A Body's Language

Julie Kent became the Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet in July 2016. She is the longest-serving ballerina in American Ballet Theatre’s 79-year history. She began her dance training with Hortensia Fonseca at the Academy of the Maryland Youth Ballet in Bethesda, MD and attended summer sessions at American Ballet Theatre II and the School of American Ballet before joining American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in 1985. In that same year, Kent won first place in the regional finals of the National Society of Arts and Letters at the Kennedy Center. In 1986, she was the only American to win a medal at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition, and she became a member of ABT’s corps de ballet. Kent starred in the Herbert Ross film “Dancers” in 1987 opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov. She was appointed a Soloist with ABT in 1990 and a Principal Dancer in 1993, the year in which she became the first American to win the Erik Bruhn Prize in Toronto and was named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.” In April 2000, Kent achieved another triumph, becoming the first American to win the “Prix Benois de la Danse.” Later that year, Kent starred in the motion picture “Center Stage” directed by Nicholas Hytner. In 2012, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts as well as a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Dance Magazine. Since 2014, she has been the Brand Ambassador for HANIA New York, a luxury line of hand-knit cashmere in NYC. During Kent’s long performing career, she has acquired a vast repertoire dancing over 100 ballets, including all of the major classical, dramatic and neo-classical roles in works by Marius Petipa, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, John Cranko, Anthony Tudor, Michel Fokine, Agnes DeMille, Merce Cunningham, Jose Limon, Jiri Kylian, Ronald Hynd, Ben Stevenson and Christopher Wheeldon. As well, she has had roles created on her by John Neumeier, Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Alexei Ratmansky, Nacho Duato, Stanton Welch, James Kudelka, Jorma Elo, David Parsons, Jessica Lang, and Natalie Weir. Her appearances as a guest include invitations from the Mariinsky Theatre, Teatro alla Scala, New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Berlin Staatsballett, Australian Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett, Teatro Colon, Ballet de Santiago, and others. In August of 2015, after a 30-year performing career, Kent was named Artistic Director of ABT’s Summer Intensive, a comprehensive summer dance program for 1,400 students at five campuses across the US. Since Kent arrived at The Washington Ballet, she has brought important classical and contemporary masterworks into the repertoire, including her and Victor Barbee’s own critically acclaimed staging of The Sleeping Beauty, described by New York Times former chief dance critic Alastair Macaulay as “one of the world’s finer Sleeping Beauties.” Kent’s steadfast commitment to the development of artists, rising choreographers, and the creation of arts education initiatives that benefit the community of our Nation’s Capital, showcase her dedication to creativity, expression, and to propelling ballet forward into the 21st century. Kent is married to The Washington Ballet’s Associate Artistic Director Victor Barbee, and, as a mother of two children, she has helped redefine the image of the American Ballerina.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island and trained at Festival Ballet of Rhode Island and Canada’s National Ballet School, Greta Hodgkinson joined The National Ballet of Canada in 1990, where she has been a Principal Dancer since 1996. Greta retired as a Principal Dancer at the end of the 2019/20 season and assumed the position of Artist-in-Residence for the 2020/21 season, teaching and coaching the National Ballet’s next generation of dancers. An artist acclaimed for her dazzling technical virtuosity, dramatic intensity and articulate characterization, she is the complete ballerina, par excellence. Greta has performed every leading role in the classical repertoire and her talents extend to the contemporary repertoire as well. She has had numerous roles created for her by world renowned choreographers and has worked closely with such icons as William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Glen Tetley, John Neumeier, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor, James Kudelka and Crystal Pite. As a guest artist, Greta has appeared with The Mariinsky Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, The Royal Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Munich Ballet, Teatro Comunale di Firenze, Gala des Étoiles, Stars of the 21st Century and International Ballet Galas in the US, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada. Greta was invited to tour Japan dancing Swan Lake with K-Ballet, partnered by Tetsuya Kumakawa. She also performed at The World Ballet Festival in Tokyo, with frequent partner Roberto Bolle. Greta has graced the covers of Dance Magazine and Dance International Magazine and has been featured in various fashion publications including Vanity Fair, Lucky, W, GQ Italia, ELLE, NUVO, Flare and FASHION among others. Greta’s film credits include a collaboration with director Moze Mossanen in the title role in the film Roxana, based on the novel by Daniel Defoe, the role of Margot Fonteyn in the Bravo! TV docudrama, Nureyev, CBC’s Romeos and Juliets and The Rings of Saturn. She also appeared in the title role in The Firebird, The Four Seasons (starring in Summer), A Dancer’s Story-50 Years of The National Ballet of Canada (dancing The Sleeping Beauty pas de deux) and as a guest star on the premiere of the Canadian comedy television series Baxter. In 2013, Gretaperformed Giselle in Emerging Pictures’ film, Ballet’s Greatest Hits, a ballet gala filmed and presented in over 200 cinemas throughout North America. Greta has received two Citations from the State of Rhode Island. One of the highest honours given by the state, the Citations are in recognition of her extraordinary talents, accomplishments and outstanding contribution to arts and culture in the US. Greta was also appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2017.

Cynthia Harvey is the guest on Episode 6, Season 2 of A Body's Language. Cynthia Harvey’s style marked her as one of the most versatile and valued artists. Harvey danced nearly every ballerina role with American Ballet Theatre and had the distinction of being invited by Sir Anthony Dowell to be a principal ballerina of The Royal Ballet-the first American dancer to have that honor. Harvey performed as guest artist with Baryshnikov and Company, Nureyev and Friends and numerous internationally renowned ballet companies around the world before retiring from the stage in 1996. On video, Harvey appears as Kitri opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov in his production of Don Quixote, in a variation from Paquita in Natalia Makarova’s The Ballerina and the “Waltz” variation in Les Sylphides, a variation from Paquita (American Ballet Theatre dances Petipa)and, in the documentary, Tchaikovsky’s Women for Britain’s Channel 4.  She is a featured artist in the Fred Weisman’s documentary Ballet and Darcey Bussell’s Ballerina Heroines, featured on the BBC. Co-author of Physics of Dance & the Pas de Deux, Harvey has been guest teacher for The Norwegian National Ballet Company, where beyond teaching and coaching, she helped re-stage a production of The Sleeping Beauty in 2008 and staged her own complete production of the ballet Giselle in 2009. In October 2010, the premiere of her full-length production of The Sleeping Beauty for The Hong Kong Ballet was met with acclaim. She staged the Shades section from La Bayadère for The Royal Ballet of Flanders, and in December 2014, her production of Don Quixote, for Singapore Dance Theatre, was said by Dance Europe to be one of the best premieres of the year worldwide. As a guest teacher and ballet mistress, Harvey has taught for American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, The Royal Swedish Ballet and The Zürich Ballet, and she is a regular guest ballet mistress at the Semperöper Ballett, Dresden. She has also taught regularly at The Royal Ballet School in London, as well as the School for the Basel Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School and as Principal Guest teacher for the English National Ballet School. As a sought after teacher and jury member, Harvey has appeared at several competitions, including the Rosetta Mauri, The Tanzolymp, the First International Competition in Sitges, Spain, and in 2013,  for Dance World Cup Spain.  Harvey is a long time attendee of he Prix de Lausanne, where she has taught, served as jury president and in 2016 will be the coach for the ladies. Harvey has been on the board of DanceEast, the National Agency for Dance in England and was a prominent member of the committee that saw major ballet directors and ballet school directors from around the world gather to discuss issues relating to improving life for ballet companies and schools. She was standards assessor for The Council for Dance Education and Training in the U.K. until 2010.  She is a member of the International Council of Dance. In early 2014, Miss Harvey formed “En Avant Foundation”, a non-profit foundation for mentoring and coaching ballet for prodigious young dancers.

Siphesihle November was born in Zolani, South Africa and trained at Canada’s National Ballet School. Siphesihle joined The National Ballet of Canada as a member of the Corps de Ballet in 2017 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2021. Siphesihle recently made his debut as Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet. He has danced such roles as Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Lewis Carroll/White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Puck in The Dream and in such ballets as The Nutcracker, Giselle, The Winter’s Tale, Nijinsky, Anna Karenina, The Four Seasons, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Chroma, Emergence, Angels’ Atlas, Chaconne, Etudes, Being and Nothingness, Paz de la Jolla, Night, The Dreamers Ever Leave You and Orpheus Alive. In 2019, Siphesihle won The International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize. Siphesihle was featured in a documentary, Beyond Moving, which follows his journey from Zolani, South Africa to Canada’s National Ballet School and The National Ballet of Canada.

We speak to Marcelino about how he used the pandemic to reconnect with what is important to him, his early years in Portugal, how it feels to dance alongside Natalia Osipova after so many years learning from and idolizing Russian Ballerinas and the track that he thinks is 'a banger'.....it's from an Ashton ballet! Portuguese dancer Marcelino Sambé is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. He trained at The Royal Ballet Upper School and graduated into the Company during the 2012/13 Season, promoted to First Artist in 2014, Soloist in 2015, First Soloist in 2017 and Principal in 2019. Sambé was born in Lisbon and studied at the National Conservatory of Lisbon before joining The Royal Ballet Upper School. Performances at the School included in John Neumeier’s Yonderingand Alastair Marriott’s Simple Symphonyat the School’s annual matinee, and a summer gala in Venice in 2012. His repertory with the Company includes Franz (Coppélia), Colas (La Fille mal gardée), Oberon (The Dream), Hans-Peter/Nutcracker (The Nutcracker), Mercutio and Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Brother Clown (The Winter’s Tale), Beggar Chief and Lescaut (Manon), Lead Hungarian Officer and Bratfisch (Mayerling), Bronze Idol (La Bayadère), Basilio (Don Quixote), Officer (Anastasia), Bluebird and Florestan (The Sleeping Beauty), pas de trois (Swan Lake), lead couple pas de six (Giselle), Footman/Frog (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Gypsy Boy (The Two Pigeons), Blue Boy (Les Patineurs) and in The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Tarantella, Jewels, The Human Seasons, Obsidian Tear, Aeternum, Requiem, La Valse, Aeternum, Within the Golden Hour, Multiverse, Elite Syncopations, Tchaikovsky pas de deux, Tarantella, Symphony in C, The Human Seasons, Infra, Concerto and Medusa. He has created roles in Crystal Pite’s Flight Pattern, Kim Brandstrup’s Ceremony of Innocence, Marriott’s Connectome, Hofesh Shechter’s Untouchable and Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works. Sambé is a keen choreographer and was selected as one of the UK’s emerging choreographers by Youth Dance England in 2012. His M’ cã cré sabi won second prize at the 2011 Ursula Morton Choreographic Awards and was performed in the School’s annual matinee that year. Works include Preparations for the Last TV Fake and The Chosen Victim for The Royal Ballet’s Draft Works. Sambé’s dance awards include a silver medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition in 2008, first prize at the Youth American Grand Prix in 2009, a gold medal and special award at the USA International Ballet Competition in 2010 and the Critics' Cirle National Dance Awards for Outstanding Male Classical Performance (2017) and Best Male Dancer (2019).