8 replies to this topic

[dirac]

A review of the Royal Danish Ballet in 'Napoli' by Laura Cappelle in The Financial Times.

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.....Its unique calling card has always been the Bournonville repertoire, but director Nikolaj Hübbe, who spent most of his dancing career with New York City Ballet before returning to head his alma mater in 2008, made the choice to rejuvenate it completely, with muddled results.

It’s not a bad idea per se: the ballet world loves modernity breathing new life into its warhorses, and while Napoli’s beloved Act III is a national treasure in Denmark, the rest of the ballet has always been problematic. In the process, however, Hübbe has turned Napoli into a triple bill of sorts, where every act comes with its own wildly different period setting and aesthetics.

[dirac]

A story on Nikolay Tsiskaridze's dismissal from the Bolshoi.

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The notice reportedly came direct from the Bolshoi's legendary choreographer Yury Grigorovich, and was also said to be prompted by new practice following the venue’s massive six-year renovation.

When the Bolshoi reopened at the end of October, unveiling the most meticulous and expensive restoration in the history of theater, critical voices were raised over the results, Tsiskaridze the strongest among them.The dancer was quoted as saying he had not expected such poor results after six years of repair works worth over $700 million and supervised by the Kremlin. The star slammed the acoustics, make-up and rehearsal rooms.

[dirac]

Ballet San Jose announces its schedule for the new season.

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The organization said it would produce three programs between opening night on March 2 and its season closing on May 6. They include Ben Stevenson's full-length story ballet, Cinderella; Jerome Robbins' Interplay and the Bruch Violin Concerto by Clark Tippet.

The ballet typically puts on a fall program before its popular annual production of The Nutcracker in December, but did not do so this past fall, fueling rumors of financial problems.

[dirac]

A review of the Sixth International Ballet Star Gala by Diane Baker in The Taipei Times.

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The long and leggy Russian siblings from the Berlin Staatsoper Ballet, Polina Semionova and Dmitry Semionov, got the chance to show off those limbs to full effect in Rolando d’Alesio’s seven-minute Come Neve al Sole. Set to a Frederic Chopin piece arranged for cello by Peter Schindler, Come Neve al Sole was quirky, funny — amazing what you can do with stretchy T-shirts — and just a delight to watch. The goofy interplay between the two dancers seemed tailor-made for a brother-sister act.

[dirac]

A preview of the new season at Jacob's Pillow.

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The season begins in June with a world premiere choreographed by a former principal dancer in England’s Royal Ballet (to be performed by ballet students in residence at the Pillow), and along its way will include a week-long tribute to influential founder Ted Shawn; return engagements from prominent companies who haven’t performed at the Pillow in decades (the Joffrey Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet); at least three other world or U.S. premieres; and visiting dance companies from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany and Israel.

[dirac]

Reviews of the Royal Ballet in "Romeo and Juliet."

The Evening Standard

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As it happens both started shakily. Acosta nearly lost his balance in some of the early skylarking and Rojo's nervous infantilism when she was first introduced to Paris had more Blanche DuBois than prepubescent innocence about it.

Whether by accident or design, these uncertainties only made the instant they met all the more transformative.

Londonist

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MacMillan’s choreography eschews the mannered gestures and commedia of earlier productions, favouring a less-is-more approach that still looks astoundingly modern today. Rojo’s supple frame makes light work of the demanding pas de deux which find her sprouting from Romeo’s pelvis and whirling passionately around his torso; at the same time her face and body language are engagingly naturalistic. Acosta is a more than capable support and his variations are as sharp and energetic as ever, but this is Rojo’s performance. Nobody with a soul can have witnessed her dance of utter dejection at finding herself (bigamously) betrothed to Paris without feeling a stab to the heart and a lump in the throat.

The Independent

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Pavel Sorokin conducted a driving account of Prokofiev’s score, but there was some rough-edged playing from the orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The corps de ballet gave an engaged performance, with bouncy footwork and vivid reactions.

[dirac]

A review of the Royal Ballet in "Romeo and Juliet" by Charlotte Skeoch for The Huffington Post (UK).

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MacMillan's choreography is overflowing with joie de vivre and creativity even decades after its first outing: breaking the rules of the staid classicism of many traditional ballets, Macmillan's Romeo and Juliet is abundant in naturalistic simplicity that conveys meaning to an audience that may not be fluent in the limiting language of the old choreographic masters: Tybalt throws himself through the air in desperate abandon as he dies, Lady Montague's despair hints at the tortured brutality of Martha Graham's choreography - all fists and female strength, and Juliet's dead body is flung around the stage by a frantic Romeo with an intoxicating mixture of grace and floppy morbidity. If you associate ballet with painted on smiles, twee tutus, a numb bum and little emotional gravitas, book your ticket for the Royal Ballet's Romeo and Juliet right now... and prepare to have the cynic knocked right out of you.

[dirac]

A preview of the seventh International Prague Ballet Gala.

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"All participants of the seventh annual Prague Ballet Gala coming from all over the world are very interesting for Czech audiences," says Jana Kůrová. "I personally very much look forward to the high level of creativity that the world-renowned Cuban prima ballerina Viengsay Valdés and her partner Osiel Goueno will certainly show."

[dirac]

A letter to the editor complaining about bad manners at the ballet.

....The child one row down and six seats right was unable to stop a continuous cough, making me feel sorry the child was not being cared for and wondering why her parents felt it appropriate to have her in attendance. The man sitting directly to my left allowed his child to talk throughout the performance. There was continuous buzz in the audience, including volleys of coughing that made me wish I had taken echinacea before I left home......