Carla Körbes
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Carla Körbes is a Brazilian
ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...
who performed as a
principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...
with the
Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...
, then became the associate artistic director of L.A Dance Project. She is now an associate professor at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music's ballet faculty.


Early life and training

Körbes was born in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. She started ballet at age 5 and entered the Ballet Vera Bublitz school at age 11. At age 14, she danced Terpsichore in ''
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
'', partnering
Peter Boal Peter Boal is artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and director of its affiliated school in Seattle, Washington. He was born in Bedford, New York, in 1965 and began studies at the School of American Ballet (SAB) at age nine. Boal assume ...
, then a
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
principal dancer and a guest at the school. After that, Boal recommended her to train at the
School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...
in New York City, even though she did not speak English at the time.
Alexandra Danilova Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (''Russian'': Александра Дионисьевна Данилова; November 20, 1903 – July 13, 1997) was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized fo ...
provided a year of Körbes' tuition. She received the Mae L. Wien Awards for Outstanding Promise in 1999.


Career

Körbes became an apprentice the New York City Ballet in 1999, and joined the company as a full-time corps de ballet member the following year. She received the Janice Levin Dancer Award in the 2001-02 season. She was named soloist in 2005. Later that year, she joined the
Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...
in Seattle, when Boal became the artistic director of PNB. She made her company debut as a demi-soloist in '' Symphony in Three Movements''. The following year, she was promoted to principal dancer. Her repertoire include full-length classics such as ''
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
'' and ''
Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...
'', as well as
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...
's works and contemporary works. She was coached by Mimi Paul and
Violette Verdy Violette Verdy (born Nelly Armande Guillerm; 1 December 1933 – 8 February 2016) was a French ballerina, choreographer, teacher, and writer who worked as a dance company director with the Paris Opera Ballet in France and the Boston Ballet in t ...
. In 2012, she danced the first revival of
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...
's '' Élégie'' in since its premiere, at the Vail International Dance Festival. Körbes was named one of "25 to Watch" by ''
Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including ''Pointe' ...
'' in 2006.
Alastair Macaulay Alastair Macaulay is an English writer and dance critic. He was the chief dance critic for '' The New York Times'' from 2007 until he retired in 2018. He was previously chief dance critic at '' The Times'' and Literary Supplement and chief theater ...
, dance critic of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', has repeatedly singled out her performances for praise. In 2010, during a nationwide tour of the ''Nutcracker'' season, he stated that Körbes was the best dancer he had seen of the tour, and in 2012, in a review of the
Vail Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numer ...
International Dance Festival, he stated that Körbes "is one of the finest ballerinas appearing in America today; some think her the finest, and last weekend I felt in no mood to contradict them." In 2014, at age 33, Körbes announced she would leave PNB in June 2015, as "her body needs something different" following a knee surgery. Per PNB tradition, her final performance was a program for departing dancers, which she danced Jessica Lang's ''The Calling'', Balanchine's '' Serenade'' and "Diamonds" from ''
Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...
''. In 2015, Körbes was named an artist in residence at the Vail International Dance Festival. Later that year, she became the associate artistic director of L.A. Dance Project, which was directed by
Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...
. She also taught at the
Colburn School The Colburn School is a private music school in Los Angeles with a focus on music and dance. It consists of four divisions: the Conservatory of Music, Music Academy, Community School of Performing Arts and the Dance Academy. It is located adjac ...
in Los Angeles. She occasionally performs at festivals and galas. In 2017 she joined the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music ballet faculty as an associate professor.


Personal life

In April 2015 she married British photographer Patrick Fraser and later that year gave birth to a baby boy named Rafael.


Selected repertoire

Körbes' repertoire with the New York City Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet includes:


References


External links


Indiana University profileCarla Körbes in "Diamond" from ''Jewels''Carla Körbes in ''Roméo et Juliette''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korbes, Carla Brazilian ballerinas New York City Ballet soloists Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Living people 1980s births Date of birth missing (living people) School of American Ballet alumni Mae L. Wien Award recipients Janice Levin Award dancers 21st-century Brazilian dancers 21st-century ballet dancers People from Porto Alegre Brazilian expatriates in the United States Indiana University faculty