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Cynthia Dragoni 🪬

@thedancelens

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I am still processing the performance, which was one of the best I’ve ever seen, of Gillian Murphy’s last performance. Below is a quote (full article on my free Substack): Imagine the playoffs of the World Series when your hometown team is playing, the Beatles at Shea Stadium or opening night of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. This level of rabid fan excitement was in the house at The Metropolitan Opera for the final performance of one of America’s greatest of all time ballerinas. Her first entrance was enormous. Murphy entered as the maiden Odette before she’s put under the evil curse. Her spell was cast on us with the profundity of all her love and all her years onstage. As if the last three decades collapsed, enveloping her and us. Her maiden was translucent and pulsing with purity as always, but there was an urgency even in her innocence. When Rothbart kidnapped her—a scene that always upsets me (and out of respect for the occasion we won’t get into the DIY swan puppet)—we watched her disappear into the dark. The first heartbreak of the night—we’ll never have her maiden again. The first act was enjoyable in its usual way, and thankfully Jake Roxander was cast in the peasant pas, bursting onto the stage with his freshness, his adorable attack. Each entrance feels like a child flying from a rope into the middle of the lake. He reminds me of Baryshnikov in his disarming charm, good looks, height, and wild technique. Interesting to note: in the Soviet Union, Baryshnikov was also not cast as the leading male roles in the classics… FULL REVIEW ON SUBSTACK LINK IN BIO ✍️ 🩰 Video and Photo #6 (Gillian Murphy & Irina KOLPAKOVA) by @bstigler by @thedancelens
Check out my recent article in The Observer, exploring the validity—or vapidity—of dance in art spaces. Part performance review, part art world critique. In a contemporary echo of the iconoclastic collaborations between Graham & Noguchi or Cunningham & Rauschenberg, dancer and choreographer @ingridsilva (Dance Theatre of Harlem) partners with visual artist @rosalindtallmadge . In Silva’s piece “Echoes on the Wall”, dancers weave through Tallmadge’s luminous installation “Pareidolia” at the gallery CARVALHO in Brooklyn. Dance, being an ephemeral and notoriously difficult-to-commodify art form, is frequently misunderstood—and as a result, misused. What is it that most get wrong about this equation? What makes THIS series so resonant? CARVALHO’s series is a rarity in its support for the meaningful development of both choreographic and visual art work. It challenges the typical hierarchy of performance and fosters a visible, physical exchange between movement and visual form. Read the full article at Observer.com (link in bio) 📸 📸 Incredible photos of Silva’s ECHOES ON THE WALL & Tallmadge’s PAREIDOLIA by @qwharton @observer @carvalhonewyork by @thedancelens
Presentamos a Cynthia Dragoni 🩰 Bailarina clásica formada en The Rock School, Boston Ballet y Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. Actuó en teatros de Ucrania y San Petersburgo, interpretando grandes clásicos como El Lago de los Cisnes, Don Quijote, Giselle y La Bella Durmiente. Trabajó en Nueva York con compañías contemporáneas como Sensedance y Ballets with a Twist. Es miembro del Conseil International de la Danse (UNESCO, París). En 2013 fundó el Ballet Institute NY, desde donde dirigió programas internacionales de verano en Francia junto al Conservatoire Mozart. Fue seleccionada por el Kennedy Center para su programa de Gestión Cultural. Participó en el Flying Carpet Festival, llevando danza y arte a niños refugiados en Medio Oriente. Actualmente enseña en Broadway Dance Center (NYC) y es asesora artística en París. También crea contenido sobre danza en YouTube y Substack. Estamos listos para aprender de Cynthia en los talleres 2025 🪩 #SomosDS by @thedancelens
Did you know one of Paul Taylor’s darker, rarely seen works, …Byzantium, is onstage starting next week? Welcome back to What’s Onstage, where we take a deeper look at what’s actually being performed this season. Byzantium was a Greek city that became Constantinople, today’s Istanbul. For over a thousand years it was the heart of the Eastern Roman Empire, until it fell in 1453. Its golden mosaics have inspired artists for centuries, from Gustav Klimt to W.B. Yeats, whose poem “Sailing to Byzantium” imagines an old man escaping death by becoming a golden bird that sings forever. Paul Taylor took that title somewhere much darker. One of the giants of American modern dance, Taylor danced for Martha Graham and made 147 works, from the joyful Esplanade to pieces about war and death. …Byzantium (1984), set to music by Edgard Varèse, opens in sacred ritual and ends with an empire in collapse. The original program quoted the poem’s last line: “Of what is past, or passing, or to come.” 📍 Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater, November 3–22, with live music by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. The season includes Esplanade, Brandenburgs, Arabesque, Spindrift, and 3 Epitaphs, world premieres by Lauren Lovette and Robert Battle, a New York premiere by Pam Tanowitz, and Alwin Nikolais’s Tensile Involvement. ✱ …Byzantium: Tues, Nov 10, 7 p.m. | Sat, Nov 14, 8 p.m. | Sun, Nov 22, 3 p.m. 💬 Comment TAYLOR and I’ll send you the link to listen to or read the full story. @paultaylordance 📸 Photos of …Byzantium: Paul B. Goode (@paulbgoode) 1, 2, 9; Erin Baiano 3, 11; Tom Caravaglia 6, 10, 12 by @thedancelens
✨ You're Invited! Join Dance Data Project® and DDP PRO for a Special Evening in NYC! On Thursday, December 3, DDP will host The Inaugural Gathering: An Evening with Susan Jaffe, Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre, at The Beekman Hotel in New York City! This intimate reception and fundraiser will feature a special conversation between Susan Jaffe and Cynthia Dragoni of Dance Lens, exploring the state of the arts, women in leadership, and the future of the dance industry. Connect with fellow artists, arts leaders, and supporters while enjoying light appetizers, wine, signature cocktails, and more—all in support of DDP's mission to advance gender equity in dance through research, advocacy, and programming, including our newest initiative, DDP PRO. 📅 Thursday, December 3, 2026 | 5:30 PM EST 📍 Clinton Hall at The Beekman Hotel | NYC 🎟️ General Admission: $250 🎟️ Choreographers, Working Artists & Students: $150 Sponsorship opportunities are also available, with all proceeds supporting DDP's ongoing initiatives. We hope you'll join us for an evening of meaningful conversation, connection, and celebration of the women shaping the future of dance! 🔗 Reserve your spot today! Link in bio. by @thedancelens
American Ballet Theatre principal Jake Roxander joins The Dance Lens to talk about returning to Puck in Frederick Ashton’s The Dream: bringing more mischief to the role, working one-on-one with Herman Cornejo, and why becoming a principal changed less than he expected. “The work continues.” Plus a quick look at Ashton himself, who decided to devote his life to dance after seeing Anna Pavlova at 13, and at the ballet that launched Sibley and Dowell. 🎥 🎙️ Comment JAKE to get the full interview. 🧚🏽 The Dream opens tonight at American Ballet Theatre and runs through October 31. #ballet #AmericanBalletTheatre #ABT #FrederickAshton #JakeRoxander Photos: Jake Roxander as Puck 📸 Rosalie O’Connor Photography Jake Roxander & Daniel Camargo as Puck & Oberon 📸 Kyle Froman Cover and back page 📸 Rosalie O’Connor Photography @jakeroxander @abtofficial by @thedancelens
Every generation has the artists who define it. Right now, we’re watching a new wave of stars rise, and one of the most thrilling is ABT’s newly promoted principal, Jake Roxander: equal parts explosive spectacle and sensitive interpreter. This season, he’s dancing Puck in Ashton’s The Dream, a role he couldn’t be better suited for. Frederick Ashton’s The Dream is Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in one act: fairies, feuding lovers, and a man turned donkey, set to Mendelssohn. Ashton made it for the Royal Ballet in 1964. Join me live on Substack this Monday for a talk on The Dream and an interview with Jake. It’s open to all subscribers, free and paid. Just sign up. Comment DREAM and I’ll send you the link. Bring your questions! Fun fact: Puck runs in the family. Jake’s father, David Roxander, was known for his Puck at the National Ballet of Canada, and Jake has worn his dad’s Puck costume onstage at ABT. @jakeroxander @abtofficial by @thedancelens
You probably don’t associate the words dance and defiant feminist resistance with Afghanistan. But as we shall see, history lives in the body, carried through gestures, rhythms, and traditions passed from one generation to the next. Afghan dance is a rich collection of regional forms shaped by centuries of cultural exchange. The country’s position at the crossroads of Central Asia, Persia and the Indian subcontinent is reflected in its dance traditions. Decades of war and, more recently, the Taliban’s restrictions on women and the arts have shaped the way much of the world sees the country. But so much is lost in that picture: an ancient cultural heritage, a vibrant artistic vocabulary and the courage and creativity of so many Afghan women. Join me for a conversation with Afghan dance artist Samia Karimi — @silktiger We’ll talk about the true history of arts in Afghanistan and the underground feminist resistance throughout the country. Comment SAMIA and I’ll send you the full podcast and article. @silktiger @npr @nprmusic @nprpolitics by @thedancelens
LIVE INTERVIEW: New Dimensions of SunMi Park, on Petite Mort, Ballet Imperial and Learning to Breathe In just a few years, SunMi Park went from ABT’s Studio Company to principal dancer. Her promotion was announced onstage after only her second Odette/Odile, with her mother in the audience. This fall she dances Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort. Her instinct is sharp and classical, so stager Elke Schepers, from the original 1991 cast, kept telling her: “Just breathe. Trust a partner. Always being together.” Days later, she debuts in the lead of Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial, trading bare feet for pointe shoes and finding her “queen vibe.” We also talk about her dream roles and settle Odette vs. Odile. ABT’s fall season runs October 21–31 at the David H. Koch Theater. Comment SUNMI and we’ll send you the full interview. And join us for our next Dance Lens Live! @psm_59 💐💐💐 @abtofficial by @thedancelens
JOIN US LIVE! 🎙️ 🩰 Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort (1991) is one of the most beautiful dance works ever created, across all styles and genres, and American Ballet Theatre is performing it this season. Join me on Monday, October 19th at 7:00 PM ET for a live session where we’ll watch clips and talk about the ballet’s history and its prolific choreographer. This time we’ll be joined by newly minted ABT principal SunMi Park, who is preparing to perform in Petite Mort. We’ll hear about her career, her experience, and what it’s like to step into this ballet. Bring your questions, because the chat will be live. The session is open to all Substack subscribers, free and paid. If you haven’t joined me there yet, comment PARK and I’ll send you the link to subscribe. Can’t make it live? Leave your questions for SunMi or about the ballet in the comments, and we’ll get to as many as we can. @psm_59 @abtofficial by @thedancelens
INTERVIEW: Ballet history is closer than we think. Many of the artists who shaped the ballet we know today were working within living memory—and their artistic descendants are still teaching, coaching, and passing down knowledge that might otherwise be lost. In this week’s Dance Lens, I speak with Diana Byer, who spent 44 years building New York Theatre Ballet into what Dance Magazine called “a miniature American treasure.” As founder and artistic director, she championed intimate theatrical productions, carefully researched restorations of classical works, and emerging choreographers. She also founded LIFT, bringing dance classes, performance opportunities, and scholarships to homeless and at-risk children in New York City. But Byer’s story also offers a remarkable window into ballet’s living history. Her teacher and mentor, Margaret Craske, was a dancer and pedagogue whom Enrico Cecchetti himself recognized for her ability to transmit his principles, style, and syllabus. Born in Rome in 1850, Cecchetti became a celebrated dancer, created the roles of the Bluebird and Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty, and taught some of ballet’s defining artists, including Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, and Tamara Karsavina. His structured method of training continues to influence ballet education around the world. Today, Byer is carrying that lineage forward through Teaching Cecchetti, an online educational channel devoted to lesser-known steps and teaching methods passed down to her by Craske. Our conversation explores what it means to build an artistic life around both creating opportunities for the future and preserving the knowledge of the past. Hear full conversation on Dance Lens Podcast. Comment DIANA and I’ll send you the link. @teachingcecchetti 🎙️ 🩰 📸 Cover & 4: Margaret Craske & Diana Byer. 1,2,3: Diana Byer portrait, teaching and dancing. 5: Enrico Cecchetti & Anna Pavlova 🎥: Dancers practicing Cecchetti steps #BalletHistory #CecchettiMethod #DanceEducation by @thedancelens
NEW PODCAST: Interview with principal dancer Nayara Lopes on her recent whiteface experience at Finnish National Ballet under director Javier Torres. Comment NAYARA and I’ll send you the full interview. 🎙️ 🤯 📸 Photos of Lopes: 1 & 2: Arian Molina Soca Final: Alexander Iziliaev by @thedancelens

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