Alluring Role for Paris Ballet’s Hannah O’Neill

Hannah O’Neill, 24, a New Zealander who joined the Paris Opéra Ballet company in 2011, is “a beguiling” Titania, Paul Jennings writes in an Observer review of the Opéra Bastille performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“Wide-eyed and feline, [O’Neill] embraces the sensual infoldings of Balanchine’s choreography with instinctive ease,” Jennings says.

“This two-act work was secured for the Paris Opéra Ballet by Benjamin Millepied, who resigned as director of the company last year. It was a smart choice, as was Millepied’s decision to commission new sets and costumes from Christian Lacroix. The result retains the delicate magic of the New York production, but is infused with a whimsical Parisian chic.”

O’Neill studied at Tokyo’s Kishibe Ballet Studio and the Australian Ballet School. She has won the Youth America Grand Prix and the Prix de Lausanne.

Original article by Paul Jennings, The Observer, April 2, 2017.

Photo by Agathe Poupeney.