Gillian Anne Renault

Atlanta

Senior Editor, Art+Design and Dance at ArtsATL

chaplain. writer. arts lover

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Articles

Atlanta Ballet’s 2025-26 season spans centuries, from Petipa to Balanchine

1 month ago | ajc.com | Gillian Anne Renault

This story was originally published by ArtsATL. Atlanta Ballet’s 2025-26 season will include three full-length story ballets — “Frida,” based on the life of artist Frida Kahlo, “The Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker” — along with six shorter works in two mixed bills, in September 2025 and April 2026.
Everyday Heroes: Atlanta composer brings unexpected art to metro Atlanta areas

Nov 29, 2024 | ajc.com | Gillian Anne Renault

Atlantans probably wouldn’t recognize composer and classical pianist Malek Jandali if they bumped into him on the street, but they would recognize his pianos. All 500 of them. That’s how many pianos his nonprofit Pianos for Peace has placed in metro Atlanta schools, nursing homes, MARTA stations, hospitals, colleges and even Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. “When we put a piano in an unexpected place, we change the narrative,” Jandali said recently.
Atlantan helps choreographer bring American Ballet Theatre premiere to life

Oct 30, 2024 | ajc.com | Gillian Anne Renault

This story was originally published by ArtsATL. Sarah Hillmer’s latest work notebook is mauve. Or maybe, she says upon reflection, it’s a light purple/lavender mix? Hillmer is very particular about her notebooks. Each ballet she has worked on as a rehearsal director, stager or assistant to the choreographer — and there have been dozens — warrants a notebook of a different color. Each one is a lined composition book from Walmart or Target.
Choreographer honors ancestors in tribute to indigenous, Latino communities

Oct 2, 2024 | ajc.com | Gillian Anne Renault

This story was originally published by ArtsATL. Feathers, drums, flowers and smoke, the sound of rattles, the beauty of ribbons, swirling skirts, dancers old and young, ritual, poetry, song, music, mythology and more filled the Schwartz Center’s Dance Studio on Sept. 28 as dancer-choreographer Julio Medina’s mesmerizing new work “return//de vuelta a los ancestros”unfurled.
Atlanta-based dancers raised creative heat during the summer months

Sep 6, 2024 | ajc.com | Gillian Anne Renault |Carly Wynans

This story was originally published by ArtsATL. What did you do on your summer vacation? It’s a common question, but, when asked of ballet dancers, it can elicit far more interesting and unusual answers than stories of road trips and beach getaways. Ballet companies traditionally give dancers the summers off before launching busy fall seasons.
To create movement for Finster Fest, Beacon Dance channels visionary artist

Aug 5, 2024 | ajc.com | Gillian Anne Renault

This story was originally published by ArtsATL. In 2023, when D. Patton White and his company Beacon Dance performed at a Buckhead home during a private event for the Paradise Garden Foundation, the organization that operates and preserves artist Howard Finster’s 4-acre folk art environment in Summerville, Georgia, they were astonished to see the hosts’ extensive museum-quality collection of art by Finster and other outsider artists.
Atlanta Ballet's 'Nighthawks' sets Wynton Marsalis to movement

May 7, 2024 | artsatl.org | Gillian Anne Renault

Atlanta Ballet’s choreographer in residence, Claudia Schreier, loves the energy of big cities. Her new work for the company celebrates that energy with music by another city-dweller, composer and bandleader Wynton Marsalis. Quick, who’s your favorite ballet composer? Tchaikovsky maybe? Prokofiev? Stravinsky? Wynton Marsalis?
Dance Canvas nurtures choreographic talent, brings it to the stage

Mar 21, 2024 | ajc.com | Gillian Anne Renault

This story was originally published by ArtsATL. Anyone who’s been to the movies recently has seen an abundance of work by talented choreographers: Constanza Macras created Emma Stone’s wild solo in “Poor Things,” Justin Peck paid tribute to Jerome Robbins in “Maestro,” Fatima Robinson drew on African-American social dance in “The Color Purple” and Jennifer White gave audiences stupendous silliness in her “Barbie”dance sequences.
Atlanta Ballet’s 2024-25 season to include ‘Coppélia,’ three world premieres

Mar 5, 2024 | ajc.com | Gillian Anne Renault

This story was originally published by ArtsATL. While watching “Coco Chanel: A Life in Fashion,” Atlanta Ballet’s full-length production that premiered last month, artistic director Gennadi Nedvigin got an idea. He would invite resident choreographer Claudia Schreier to create a new work for the 2024-25 season set to Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.”It was one of many decisions Nedvigin has made in recent months to program the company’s upcoming season, which was announced this week.
News: Atlanta Ballet's 2024-25 season to include "Coppélia," three world premieres

Mar 5, 2024 | artsatl.org | Gillian Anne Renault

While watching Coco Chanel: A Life in Fashion, Atlanta Ballet’s full-length production that premiered last month, Artistic Director Gennadi Nedvigin got an idea. He would invite resident choreographer Claudia Schreier to create a new work for the 2024-25 season set to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. It was one of many decisions Nedvigin has made in recent months to program the company’s upcoming season, which was announced today.