★★★★✰ After nearly a year away from dancing for live audiences Australian Ballet are back with a gala - Summertime at the Ballet - and at an unusual location, the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne.
Tag - Theme and Variations
Carlos Acosta chats to Graham Watts about how things are going after his first few months at the artistic helm of Birmingham Royal Ballet & the impact that Covid-19 has had on his plans...
★★★★✰ The fewer the speeches, the better the gala – this universal truth seems to have bypassed the organizers at American Ballet Theatre...
★★★★★ As you would expect Diamonds was the highlight of the three part Jewels.
★★★✰✰ In Bartók Ballet, which coexists but does not comment on the music, the dancers explore a huge range of steps and quotations...
Other years have been more exciting, I think, but this one has had its share of remarkable performances, including a few thrilling ones. Here, in no particular order, are the ones that really stood out, for one reason or another.
★★★★✰ The first Emeralds ballerina, Beatriz Stix-Brunell, could be a water nymph, touching the hands of her suitor, Valeri Hristov, in the opening pas de deux before drifting out of reach.
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...
★★★★✰ This is dancing that makes one hungry for more.
★★★★✰ San Francisco Ballet (SFB) saved the best for its last mixed bill of the 2016 season.
★★★✰✰ 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.
★★★★✰ (20), ★★★✰✰ (21) The temperature in Glass Pieces was uncharacteristically low. Under the baton of Clotilde Otranto, the orchestra sounded muffled...
Yet again the Trocks had a fabulous critical reception during their Autumn UK tour and mentioned in nearly every review was Chase Johnsey, or in Trocks speak their petite ballerina Yakatarina Verbosovich. So what makes Chase/Yakatarina tick? Time for an interview...
"I feel as though now that I’m older, working smart is the best thing as a dancer and artist. It’s not about NOT trying as hard as when I was younger, but really thinking about things."
ABT galas are more laid-back than City Ballet’s; they’re less “produced,” with fewer speeches or slick video presentations. For the most part, the company just gets on with the show, with minimum fuss.
Gallery by Dave Morgan...
A great Liebeslieder is like a short story, a complete world in fifty minutes of dancing; this Liebeslieder is still a work in progress.
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...
Boston Ballet closed its season with a generous offering of four ballets spanning almost 70 years... and including a world premiere and two company premieres...
After a week of modernist works by Balanchine set mostly to Stravinsky, Hindemith, Webern, there’s no denying that a night of French music falls sweetly on the ear.