Nadia Nerina and Isabel Rawsthorne exhibitions at the Royal Opera House
Rawsthorne was painted by André Derain and Pablo Picasso, and later by Francis Bacon. She was the inspiration for Alberto Giacometti’s etiolated sculptures of walking figures…
San Francisco Ballet – Guide to Strange Places, Beaux, Rite of Spring – San Francisco
Possokhov’s Rite of Spring is a mixture of mostly good choices with a few that seem rather odd to me.
Hamburg Ballet – Nijinsky – San Francisco
It’s Valentine’s Day and I wish I could write a “love letter” review to the Hamburg Ballet. I am not being sentimental – this company is full of incredible dancers, from principals to corps de ballet…
Mikhail Baryshnikov – the Art Collector
What one does not see much of, at least at first glance, is nostalgia for the motherland. “I never had nostalgia about anything,” Baryshnikov says.
Australian Ballet – Rachel Rawlins and Colin Peasley bid farewell
Rawlins, 39, shared the numerous curtain calls with Colin Peasley, who must surely have broken some records for the longest full-time dancing career with one ballet company in history. His first appearance with the Australian Ballet was in Swan Lake in November 1962…
Suzanne Farrell Ballet – Autumn 2012 Program B – Washington
The company premiere of The Prodigal Son was the centerpiece and highlight of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet’s second all-Balanchine program at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater – a program that also included Divertimento No. 15 and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.
Rambert Dance Company – Labyrinth of Love, Roses, Dutiful Ducks, Sounddance – London
All up ‘Labyrinth of Love’ is a wonderful creative endeavour, a great looker, but an extra dash of audience accessibility is needed. We go “Wow”, rather than “Wow, I really loved what that had to say”
New York City Ballet – Apollo, Orpheus, Agon – New York
What is there to say about Orpheus, except that it seems to slip deeper into the recesses of time? I’ve read that at the première, the critic and poet Edwin Denby was so moved by it that he sat dumbfounded during intermission, unable to stand. It is difficult to imagine such a reaction today.
Paris Opera Ballet – Giselle – New York
The arrival of the wilis takes one’s breath away. Not only are they individually beautiful, with their soft port-de-bras and milky-white shoulders, but they are all eerily the same, in every way: same size, same build, same arms, same tilt of the head, same gaze, same feet.
Paris Opera Ballet – Suite en Blanc, L’Arlesienne, Bolero – New York
Nicolas Le Riche was fabulously predatory in Bolero, a raging furnace of self-love and sex appeal. One imagines that after the show he must have ravaged a hundred virgins, but maybe he simply went home and soaked his feet in the tub, but in any case, he was magnificent, good taste (and choreography) be damned.
Australian Ballet – Infinity Mixed Bill & Swan Lake – New York
How can a company make good impression with just a few performances of one or two programs? The pieces have to be representative, interesting, and show the company in a the best possible light. It’s not easy, as the recent Lincoln Center performances of Australian Ballet have shown.
La Création du Monde – A Post-War Cubist Collage Returns to the Stage
On 24 May CCN Ballet de Lorraine of Nancy will premiere “La Création du Monde, 1923-2012” for the KVS Festival in Brussels. Our re-creation of the original Ballets Suédois production is the centrepiece for a new work by Congolese choreographer, Faustin Linyekula.
English National Ballet – Beyond Ballets Russes, Programme 2 – London
In format Suite en Blanc reminds me a little of Harald Lander’s Etudes, and it certainly fulfils the same purpose in providing the company with a spectacular programme-closer. ENB may be going through a difficult period but they don’t let it show on stage.
English National Ballet – Beyond Ballet Russes, Programme 1 – London
Firebird: To Williamson’s credit, the action, though baffling, never palls. He knows how to deploy a diverse cast, using an interesting vocabulary of classical ballet steps and partnering. He’s obviously fired up his dancers to commit themselves to their roles, flaunting their glitzy costumes with panache. But it’s a muddled piece, overpowered by Stravinsky’s myth-making music.
Boston Ballet – Simply Sublime triple bill – Boston
Symphony in Three Movements: This collaboration of two of the giants of 20th century art (Balanchine, Stravinsky) was clearly a marriage made in heaven, and thanks to Boston Ballet’s newest production, we got to attend the nuptials.
Marrinsky Ballet – Chopiniana, The Firebird, Scheherazade – Washington
Balancing spectacular dancing with stirring drama, the Mariinsky dancers delivered a riveting, unforgettable performance. I left the Opera House with wonderful memories…
