ABTs Latin contingent spices up Romeo and Juliet

“Scan the rosters of most of the worlds major ballet companies these days and they might easily be mistaken for a roll call at the United Nations General Assembly. Ballet, once the particular preserve of the Russians, the French and the English, is now a truly international art, with top dancers still hand-picked from Moscow and St. Petersburg, from Paris and London, but also from Tokyo and Havana and Buenos Aires — and, of course, the United States.

Yet study the list of names on American Ballet Theatre programs in recent years, and its easy to spot another “demographic” trend: The number of Latino dancers increasing in all ranks of the company — from principal and soloist to the corps de ballet — is unmistakable. Some hail from Cuba, some from Argentina, some from Spain and beyond. And many of these dancers will be front and center when American Ballet Theatre brings British choreographer Kenneth MacMillans majestic version of “Romeo and Juliet” to Chicagos Civic Opera House this week, with seven performances running Wednesday through March 25.”

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