NBC News has posted an article and lovely video interview with Stella Abrera. The video has some rare clips of her dancing, clips we never see from ABT.
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The exquisite, gracious, enormously talented (and sadly under-utilized by ABT) corps de ballet dancer, Courtney Lavine, has officially been named by AVON as The Face of its new fragrance, Prima, which will debut in November. Congratulations to her and congratulations to AVON for choosing such an impeccably fine beauty and artist to join its team. Given AVON's huge presence in Russia, it should prove a boon to sales in that particular region to feature this beautiful dancer. This morning Allure Magazine launched a nice feature article online (this is for our friends at Ballet Alert – "ABT Fan" and other Lerts who use this blog as source material without attribution).
Photo from AVON via Allure
10 responses to “observations 8-4”
So happy for Courtney! She’s one of those ‘it’s about the entire package’ dancers that ABT doesn’t like anymore (arched feet and pizazz seem to be the order of the day). She may not have the highest jumps or the arches, but she’s so magnetic and floats across the stage like few of her colleagues can. Plus, that bone structure! She’s been picking up a few articles her and there (Vogue Paris featured her on their site) because she has that intangible ballerina aura. I’ve often thought she should move to a European company.
So happy for Courtney! She’s one of those ‘it’s about the entire package’ dancers that ABT doesn’t like anymore (arched feet and pizazz seem to be the order of the day). She may not have the highest jumps or the arches, but she’s so magnetic and floats across the stage like few of her colleagues can. Plus, that bone structure! She’s been picking up a few articles her and there (Vogue Paris featured her on their site) because she has that intangible ballerina aura. I’ve often thought she should move to a European company.
Congratulations to Courtney Lavine. This is wonderful!
Congratulations to Courtney Lavine. This is wonderful!
Thanks Zoot and J.
Yahoo’s Finance page has picked up the story with a little more detail:
“As part of her role with Avon, Courtney Lavine will appear on the cover of the Avon brochure which has a distribution of 5 million. She will also be featured on Avon.com and will appear on Avon’s social media channels, including the brand’s blog, BeautyforaPurpose.com.
Created in partnership with the prestigious fragrance house of Firmenich, Prima is an ethereal, floral-chypre fragrance – delicate, feminine and quietly powerful. The scent is a collaboration by two Firmenich perfumers, Frank Voelkl and Master Perfumer Harry Fremont. Prima opens with lush top notes of plum, balancing its sweetness with a hint of tangy bergamot. Next, it unfolds to reveal a rich heart of intoxicating rose, a stunning blossom with ruffled pink petals that echo the folds of a dancer’s skirt. Finally, there’s a jeté to rich clearwood: reminiscent of the satiny barres in a ballet studio, the woodsy note comes alive on skin, melding with oak moss and patchouli for a warm, poetically graceful finish.”
And a lovely bio of the dancer:
“About Courtney Lavine
The new face of Prima by Avon, rising dancer Courtney Lavine began her dance training at an early age, winning prestigious scholarships to the Washington Ballet School, and later, The School of American Ballet. In 2007, the Los Angeles native performed the lead role for New York City Ballet School’s Winter Gala, in a student performance of Romeo and Juliet at Lincoln Center. She joined American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in February 2010 and became a company member in August of that year. Her repertory includes solo roles in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty, Marcelo Gomes’ Aftereffect and Kevin McKenzie’s Swan Lake, as well as roles in all of American Ballet Theatre’s full-length ballets. The New York Times has singled out Lavine for praise, calling her “musicality and joyous dancing… a delight.””
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/avon-announces-ballet-inspired-fragrance-141300803.html
Thanks Zoot and J.
Yahoo’s Finance page has picked up the story with a little more detail:
“As part of her role with Avon, Courtney Lavine will appear on the cover of the Avon brochure which has a distribution of 5 million. She will also be featured on Avon.com and will appear on Avon’s social media channels, including the brand’s blog, BeautyforaPurpose.com.
Created in partnership with the prestigious fragrance house of Firmenich, Prima is an ethereal, floral-chypre fragrance – delicate, feminine and quietly powerful. The scent is a collaboration by two Firmenich perfumers, Frank Voelkl and Master Perfumer Harry Fremont. Prima opens with lush top notes of plum, balancing its sweetness with a hint of tangy bergamot. Next, it unfolds to reveal a rich heart of intoxicating rose, a stunning blossom with ruffled pink petals that echo the folds of a dancer’s skirt. Finally, there’s a jeté to rich clearwood: reminiscent of the satiny barres in a ballet studio, the woodsy note comes alive on skin, melding with oak moss and patchouli for a warm, poetically graceful finish.”
And a lovely bio of the dancer:
“About Courtney Lavine
The new face of Prima by Avon, rising dancer Courtney Lavine began her dance training at an early age, winning prestigious scholarships to the Washington Ballet School, and later, The School of American Ballet. In 2007, the Los Angeles native performed the lead role for New York City Ballet School’s Winter Gala, in a student performance of Romeo and Juliet at Lincoln Center. She joined American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in February 2010 and became a company member in August of that year. Her repertory includes solo roles in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty, Marcelo Gomes’ Aftereffect and Kevin McKenzie’s Swan Lake, as well as roles in all of American Ballet Theatre’s full-length ballets. The New York Times has singled out Lavine for praise, calling her “musicality and joyous dancing… a delight.””
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/avon-announces-ballet-inspired-fragrance-141300803.html
A bit late to the party, out of touch with the world during my once a year summer hideout 🙂 Thanks for this share Haglund and thrilled for Abrera and Lavine!
Seems the fashion world is catching onto the ballet world? A good thing I think? Especially to get some of the talented corps noticed by the public, a bit of PR won’t hurt! Look what it did for one (you know who Haglund!) :))) I see a few others having some PR of their own? It see Miss Waski is working on something with a cosmetics company!? And Royal with Gap? Good for all of them!
A bit late to the party, out of touch with the world during my once a year summer hideout 🙂 Thanks for this share Haglund and thrilled for Abrera and Lavine!
Seems the fashion world is catching onto the ballet world? A good thing I think? Especially to get some of the talented corps noticed by the public, a bit of PR won’t hurt! Look what it did for one (you know who Haglund!) :))) I see a few others having some PR of their own? It see Miss Waski is working on something with a cosmetics company!? And Royal with Gap? Good for all of them!
These types of endorsements are nothing new and certainly didn’t start with “you know who.” It’s good to see more of them although it would be better if ABT could avoid confusing endorsements with dancing ability in its casting decisions.
Decades ago Movado used very slick, arty ads with the incredibly photogenic Baryshnikov, Herrera, Kistler, Dvorovenko and others. Irina’s was especially an eye catcher.
Gap was flaunting Roberto Bolle in its store banner ads before Bolle was even well-known in the U.S.
These types of endorsements are nothing new and certainly didn’t start with “you know who.” It’s good to see more of them although it would be better if ABT could avoid confusing endorsements with dancing ability in its casting decisions.
Decades ago Movado used very slick, arty ads with the incredibly photogenic Baryshnikov, Herrera, Kistler, Dvorovenko and others. Irina’s was especially an eye catcher.
Gap was flaunting Roberto Bolle in its store banner ads before Bolle was even well-known in the U.S.