Ballet dancer Kate Lydon of the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) will be the second artist-in-residence at the Lycee for the school year 2012-2013. She will spend from February 4 to February 8, 2013 with the entire fifth grade in coordination with their teachers.
Kate Lydon is the Artistic Coordinator for ABT’s Studio Company. She is also a teacher on staff at ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and a ballet mistress for the children during ABT’s renowned performances of the Nutcracker. She is a former member of both San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, where she danced classical, neo-classical and contemporary roles.
She is also editor-at-large for Dance Media, publisher of Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit, Dance Teacher, Pointe and Dance Retailer News. She is former editor-in-chief of Dance Spirit and also serves as Artistic Advisor to the exclusive web reality series, Dance212, which gives a behind the scenes look at the lives of professional dancers in New York City.
The theme of her residence with the fifth graders is Interpreting a Character Through Dance using as a support the musical suite by Camille Saint Saens The Carnival of the Animals. The music and the story will be presented to the students during their regular classes.
“I want the children to understand what it means to be an artist”. Watch the interview with Kate Lydon at the American Ballet Theatre.
On Monday, February 4, in the auditorium, the entire grade will meet Kate Lydon. Together with dancer Roman Zhurbin, she will demonstrate how to interpret a character through dance. During the five-day residence, each of the five classes of fifth graders will be meeting with Kate Lydon two times. For the final project, all students will choose a character from the Carnival, and will be photographed interpreting their “character” using seven dance moves taught by Kate and Roman. Students will then write a caption for their photos.
On Monday, February 4, at 6pm in the auditorium, Kate together with two dancers from ABT who studied dance at the Paris Opera, Adrienne Schulte and Sean Stewart, will talk about their art and give a demonstration for the entire LFNY community. Parents and students from all grades are welcome to attend this special moment. (Please reserve your seat at (212) 439 3820).
On Friday, February 8 at 1pm in the auditorium Kate Lydon together with young dancers from her company and possibly some CM2 will dance excerpts from the ballet for the children. Portraits of the children will be on display in the mezzanine. Parents are welcome.
About the Author :
Pascale Richard joined the Lycée as director of the Cultural Center in 2011, where she aims to bring the best of French and American cultures through conferences, concerts, films and various events. In the fall of 2012, she launched the school’s Artist-in-Residence program. Pascale was previously Vice President of External Affairs at the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF). Her background is in journalism and writing with a focus on lifestyle and fashion. She is a graduate of Sciences-po and holds a master’s in journalism from New York University.