English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer 2017 Competition – 5 Questions to 4 Finalists
English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer Competition is unique in British ballet in throwing the spotlight on more junior dancers or “tomorrow’s stars” as ENB put it. This year’s competition is on the 25 May and ahead of the that we talk to 4 of the 6 finalists – Isabelle Brouwers, Rina Kanehara, Madison Keesler and Guilherme Menezes…
Interview – Robert Barnett, former New York City Ballet dancer and longtime Artistic Director of Atlanta Ballet
Robert Barnett joined New York City Ballet in 1949. In those early years he worked closely with Balanchine and Robbins particularly before going on to direct Atlanta Ballet. Now 91 he is still actively involved in dance and passing on all he knows…
New York City Ballet – The Times are Racing, The Shimmering Asphalt, Fearful Symmetries – New York
★★★✰✰ More than anything, Peck’s “The Times are Racing” reminded me of the movie Rebel Without a Cause. These kids are uneasy, but what is the object of their unease?
Film: “Dancer” – Sergei Polunin documentary
“Dancer” has been given a few screenings in London, most recently as part of the BFI London Film Festival, with Polunin and the director, Steven Cantor, in attendance for Q&A sessions…
Wu Husheng and Qi Bingxue – Shanghai Ballet’s stars of Echoes of Eternity
After a successful season of Patrick de Bana’s Jane Eyre, back in 2013, Shanghai Ballet returns to the London Coliseum with the same choreographer’s Echoes of Eternity – we catch up with the stars of it – Wu Husheng and Qi Bingxue.
Gelsey Kirkland Ballet – Harlequinade, The Wedding Procession, Walpurgis Night – New York
★★★✰✰ This is no second-rate student group. The Gelsey Kirkland Academy is doing something right.
Compania Rocio Molina – Danzaora & Vinática – New York
★★★★★ Molina and her musicians capture flamenco’s traditional spirit and show its future…
Royal Ballet – Rhapsody, The Two Pigeons – London
★★★★★ “What a joy to have Rhapsody back in its original setting…”
A chat with Brooklyn Mack, Washington Ballet & English National Ballet Guest Artist
Brooklyn Mack dances with Washington Ballet but has recently been wowing British audiences with English National Ballet in their wonderful “Le Corsaire”. Margaret Willis, much impressed, caught up with him for a chat…
Michael Flatley – Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games – New York
Somewhere between Liberace and James Brown, there exists an entity otherwise known as Michael Flatley. His flamboyance – the blousy, satin shirts, the glittering jackets – knows no bounds, nor does his insistent, swaggering virility.
Sylvie Guillem – Life in Progress – New York
More than one dancer has been dubbed a “punk ballerina” but no one deserves it more than Sylvie Guillem, who has ruffled feathers at the world’s best companies, and at 50 years old is still on top.
American Ballet Theatre – 75th Anniversary Gala – New York
American Ballet Theatre know how to do a Gala and this was their 75th Anniversary as well – Everybody seemed to have a good time says Marina Harss…
Iberian Suite Festival – Compañía María Pagés in Utopía – Washington
…María Pagés infuses the essence and spirit of flamenco with modern sentiment.
Patricia McBride Honoured at The 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honours
McBride joined the New York City Ballet in 1959, and two years later, at the age of 18, she was promoted to the rank of principal, becoming the youngest principal dancer in the troupe’s history.
Rocio Molina – Bosque Ardora – London
What a strange world flamenco dancer Rocío Molina conjures up for us in her latest show…
Robert Wilson – The Old Woman, staring Mikhail Baryshnikov – New York
In the end, the real pleasure of the evening is watching two extraordinary showmen…
American Ballet Theatre – Cinderella – New York
To fully enjoy Ashton, one has to be willing to acquiesce to one’s own softer impulses, a sense of wonder and perhaps a little nostalgia, and to surrender the loveliness of small things.
Mark Morris Dance Group – Italian Concerto, A Wooden Tree, Jenn and Spencer, Crosswalk – Washington
The evening offered a sampler of Morris’s newly-minted works (A Wooden Tree, Jenn and Spencer and Crosswalk, all made in 2012-13) and his splendid Italian Concerto from 2007.
Royal Ballet – Tetractys -The Art of Fugue, Rhapsody, Gloria – London
The Royal Ballet’s latest triple bill has a happy beginning and a sad ending and in the middle there’s Wayne McGregor’s new piece, Tetractys, an emotionally-neutral blank sheet on which you can write your own feelings – or more likely, your own thoughts.
Ivan Putrov – Men in Motion (2014) – London
…the men Ivan Putrov has chosen for his latest Men in Motion programme are exceptional dance-interpreters, not self-glorifiers…
