Claire Kretzschmar

Last updated
Claire Kretzschmar
Born1992
Glendale, Arizona
Education Fordham University
Occupation(s)Dancer, choreographer

Claire Kretzschmar is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and former soloist for the New York City Ballet. [1]

Contents

Early life

Kretzschmar was born in Glendale, AZ in 1992. After moving to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Kretzschmar began studying dance with Community Ballet at Wake Forest University. In eighth grade, she enrolled in the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. [1] [2]

Career

At 17, Kretzschmar moved to New York City to attend the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center, where she studied under Suki Schorer, Suzi Pillare, Kay Mazzo, Peter Martins, Sean Lavery, and Andrei Kramarevsky. [3] [2] In 2010, she joined the New York City Ballet as an apprentice. In 2011, Kretzschmar was promoted into the corps de ballet. In 2018, Kretzschmar made her soloist debut in George Balanchine's Stravinsky Violin Concerto . She has also performed in ballets choreographed by Jerome Robbins, Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham and Alexei Ratmansky. [2] [4]

Kretzschmar holds a bachelor's degree in Communications from Fordham University. [5] She is currently the artistic director of Ballet Hartford and co-hosts the New York City Ballet podcast "The Rosin Box". [6] [7] She is a co-founder of Arthouse2B. [1] In October 2022, Kretzschmar retired from the New York City Ballet. [8]

In 2020, Kretzschmar choreographed Rachmaninoff Variations set to Rachmaninoff's music, "Variations on a Theme of Chopin" for the New York Choreographic Institute. In 2022, she choreographed Rhapsodie set to commissioned music by Lauren Vandervelden. [9] For Ballet Hartford, she choreographed A Ceremony of Carols in 2023, with music of the same title by Benjamin Britten, and Venus in 2024, with music from Gustav Holst's "The Planets". [10]

In 2024, Kretzschmar choreographed Raffaella , an original full-length narrative ballet that premiered at the Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend, Indiana. [11] [12] A filmed live-stage recording of Raffaella is in development, slated to premiere October 31, 2024 at the University of Notre Dame.

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Stroman</span> American theatre director and choreographer

Susan P. Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. Her notable theater productions include Oklahoma!, The Music Man, Crazy for You, Contact, The Producers, The Frogs, The Scottsboro Boys, Bullets Over Broadway, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, and New York, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lar Lubovitch</span> American choreographer (born 1943)

Lar Lubovitch is an American choreographer. He founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, the company has performed in all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 countries. As of 2005, he had choreographed more than 100 dances for the company. In addition to the company, Lubovitch has also done creative work in ballet, ice-skating venues, and musical theater, notably Into the Woods. He has played a key role in raising funds to fight AIDS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joffrey Ballet</span> Ballet company (founded in 1956)

The Joffrey Ballet is an American dance company and training institution in Chicago, Illinois. The Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at the Civic Opera House, including its annual presentation of The Nutcracker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Page (ballerina)</span> American ballerina and choreographer (1899–1991)

Ruth Page was an American ballerina and choreographer, who created innovative works on American themes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joaquín De Luz</span> Spanish ballet dancer (born 1976)

Joaquín De Luz is a Spanish ballet dancer. He was formerly with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), and a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet (NYCB). He is currently director of Spanish National Dance Company.

<i>Symphonic Dances</i> (Rachmaninoff) 1940 orchestral suite composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, is an orchestral suite in three movements completed in October 1940 by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. It is his final major composition, and his only piece written in its entirety while living in the United States.

The Minnesota Ballet is a ballet company and school located in Duluth, Minnesota. Founded in 1965 by Donna Harkins and Jan Gibson as the Duluth Civic Ballet, the company has since expanded into a touring company with seventeen professional artists. From 1992 to 2007 the Artistic Executive Director of the Minnesota Ballet was Allen Fields, who retired to become Artistic Director Emeritus. Fields acquired rights to works by choreographers including Agnes de Mille, Antony Tudor, and George Balanchine. He was succeeded by Robert Gardner. In 2019 Karl von Rabenau was appointed Artistic Director. The Minnesota Ballet entered its 54th season in 2019/20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Jamison</span> American dancer and choreographer (born 1943)

Judith Ann Jamison is an American dancer and choreographer. She is the artistic director emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damian Woetzel</span> American dancer

Damian Woetzel is an American choreographer.

Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.

<i>Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux</i> Ballet by George Balanchine

Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to a composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky originally intended for act 3 of Swan Lake. With costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting by Jack Owen Brown, it was first presented by New York City Ballet at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York, on 29 March 1960. Robert Irving conducted the New York City Ballet Orchestra. The dancers were Violette Verdy and Conrad Ludlow.

Dance Preludes was a ballet made by Miriam Mahdaviani of New York City Ballet to Witold Lutosławski's 1955 music as a pièce d'occasion for the Dancers' Emergency Fund Benefit on 24 February 1991 at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center. The program also included George Balanchine's Serenade, the pas de deux from his Theme and Variations, Robert La Fosse's Gretry Pas de Deux, Sean Lavery's Romeo and Juliet, Alexandre Proia's Salome Dances for Peace, and ended with Balanchine's Stars and Stripes.

Troy Schumacher is an American choreographer, dancer, and director based in New York City. He is a soloist in the New York City Ballet and has choreographed for the company since 2014; before being promoted to soloist, he danced in NYCB's corps de ballet starting in 2005. He is the founder of Balletcollective, an arts collective that has created new ballet-based works since its inception in 2010. His work has been presented by New York City Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Performa, Danspace Project, Guggenheim Works & Process, the Joyce Theater, and NYU Skirball Center. In addition to live performances, Schumacher has choreographed numerous fashion and commercial shoots, including works for Sony PlayStation, Capezio featuring Maddie Ziegler, HP, Aritzia, CR Fashion Book, Tom Ford, and The New York Times. He has been dubbed a “visionary artist” by T Magazine and is “one of his generation’s most acclaimed choreographers”

<i>Who Cares?</i> (ballet) Ballet by George Balanchine

Who Cares? is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to songs by George Gershwin that were orchestrated by Hershy Kay. The ballet is split in two parts, the first danced by an ensemble, and the second focuses on four principal dancers. Who Cares? premiered on February 5, 1970, at the New York State Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Hynes</span>

Holly Hynes is an American costume designer for ballets to her credit, including at the New York City Ballet. She was resident costumer designer at the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for 19 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Peck</span> American choreographer, director, and dancer

Justin Peck is an American choreographer, director, and dancer associated with New York City Ballet, of which he was appointed Resident Choreographer in July 2014, being the second person in the history of the institution to hold this title. A two-time Tony Award for Best Choreography recipient, he won in 2018 for the revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel and in 2024 for the Sufjan Stevens original dance musical, Illinoise. On film, Peck choreographed the dance sequences for Steven Spielberg musical adaptation West Side Story (2021) and Bradley Cooper's biographical drama Maestro (2023).

Kathryn Posin is an American choreographer known for her musical and sculptural fusing of ballet and modern dance genres. In addition to choreographing, she has also taught technique and composition at several American universities. Her most recent season with The Kathryn Posin Dance Company commissioned by 92nd Street Y in February 2016 received an award from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and an Arts Works Grant from the NEA in 2017.

Pictures at an Exhibition is a ballet choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky to Mussorgsky's eponymous score. The ballet premiered on October 2, 2014, at the David H. Koch Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet.

<i>Raffaella</i> (ballet)

Raffaella: A New Fairytale Ballet is an original ballet choreographed by Claire Kretzschmar with music by Michael Kurek, inspired by the life of ballerina Raffaella Stroik. The piece was commissioned and produced by Raffaella's parents, Ruth and Duncan Stroik. The ballet premiered on June 29, 2024, at the Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend, Indiana.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Claire Kretzschmar". Ballet Hartford. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Christina Ray Stanton (April 26, 2022). "Waymakers: Claire Kretzschmar". Christians for Social Action. Sider Center of Eastern University. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Meet NY-based Dancer Claire Kretzschmar". Catholic Artist Connection. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  4. ↑ Cooper, Michael (2017-01-26). "Rehearse, Ice Feet, Repeat: The Life of a New York City Ballet Corps Dancer". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  5. ↑ Tom Stoelker (May 30, 2018). "New York City Ballet Dancers Hold First Fordham Diploma Ceremony". FordhamNow. Fordham University. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  6. ↑ "Ballet Hartford's new artistic director is a 'big win' for the growing company". Connecticut Public. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  7. ↑ "City Ballet The Podcast". podcast.nycballet.com. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  8. ↑ "POSTCARDS: Claire Kretzschmar, Artistic Director of Ballet Hartford, Choreographs "Raffaella" in Indiana". www.dance-enthusiast.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  9. ↑ "From the NYCI: Spring Session 2022 Commissions | New York City Ballet". www.nycballet.com. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  10. ↑ "An Original Ballet Choreographed by Claire Kretzschmar to be Performed". Greater Hartford, CT Patch. 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  11. ↑ Dame, Marketing Communications: Web | University of Notre (2024-06-28). "Stories Unspoken that Steal Your Heart | Stories | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame". Notre Dame Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  12. ↑ Sarkissian, Emily (2024-06-02). "Claire Kretzschmar on creating new full-length ballet 'Raffaella'". Dance Informa Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  13. ↑ Pogrebin, Robin (2015-02-09). "Lincoln Center Segal Awards Expand Field of Honorees". ArtsBeat. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  14. ↑ "Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Gala Awards Ceremony celebrates eleven outstanding young artists". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.