American Ballet Theatre – A Month in the Country premiere and bill – New York
Has there ever been a more sensitive, sympathetic chronicler of that inner flutter brought on by the onset of love than Frederick Ashton? It seems unlikely, on the evidence of ABT’s premiere of A Month in the Country…
Boston Ballet – Coppélia – Boston
Boston audiences were very lucky in their first two Swanildas. Opening night, Misa Kuranaga was a vision of loveliness…
International Ballet Festival 2013 – Dance Open – St Petersburg
The 12th International Ballet Festival – Dance Open – was held over 4 days in St Petersburg. Margaret Willis (our Ms Expressivity) was there to report on much ballet and not a little award giving…
American Ballet Theatre – Spring Gala – New York
Symphony in C, a luminous outpouring of legs and arms, crisp geometries, bobbing rhythms, and articulate patter-like conversations for the feet, is a vivid reminder of why one goes to the ballet at all. Luminosity and classical logic, laced with wit and intelligence.
City Center – On Your Toes – New York
Along the way, the show strings together some memorably ravishing songs and knock-out dance numbers while having fun…
Boston Ballet – Chroma, Serenade, Symphony in C – Boston
Chroma: Perhaps it’s meant as a kind of sherbet to clear the palate between the Balanchine pieces… In short, I found the ballet dazzling but soulless.
New York City Ballet – Spring Gala with Wheeldon premiere – New York
But ‘A Place for Us’ (new Wheeldon) feels like a bauble, not quite a jewel.
New York City Ballet – Who Cares?, Ivesiana, Tarantella, Stars & Stripes – New York
But stuck in the middle of all this brightness was Ivesiana, like a ghost at a birthday party. It is a most unsettling ballet.
Christopher Wheeldon – Choreographer
Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is currently at the San Francisco Ballet preparing for the American premiere of his Cinderella. He has a rehearsal in forty-five minutes so we quickly set off to discuss his latest full-length ballet and many other things…
American Ballet Theatre – Symphony in C, Moor’s Pavane, Symphony #9 – Washington
…with choreographic masterpieces by George Balanchine and José Limón and a Washington D.C. premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s new work, this ABT program was in every way a balletomane’s dream come true.
American Ballet Theatre – Hong Kong Arts Festival Season – Hong Kong
The season began with a high-energy mixed bill which showed the company on sparkling form.
Dance Theatre of Harlem – April 2013 Revival bill – New York
Johnson has a challenge on her hands. So much potential and so much talent; but what is the mission?
New York City Ballet – Swan Lake, Allegro Brillante, Tsch Suite No. 3 – Washington
The revitalizing impact of Balanchine’s choreography on Tchaikovsky’s music was particularly evident in the all-Tchaikovsky, all-Balanchine program presented by New York City Ballet at the Kennedy Center Opera House during the last week of March.
Mikhailovsky Ballet – Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness – London, Coliseum
His choreography is busy, occasionally predictable, but more often inventive, strong on musicality and both remarkably fluid and emotionally charged; stretching the dancers both literally and in terms of their artistic diversity.
Toba Singer, writer, on Fernando Alonso – The Father Of Cuban Ballet
Alonso trained the first generation of Cuban dancers, among who there were many standouts, but the most well-known in Cuba were the “Four Jewels” of Cuban ballet: Josefina Méndez, Mirta Pla, Aurora Bosch, and Loipa Araújo (now Associate Artistic Director of English National Ballet)
Russian Ballet Icons – Nijinsky Gala – London
Though this year it was Nijinsky’s turn to be reclaimed as a Russian icon, the contents of the gala had little to do with him. Very probably the choice of items – mainly pas de deux – depended on which dancers were available to perform whatever was in their repertoire.
Yasuko Yokoshi – Bell – New York
Some experiments sound better on paper – especially when one admires the artist behind them – than they turn out to be in reality.
San Francisco Ballet – From Foreign Lands, Scotch Symphony, Golden Hour – San Francisco
From Foreign Lands: “This amusing, yet subtle send-up of classical ballet is rewarding in its expertly-shaped choreography, and made all the more appealing by the slight wackiness of the costumes and visual jokes.”
Peter Boal – Pacific Northwest Ballet – Artistic Director
So how long does he see himself staying on the far side of America? “Well, I am just about to sign another six year contract,” he grinned…
Royal Ballet – Apollo, 24 Preludes, Aeternum – London
This triple bill, with two world premieres, shows how ably choreographers 85 years apart can refresh the language of classical ballet without distorting it beyond recognition.
