San Francisco Ballet and School – Student Showcase, Promotions and Company Joiners
San Francisco exists in its own world, out here on the distant West Coast. The San Francisco Ballet, though, just became more global than ever, with new 2017-18 members joining from around the world. The company school, which presented its annual Student Showcase 31 May through 2 June at YBCA Theater, draws international students as well…
American Ballet Theatre – Whipped Cream – New York
★★★★✰ Alexei Ratmansky’s new ballet for ABT, Whipped Cream, is like a Viennese confection: so layered and airy that it takes a moment to fully take in the flavor of its many ingredients.
American Ballet Theatre – Don Quixote – New York
★★★★✰ Don Q is pure entertainment, the kind of extroverted spectacle that the ballet is so very good at.
Russian Ballet Icons Gala – In the steps of the Ballets Russes – London
★★★★✰ The long gala (three and a half hours with one interval) was well organised, with no speeches and no protracted curtain calls.
Memorable Performances of 2016 – London
Lynette Halewood with her personal selection of London dance memories from the past year…
Macedonian Ballet – Cleopatra in rehearsal – Skopje
How do you review a world premiere that you have spent seven hours flying to, and then find that it has been postponed until you are back home after another eight hours of travel?
Jerome Bel – Gala – London
★★★★✰ Jérôme Bel’s Gala turns the performer/spectator dynamic and the act of performance itself, inside-out…
Interview – Gary Harris on life and setting Kenneth MacMillan’s Anastasia for the Royal Ballet
Gary Harris has had one of the most varied ballet careers you can get… dancer, teacher, ballet master, artistic director, designer and notator. Now he’s working with the Royal Ballet to bring back Kenneth MacMillan’s Anastasia – Jann Parry went for a chat.
The Washington Ballet – 40th Anniversary Celebration – Washington
★★★✰✰ “Hi! I am Julie Kent, artistic director of the Washington Ballet.” Looking ravishing in her long strapless slivery-white gown, her hair immaculately styled, the new director of the Washington Ballet introduced herself to the audience of the fully-packed Eisenhower Theater…
Carlos Acosta – The Classical Farewell – London
★★★★✰ “Thank you, Carlos,” boomed one audience member as Acosta ended his performance by changing out of his dance gear, sitting meditatively on stage…
Gallery – Carlos Acosta in Don Quixote pas de deux
Part of Carlos Acosta’s “Classical Farewell” bill at the Royal Albert Hall. Gallery by Foteini Christofilopoulou…
Bolshoi Ballet – The Flames of Paris – London
★★★★✰ The great pleasure of Alexei Ratmansky’s version of Vasily Vainonen’s 1932 ballet is the cornucopia of steps to which both choreographers had access: danse d’école, folk and character dances, as well as expressive acting.
Bolshoi Ballet – Don Quixote – London
★★★★✰ The Bolshoi’s Don Quixote continues to delight for the exuberance and skill of its range of performers, with the corps de ballet and demi-soloists taking pride of place.
American Ballet Theatre – Spring Gala – New York
★★★★✰ It isn’t often that a gala program proves satisfying, but this one was the exception.
Carlos Acosta at IDFB – A Classical Farewell – Birmingham
★★★★✰ Winks, finger wags, flamboyant leaps in a criminally short leather skirt – Carlos Acosta gives the people what they want in this winsome bill, a mix of variations he’s assembled to mark his retirement after more than 25 years on stage.
Bolshoi Ballet Summer Season in London 2016
Press release – 11 April 2016 Victor Hochhauser presents BOLSHOI BALLET General Director: Vladimir Urin Artistic Director: Makhar Vaziev ROYAL OPERA HOUSE Monday 25 July – Saturday 13 August 2016 The Bolshoi Ballet…
Ave Maya Gala in Memory of Maya Plisetskaya – London
★★★✰✰ Every gala needs a revelation, and this one was provided by Sergio Bernal, a Spanish dancer who dominated the stage in an imperious farruca solo from Antonio’s flamenco version of The Three Cornered Hat…
Gemma Bond – Harvest: Being, Manner, Depuis le Jour, Then and Again – New York
★★★✰✰ ” Bond’s strength, for now, lies in a kind of old-fashioned insistence on beauty and her ability to coax sensitive, generous performances out of her dancers.”
San Francisco Ballet – Opening Night Gala – San Francisco
★★★✰✰ By way of a défilé, the evening opened with the “Waltz of the Hours” from Balanchine and Danilova’s Coppélia …Soloist Jennifer Stahl led two dozen girls from the SFB School, adorable in cotton-candy tutus.
