
Memorable Performances of 2016 – New York
Marina Harss with her personal selection of New York dance memories this last year…

New York City Ballet – Apollo, The Four Temperaments, Duo Concertant, Symphony in Three Movements – Paris
★★★★✰ The pleasure, above all, in watching this company is their fearless super-charge of energy and their commitment as the inheritors of Balanchine’s ballets.

New York City Ballet – 21st Century Choreographers & Classic NYCB I bills – New York
★★★★✰ New York is a good place to be in springtime.

Miami City Ballet – Opening Night Gala: Serenade, Symphonic Dances – New York
★★★★✰ This is dancing that makes one hungry for more.

Kathleen Breen Combes – Principal, Boston Ballet
I was told my body type wasn’t really ideal, and during high school I had ballet teachers who said that maybe I should consider pursuing college because my body wasn’t suitable for classical ballet…

New York City Ballet – some Balanchine Black and White Festival debuts – New York
There were three débuts at New York City Ballet last night: Zachary Catazaro in Apollo, Russell Janzen in Duo Concertant, and Lauren King in the role I think of as the “jumping girl” in Symphony in Three Movements.

New York City Ballet – Apollo, Agon, Duo Concertant, Symphony in Three Movements – New York
The New York City Ballet spring season is off to the races with a week devoted to George Balanchine, specifically the “black-and-white” ballets that for many have come to define his style.

Boston Ballet – Program B: Symphony in Three Movements, L’Apres-Midi d’un Faune, Plan to B, Bella Figura – New York
…the dancers seem able to handle whatever comes their way. It’s a quality that will serve them well in their travels.

New York City Ballet – Black & White Balanchine bill – New York
What most struck me on this particular evening was the transparency, and clarity of intention, that marked each work.

Boston Ballet – Serenade, Afternoon of a Faun, Plan to B, Symphony in Three Movements – London
The first bravo for the Boston Ballet’s return to London must go to artistic director Mikko Nissinen, for his clever and highly successful programming for opening night.

Gallery – Boston Ballet in Serenade, Afternoon of a Faun, Plan to B, Symphony in Three Movements
20 pictures by Dave Morgan…

Ballet Across America – Richmond Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theater, Boston Ballet – Washington
It’s a celebration of American ballet from coast to coast and a vivid snapshot of its diversity of style and repertory.

San Francisco Ballet – Criss-Cross, Francesca da Rimini, Symphony in Three Movements – San Francisco
Program 7 made me think a lot about this tricky issue of programming because this bill is a weird sandwich made with a delectable gourmet filling between slices of bland Wonder bread.

Troy Schumacher – Satellite Ballet & New York City Ballet – Choreographer and dancer
Dance is a difficult thing to experience outside of the theatre, but for the sustainability of the artform it has to find a way to make itself more widely available.

Royal Danish Ballet – Thomas Lund’s farewell: The Lesson/La Sylphide – Copenhagen
Several times during the evening I wondered how much anyone who happened never to have seen Lund before would have understood about him from this performance. They would have learnt about his peerless Bournonville technique, and about his ability to get under the skin of the character he’s playing…

New York City Ballet – Black and White program – New York
I’ve noticed two troubling trends this season at New York City Ballet. Perhaps they are connected. The first is the creeping tendency toward stolid tempi from the pit…

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.