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[dirac]

A review of "Various Positions," a new novel by Martha Schabas, by CindyMarie Small for The Winnipeg Free Press.

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There is no escaping it. This beautifully descriptive and disturbing debut novel is destined to draw comparisons with last year's Hollywood hit movie Black Swan.

Both the film and the novel use the world of ballet as their setting. Both stories draw extensively upon the notion that the world of ballet offers an escape from the growing sexual feelings that "normal" teenagers explore. And both force their audience into an uneasy state as they bear witness to the downward spirals of their unstable protagonists.

[dirac]

A review of Jose Manuel Carreno's farewell by Marina Harss for The Faster Times.

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This was in complete contrast with the “black swan” pas de deux, in which Carreño and Murphy were two like two naughty, impossibly glamorous children, pulling out all the stops. They pushed each other to ever-greater heights, until she exploded into a series of triumphant fouetté turns, mixed in with double, triple, and perhaps even a quadruple turn. Carreño, whose panther-like jumps have seen some diminishment in recent seasons (understandable, at 43), matched her with his turns “à la seconde,” with the free leg extended out to the side, to which he added a few doubles and at least one triple of his own. It was a circus, and it was beautiful—of course, the crowd went wild.

[dirac]

A preview of New York City Ballet's Saratoga season by Jay Rogoff in The Saratogian.

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Jewels” marks one gleaming highlight, a three-part evening of sheer balletic beauty that Balanchine created in 1967 to display his ballerinas in different moods and modes. The work pays homage to French Romanticism in “Emeralds,” jazzy American modernism in “Rubies,” and Russian classicism in “Diamonds.” Watch for shimmering performances by swoony Jenifer Ringer and Abi Stafford in “Emeralds,” and fleet Sterling Hyltin and Megan Fairchild in “Rubies”; quicksilver Ashley Bouder, remarkably, will alternate in both. Three divine NYCB queens — Wendy Whelan, Sara Mearns, and Maria Kowroski — will lend “Diamonds” majesty.

Related article.

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The 17 works include George Balanchine’s sumptuous three-act “Jewels” and many shorter pieces. Most performances consist of three or four dances. These capsule descriptions should help you plan your ballet-going.