction of the Edinburgh Visitor Levy, Edinburgh News said on 22nd July. Starting 24th July, anyone visiting the Scottish capital and staying in paid overnight accommodations are charged an extra 5% per night on the first five nights. The company urged City of Edinburgh Council to introduce an exemption or tax relief for Scotland's national performing companies.