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[dirac]

Reviews of New York City Ballet.

The New York Post

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Happily, the rest of the evening went as planned. The premiere, “Les Carillons” to the suites from Bizet’s “L’Arlésienne,” has a large cast — five principal and five corps couples — and a collage of moods from martial to soulful, yet it felt like a painting, with colors blocked out but no shading.

Wheeldon’s longtime muse, Wendy Whelan, filled that in. After an emotional pas de deux with Robert Fairchild, she wandered through a crowd of celebrants pensive and alone. Wheeldon repaid Peck’s MVP teamwork in “Polyphonia” here, giving her a solo with intricate footwork and curling arms. It showed her in a new, delicate light.

The Financial Times

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The pas de deux’s breathtaking variety and nuance distinguished Danse à grande vitesse as well. To composer Michael Nyman’s relentless, bombastic celebration of France’s high-speed rail, the ballet embodied the wayward, human equivalent of locomotion and its interlocking parts: more Gehry wave than bullet train. The gluey partnering emphasised tendon, muscle and flesh, nicely resisting the music’s throbbing heroics.

We had already had enough heroism for one night: smack in the middle of Polyphonia, beautiful, sinuous Jennie Somogyi ripped her Achilles tendon (not her first devastating ankle injury). The audience let out a collective gasp. You could see that her instinct was to keep dancing – that it took all her courage to hobble offstage and let the piano thunder in her wake.

[dirac]

A review of San Francisco Ballet in "Onegin" by Becca Klarin for SF Appeal.

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On opening night, Maria Kochetkova danced an inspired Tatiana, one that grew from a doe-eyed young girl with dreams of romance into a mature woman, all while experiencing a fever of emotions, great loss, and difficult personal choices. Kochetkova, while born from the great Russian ballet tradition, defies pigeonholing. She's not simply a lyrical dancer or a classical dancer......

[dirac]

A review of "Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance" by Lewis Segal in The Los Angeles Times' arts blog.

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Ballet has become so culturally irrelevant that people need to be reminded that a century ago it was cutting-edge contemporary art, enlisting the titans of the age in choreography, music and design. Robert Joffrey loved the groundbreaking works of that era and not only revived and reconstructed them for his own company (founded in the late 1950s), but embraced and updated their guiding aesthetic.

His story and that of his partner Gerald Arpino is retold in the 82-minute documentary “Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance” through the reminiscences of former Joffrey Ballet dancers and associates. There’s a lot of valuable information here, but for all the archival footage on view, dance is rarely allowed to make its effect. It's nearly always shackled to voice-over commentary or dismembered by nervous editing. If “Ballets Russes” and the recent “Pina” made you understand the speakers’ enthusiasm, this film makes you take an awful lot of gush on faith.

[dirac]

A report on the Dance on Camera Festivalby Robert Johnson in The Star-Ledger.

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Before this documentary bowed, however, the festival had already taken us back to the halcyon days of 1985, when ballerina Natalia Makarova was at her height. In “Makarova: In a Class of Her Own,” viewers can watch this gorgeous ballerina retool her instrument in class, perfecting her style and searching for the ideal physical alignment that turns the key in the lock. In addition to fearlessness and humility, Makarova reveals a charming sense of humor, joking she has “danced every bird in the business.”

[dirac]

A story from Australian television on dancer Chengwu Go.  Video and transcript.

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SARAH DINGLE, REPORTER: Morning rehearsals at the Australian Ballet, and there that's not a tutu in sight. Instead, there's an all-boys club on stage - among them, new soloist Chengwu Guo.

DAVID MCALLISTER: He's explosive. He's one of those dancers that completely lights up the stage. And not only is his physical ability amazing, he has a great emotional depth as well.

[dirac]

A brief item on Sarasota Ballet. Photo gallery.

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The Sarasota Ballet held a special dedication ceremony Tuesday, Jan. 31, at the FSU Performing Arts Center. The ballet unveiled their donor wall and also dedicated their brand new box office to the founder of the ballet, Jean Weidner. The dedication of the box office had been a surprise for Weidner....

[dirac]

A preview of Sacramento Ballet's"Cinderella."

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This production was originally mounted for the Boston Ballet, and both of the Sacramento Ballet’s artistic directors were deeply involved.

Ron Cunningham was both the choreographer and performed the role of one of the Spoiled Stepsisters. Carinne Binda performed the title role of Cinderella in performances in China, France, Israel and Italy.

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[dirac]

This spring Joy Womackwill become the first American to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy.

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At age 15, the dancer came to Moscow for a routine of 12- to 14-hour days of dance practice, acting classes and rehearsals - all in Russian, a language she barely knew when she arrived.

"The teaching style here at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy is very different from the United States. Here what is very special is that each teacher has their own style, their own way of teaching and getting results out of the students," she said, clad in black leotard and tights after practice.

[dirac]

A review of NYCBby Deborah Jowitt in her blog, "Foot in Mouth" "DanceBeat."

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Wheeldon is expert at devising pas de deux that make the NYCB dancers look wonderful and smart. The duets for Reichlen and Hall, Peck and Andrew Veyette, Ashley Bouder and Joquin De Luz, Maria Kowroski and Tyler Angle vary in terms of mood and speed, and capitalize on the performers' strengths, e.g. Kowroski's height and flexibility and the length and wallop of her legs, De Luz and Bouder's speed and springiness. The choreography's connections with meetings on a journey or conjugal trips are like understated abstractions of a relationship's dynamics.

The music and dancing build in speed and noise. At the climax, lights reveal three drummers in one of the theater's boxes close to the stage, beating the tar out of their instruments. The momentum is terrific.

[Sorry for misidentifying Jowitt's blog in the OP. My bad. Thanks to rg for pointing out the error!]

Edited by dirac, 01 February 2012 - 03:44 PM.

[dirac]

Jorma Elo speaks at the Harvard Dance Center. Report by Neha Mehrotra for The Harvard Crimson.

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“What differentiates you from the other choreographers?”

“I’m better.”

The crowd erupts with laughter as Jorma Elo, resident choreographer of the Boston Ballet, smiles during a preview and disscussion at the Harvard Dance Center. Much like its choreographer’s personality, “Sharp Side of the Dark,” a piece within “Play With Fire”, retains an innocent quality and humor in its dance movements and nuances. The ballet was the beginning of three excerpts that were highlighted Friday night as a preview for “Play With Fire”, the Boston Ballet’s newest program, at the Harvard Dance Center...... It was followed by a panel discussion featuring Elo as well as company dancers Rachel Cossar and Sabi Varga and artistic director Mikko Nissinen, who served as the moderator for the night.