7 replies to this topic

[dirac]

Reviews of the Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet.

The Independent

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The Firebird is a fierce folk tale, with a brilliant ballerina role at its heart. At first, Ekaterina Kondaurova makes a fashion plate Firebird, her eyelashes black underneath and crimson on top. She dances with growing command and at her best when driving the villain's minions to dance. Every gesture is imperious and grand: of course they obey. Andri Emrakov is a confident Ivan Tsarevich, taking a world of monsters and enchanted princesses in his stride.

The Guardian

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Diana Vishneva and Igor Zelensky are completely compelling as Zobeide and the Golden Slave. Initially, the silky, mannered eroticism of their dancing appears exaggerated to the point of narcissism. Yet they're portraying two beautiful creatures, reared in captivity for decoration and sex. Zobeide only knows how to move like a concubine, the Slave like a show animal (at 42, Zelensky dances like a man 10 years his junior). When a glimmer of spontaneous emotion breaks through their love duet, the effect is peculiarly touching.

[dirac]

Natalia Miroshnyk of the Moscow Ballet teaches classes in Galesburg, Illinois.

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Prior to class, Miroshnyk said this is her third week of teaching summer intensives throughout the United States. Other stops on her tour include California, Kentucky, Ohio and Minnesota. “I like it very much,” said Miroshnyk, a graduate of the Kiev Academic Choreographic School in Ukraine. “It’s just five days, but I try to do my best, and I hope it’s a big experience for them.”

Miroshnyk said if the students take one thing from the intensive, she hopes they focus on arms, shoulders and head positions.

[dirac]

Q&A with Mark Allyn Nimmo of Nashville Ballet.

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What is your dream role as a dancer? If you could dance any role...what would it be and why?

Romeo. There is no role I can think of that allows a man to become as vulnerable on stage as Romeo.

What is the brightest spot on your resume...what role/work is your most favorite?

Doing Greek Dreams by Erick Hawkins. Not many dancers can say they have done any of Mr. Hawkins'work.

[dirac]

A report on the Royal New Zealand Ballet's reception in the U.K. by John Daly-Peoples in The National Business Review.

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Known for being notoriously tough, UK critics praised the RNZB’s performances of the triple bill From Here to There with the Evening Standard writing that

“The Royal New Zealand ballet is a textbook case of how a small company can defy the definitions that size usually brings.” While The Telegraph said “These New Zealanders are more than capable of hot-blooded abandon.”

[dirac]

Alicia Alonso is honored in Moscow.

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Alicia Alonso is visiting Russia for the 17th time now. For the first time she visited the former Soviet Union in 1957 because she wanted to dance the part of Giselle, which later brought her the world fame. She was also a great success in the Russian classical ballet “Swan Lake” by Tchaikovsky. She was traumatized three times during her first tour to Russia but continued dancing. Although at the age of 37 her eyesight worsened - she was practically blind at that time - Alicia Alonso performed on the stage until the age of 75! This is incredible!  

[dirac]

An interview with Joey McKneely, who is restaging West Side Story's choreography in the Chicago production of the revival.

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McKneely, who worked closely as a dancer with Robbins on "Jerome Robbins' Broadway," helped craft the splice. "I always worked with Robbins' vocabulary, but asked, 'How can I put these two approaches together?' For the opening, I altered the arms, putting them into fists, so they became aggressive, little things like that. Half of the sailing step remained, the lower half. But we have an edgier line as opposed to a ballet one, because anytime you cross the gap from gang to ballet, you risk parody."

In another dramatic change, Laurents and McKneely cut the ballet to "Somewhere" in half, with McKneely devising an ending. And while McKneely retains the breathtaking rush to the front of the stage by the male dancers in "Cool," Laurents essentially restaged much of that number, including some shocking but funny risque imagery unthinkable in 1957.

[dirac]

A bipartisan effort defeats the governor's attempt to slash arts funding in South Carolina.

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But when Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina tried to zero out money for the arts in her state budget last month, both parties said no. The House and the Senate, both controlled by Republicans, voted to override the Republican governor’s veto of $1.9 million in funding for the South Carolina Arts Commission. The House vote was 105-8 ; the Senate 32-6 .

“We had strong, solid bi-partisan support,” said State Representative James E. Smith, Jr., a Democrat from Richland County,who started the legislature’s arts caucus. “It’s a smart investment for our state. It means jobs and economic opportunity and a better quality of life.”

[dirac]

"Where the Heart Is" wins the Helpmann Award for Best Dance Work.

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One of two Helpmanns claimed by the Brisbane-based ensemble for Where the Heart Is, the accolade cements the blue-ribbon position of Expressions Dance Company and its director Natalie Weir against the likes of BalletLab, Bangara, and international choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Akram Khan.