Oksana Khadarina writes about dance in the Washington area since 2006. She is a member of the Dance Critics Association. Fine art photography and playing classical piano are among her other interests.
Under are the articles written for DanceTabs. Reviews on Balletco
San Francisco Ballet – Cinderella – Washington
★★★✰✰ Yet for all its narrative surprises and witty designs, this Cinderella is a curiously underwhelming work when it comes to the choreography.
Suzanne Farrell Ballet – Danses Concertantes, Gounod Symphony, Stars and Stripes – Washington
★★★★✰ Watching this immensely entertaining program one realizes that even a minor Balanchine ballet is still a great ballet.
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…
National Ballet of Canada – Giselle – Toronto
★★★★✰ On opening night, Svetlana Lunkina in the title role gave one of those unique performances in which the ballerina completely disappears into her heroine, putting her entire living self into the role.
National Ballet of Canada – Le Petit Prince – Toronto
★★★✰✰ Since its publication nearly 75 years ago, de Saint-Exupéry’s “Le Petit Prince,” a short illustrated novella about an improbable encounter between an aviator and a young space traveler, has captivated the hearts of millions of children and adults alike…
Royal Swedish Ballet – Juliet and Romeo – Washington
★★★✰✰ The production nevertheless intrigues the eye and is fueled by the exceptional dancing of the company’s talented and dedicated dancers.
Washington Ballet – Hamlet – Washington
★★✰✰✰ There is, however, one undeniably compelling personage in this somewhat flat production of Hamlet – the quiet and fragile Ophelia, as portrayed by Venus Villa…
New York City Ballet – La Sylphide, Bournonville Divertissements – Washington
★★★✰✰ In his staging of La Sylphide, Martins not only removes the intermission, thus shortening the performance time, he also accelerates the pace of the events. It feels as if the story rushes at you with…
New York City Ballet – Works By Balanchine, Martins, Peck and Wheeldon – Washington
★★★✰✰ The first of two mixed programs that New York City Ballet presented at the Kennedy Center Opera House in March offered a wide variety of works…
Washington Ballet – PRISM, State of Wonder, and In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated – Washington
★★★✰✰ All the pieces on the program were united by a common thread – the athleticism, authority and technical prowess of the company’s dancers…
Mariinsky Ballet – Raymonda – Washington
The Mariinsky Ballet brought Raymonda to Washington where Oksana Khadarina saw the opening night and gave it ★★★. A night later the performance got ★★★★ – different ballerinas, different result…
American Ballet Theatre – The Sleeping Beauty – Washington
★★★★✰ “Ratmansky’s new staging is a Beauty like you have never seen before: it uncovers the original ballet’s genuine beauty, which faded over the years under the clutter of modern revisions.”
National Ballet of Canada – The Winter’s Tale – Washington
★★★★✰ Despite the monumental levels of snow in Washington nothing was going to stop Oksana Khadarina from seeing the National Ballet of Canada in Christopher Wheeldon’s “The Winter’s Tale”. And in two casts as well…
Interview: Karen Kain – Artistic Director, National Ballet of Canada
The much admired Karen Kain has been directing the National Ballet of Canada for 10 years now – Oksana Khadarina catches up with her as the company prepare to visit Washington with Christopher Wheeldon’s “Winter’s Tale”…
Suzanne Farrell Ballet – Walpurgisnacht Ballet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Emeralds – Washington
Suzanne Farrell Ballet’s new program, “Balanchine, Béjart, and the Bard,” presented at the Kennedy Center Opera House at the end of October, was dedicated to the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. It offered an appealing mix of four ballets
Interview: Suzanne Farrell – Artistic Director
We talk to Farrell about her summer program, her approach to teaching aspiring ballet dancers, her studies and work with George Balanchine and also about her her company and its new season at the Kennedy Center, which runs 30 Oct – 1 Nov 2015.
The Royal Ballet – Don Quixote – Washington
At 42, Acosta is still a powerful presence. A much-loved artist around the world, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest male dancers of his generation.
Eifman Ballet – Rodin – Washington
“People say I think too much about women; yet, after all, what is there more important to think about?” So mused Auguste Rodin…
Scottish Ballet – A Streetcar Named Desire – Washington
This smartly-conceived and expertly-developed translation of prose to movement was a result of an artistic partnership between film and theater director Nancy Meckler and choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, well-known in Washington for her collaboration with the Washington Ballet.
New York City Ballet – Symphonic Dances, Pictures at an Exhibition, This Bitter Earth, Everywhere We Go – Washington
New York City Ballet’s second bill in Washington was all about 21st-Century Choreographers, with works by Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck and Peter Martins.
