10 replies to this topic

[dirac]

A UPI obituary for Miguel Terekhov, whose death was reported yesterday.

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Famed dancer Miguel Terekhov has died of complications of fibrosis of the lungs at the Texas home of his daughter, his representatives said. He was 83.

[dirac]

Riolama Lorenzoannounces her retirement from Pennsylvania Ballet.

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Lorenzo also holds a bachelor's degree in health science from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

She and her husband have a 4-year-old boy and 6-month-old girl. Lorenzo says she is looking forward to spending more time with her family after she leaves the stage.

[dirac]

A letter to the editor of The Salt Lake Tribune calls for ballet audiences to dress up more.


After arriving at the Capitol Theatre, it was clear that most people had different dress standards. Almost everyone was in jeans, sports jerseys and very casual clothing.

Ever since Brigham Young chose to settle here, Utah has had a very rich cultural history, and we should respect that tradition. When the ballet becomes a movie-theater-attire event, it worries me.

[dirac]

A feature on Assemblé Dancewear, purveyor of pointe shoes to the dancers of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, by Stewart Oksenhorn in The Aspen Times.

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Even if Assemblé were as close as the Aspen Business Center, though, the experience would have the feel of a rite of passage. Amend is a 240-pound, 58-year-old Denver Nuggets fanatic in a baseball cap whose friendliness is balanced by a complete air of competence. (It doesn't hurt that his reputation precedes him.) He did his first shoe-fitting in 1978. "July, 1978," he specifies. Then he gets into "the system" — a nearly two-hour session that is a combination ballet class, medical exam and advanced lecture on neuromusculature with some personal-improvement life coaching thrown in. Surrounded by walls of dance shoes, we get an education in spacers, shanks, sickling and shoes, both Russian and Japanese.

[dirac]

Richmond Balletwill perform in London.

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The 400-seat Linbury theater is a technologically advanced space, with retractable seating and a stage floor that can be raised or lowered. It often serves as the venue for performances by the Royal Ballet School.

Richmond's entire professional company of about 20 people will travel to England in June, Winslett said. It will perform pieces that emphasize classic American ballet style from artists like George Balanchine and John Butler, as well as pieces commissioned by the company. "Made in America: Traditions and Innovations" features Balanchine's "Valse Fantaisie," Butler's "After Eden," Ma Cong's "Ershter Vals" and Val Caniparoli's "Swipe."

[dirac]

A review of the Mikhailovsky'sproduction of 'The Sleeping Beauty' by Raymond Stults in The Moscow Times.

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The result, however, which had its premiere in mid-December, turned out quite differently. Instead of rejecting Petipa, Duato essentially followed him, with many twists and turns, from beginning to end.

Huge and sometimes puzzling cuts were made in the ballet's nearly three hours of music, reducing the performance time, intermissions included, to just two hours and 40 minutes. Some parts of Petipa's choreography were so distorted as to be out of sync with the music. And sequences were liberally lifted, without credit in the program, from the work of other choreographers who, over the course of the past 121 years, have made their own adaptations to the original.

[dirac]

A story on the new book Luminous: Celebrating 50 years of the Australian Ballet.

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The book also includes rare images from early tours of Ballets Russes in the 1930s and 1940s, and the Borovansky Ballet, the precursor to the Australian Ballet.

These images, by photographers such as Max Dupain, were taken when dance and performance photography was just emerging, thanks to improvements in camera technology. By the 1970s, shutter speeds were faster again and performance shots were as detailed as studio photographs.

[dirac]

Sarasota Balletholds its annual "On Pointe" luncheon.

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Though Chen is not a part of the DNG program she is part of the larger “Sarasota Ballet family,” said Webb, a family that includes the 1,100+ graduates of DNG. Almost all of those graduates did not go on to dancing careers — the intention of the program is not to breed ballet professionals but to encourage students to stay in school and establish habits that will help them throughout life — but testimonials from two of them showed there is much more benefit from DNG than merely learning ballet steps.

[dirac]

Orlando Ballet fires its marketing team.

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Whether this is an indication of financial straits or simply resistance to change is unknown. McCambridge-Thomas and Campbell played an active role in strengthening the Ballet’s relationship with local media, but admit that they experienced “pushback” from the board.

So was it a case of too much change too fast? The thin ice on which many of our legacy arts orgs and nonprofits stand (or fall through: see Orlando Opera, Festival of Orchestras, WMFE-TV) would seem to demand a new approach to marketing, but hey, that’s just one alt-weekly’s opinion.

[dirac]

A letter to the editor of The Miami Herald on the future of Miami City Ballet.

In order to attract larger audiences and stimulate sponsors, I think it’s time to consider a diversification in style. I’m not proposing the elimination of the Balanchine style, but the incorporation of more classics with adequate coaching of the individual principal dancers.

The time has come to open our doors to the great choreographers of the world. We deserve to be exposed to great geniuses of choreography such as Maurice Bejart and to enjoy the work of new talents such as the Italian Mauro Bigonzetti, the Russian Alexei Ratmansky, the American William Forsythe and more of the British Christopher Wheeldon.

[dirac]

A letter to the editor of The Miami Herald on the future of Miami City Ballet.

In order to attract larger audiences and stimulate sponsors, I think it’s time to consider a diversification in style. I’m not proposing the elimination of the Balanchine style, but the incorporation of more classics with adequate coaching of the individual principal dancers.

The time has come to open our doors to the great choreographers of the world. We deserve to be exposed to great geniuses of choreography such as Maurice Bejart and to enjoy the work of new talents such as the Italian Mauro Bigonzetti, the Russian Alexei Ratmansky, the American William Forsythe and more of the British Christopher Wheeldon.