To kick off the LVHRD PRCSS Series, a select group of LVHRD members and their guests joined Kristin Sloan (NYC Ballet/ TheWinger.com) at the Lincoln Center on Friday, April 27th, for the final dress rehersal of the New York City Ballet’s all-new production of Romeo + Juliet.

At the intermission Kristin Sloan premiered her behind-the-curtain video documentaries on the making of R+J. The videos chronicle the massive undertaking of bringing director Peter Martins‘ new full-length version of R+J to life through various elements like costume, set design, music, and weaponry.

Following the ballet’s conclusion, LVHRD members joined the dancers, including leads Robert Fairchild and Sterling Hyltin, for cocktails in the green room to discuss the epochal amounts of hard work they’ve put into making the NYC Ballet’s R+J a reality.

The ballet itself is a powerful, sweeping sonata, as ambitious as it is minimal in execution. The sparse sets by Dutch painter Per Kirkeby consist mainly of brilliant swashes of red and green, fading and blaring to the mounting tensions between the Montagues and Capulets. The costumes have been kept sparse and vivid; the major accouterment on the dancers are Kirkeby’s brushstrokes on the costumes themselves. Prokofiev's classic score, heard briefly in Kristin’s videos, is impossible to forget once you have seen it live backing Peter Martins’ direction.

TRGCLV was the first event in LVHRD’s PRCSS Series. The PRCSS Series offers a privileged look into the professional lives and creative exploits of some of LVHRD’s membership. With an emphasis on process, development, and ideation, this series is designed to explore the blurry terrain between point A and point B.

Look for upcoming events in the PRCSS Series such as collaborative garment manufacturing to further explore the professional methodology of LVHRD’s diverse membership. We hope you will take the time to see for yourself how well the NYCB’s efforts have paid off with Romeo + Juliet.