10 replies to this topic

[dirac]

More on l'affaire Garritano.

The New York Times

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Ms. Garritano wrote a book, "The Truth Please, About Ballet," published in January 2010, in which she makes similar claims, and she is hardly the first dancer to raise the issue of eating disorders in the dance world. But her Observer interview, coming soon after Natalie Portman’s portrayal of a disturbed bulimic ballerina in the film "Black Swan," excited widespread comment in the international press, as has reports of her firing.

The Sydney Morning Herald

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The ballet company said that while it was surprised by La Scala's decision to fire Garritano, it felt it necessary to publicly refute her allegations. "We do not feel that we can support a campaign against the theatre, and the world of dance in general, which we do not agree with and which makes us feel victimised," it said.

"To read certain newspapers -- and even some internal union statements -- it seems that there is one courageous heroine who is fighting alone against a hellish place where many girls suffer in silence. This is not true," it added.

[dirac]

The Joffrey Ballet announces the schedule for its 2012-13 season.

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The Joffrey Ballet released its plans today for performances at the Auditorium Theatre through May 5, 2013. Perhaps inspired by a new documentary about the troupe’s rich, unique history, its 2012–13 lineup is surprisingly introspective, with no company or world premieres. (Stanton Welch’s new work, onstage here next February, will have already had its official debut this summer at Jacob’s Pillow.)

A season like this one shows resistance to ballet’s common cold: wasting millions on one-term productions and celebrity “collaborations.” While its readings remain to be seen, the Joffrey Ballet nevertheless deserves praise, for raiding its institutional memory before asking supporters to open their wallets.

[dirac]

Jared Angle tells NPR's "Morning Edition" what music he listens to during warmups.

Angle offered three picks for NPR's mix: Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 transcribed for two pianos, a Handel aria called "Sorge Nell'Alma Mia," and a selection from the Philip Glass opera Akhnaten.

Of the last of those, Angle says, "The third movement in particular has some of the most energetic music that we dance to. By the end, when you're so tired, all you have to do is listen to the music — it's very percussive — and it just gets you right through, no matter how exhausted you are."

[dirac]

A story on the revival of Dance Theatre of Harlem by Zita Allen in The Amsterdam News.

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But Mitchell's brainchild lived. Now it is about to achieve a new milestone, with his former prima ballerina at the helm as artistic director and another of his former dancers, Luveen Naidu, as executive director, as well as a highly capable team that includes Keith Saunders and School Director Endalyn Taylor.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, as Johnson said. First, there is that Joyce Theater season.

[dirac]

An interview with David Hallberg.

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The lighter rehearsal schedule in Moscow is also “a drastic change” from the five to seven hour days Hallberg is used to in New York. At the Bolshoi, principals only perform in one ballet at a time, which they rehearse for no more than two hours a day. “They’re very conscious of resting,” he said.

When Hallberg first arrived, he requested additional rehearsal time to practice “Sleeping Beauty.” “They kind of freaked out, like, ‘Are you sure? You know, you can’t work too hard, maybe that’s too much for you.’”

[dirac]

Misty Copeland pays a visit to Long Beach. Photo gallery.

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By the time she was 18, Copeland was part of the American Ballet Theatre, one of the foremost dance theatres in the country, and had won a dizzying number of awards, including best dancer in Southern California at 15.

She was also at the center of a well-publicized custody battle between her mother and custodial dance coaches, when she applied to be emancipated but later withdrew it.

[dirac]

Tulsa Balletpresents "Romeo and Juliet."

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For Tulsa Ballet artistic director Marcello Angelini, the idea to do a brand-new "Romeo and Juliet" came to him like the sudden appearance of a "light through yonder window."

"I was looking for another 'Romeo,' " he said. "We have presented Michael Smuin's ballet now four times already, and while I adore this version, there are only so many times you can present the same version of any given piece before your audience starts to walk away."

[dirac]

The Mikhailovsky Theater'splans for a summer season in New York hit a roadblock, courtesy of ABT.

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Sergei Danilian, who represents both dancers, Mr. Duato and the Mikhailovsky, said he heard from Ballet Theater’s artistic director, Kevin McKenzie, on Wednesday that the company would not release Ms. Osipova and Mr. Vasiliev from a clause barring its members from performing nearby. He said it would be impossible to present the two long works with a single cast. The tour was announced before the two Russians were hired, but Mr. Danilian said it was planned with the expectation that they would join the company. He indicated he was aware of the no-compete clause in the dancers’ Ballet Theater contracts, but expressed disappointment nonetheless.

[dirac]

An interview with the composer Brett Dean on his new work for the Australian Ballet.

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For Bliss, he took a work of iconic Australian literature to the stage; this time a tragic event in Australia’s recent history was his starting point for an orchestral score entitled Fire Music. The composer was “intensely moved and saddened” by the Black Saturday fires of 2009. “Even in the relative safety of Melbourne,” he recalls, “we awoke that day to weather of unprecedented ominousness – extraordinary temperatures and demonic hot winds.

[dirac]

Australia's ballet troupes make plans for the future.

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Marsden says it's a case of working with touring companies to secure joint promotional opportunities, such as combined dance classes and education programs. QB is no stranger to publicity, having marshalled 1400 people last year to break the Guinness World Record for staging the largest ballet class.

On the other side of the country, WAB is also looking to increase its profile with the culmination of a five-year strategic plan. Cavallari and general manager Steven Roth arrived in 2007 at a particularly problematic period in the company's history -- the dancers were threatening to strike because of low salaries exacerbated by the mounting costs of living associated with the resources boom.

[dirac]

A review of Dance Theatre of Harlem IIby Tobi Tobias in her blog, "Seeing Things."

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From its beginnings, DTH has had a close association with Balanchine’s ballets, which serve, in themselves, as powerful training devices. The connection was marked on this program by the presentation of the master’s now rarely performed Glinka Pas de Trois, created more than half a century ago for three crackerjack technicians in the City Ballet: André Eglevsky, Patricia Wilde, and Melissa Hayden. DaVon Doane, Ashley Murphy, and Flavia Garcia didn’t come up to their standards (at the time of the ballet’s creation, none of the other City Ballet men could match Eglevsky) and the DTH II women were uncomfortably mismatched in height and embonpoint. Nevertheless the production said wonderful things about the Harlem company’s signature style. The dancers are beautifully placed (in other words, they exhibit a harmonious posture in motion); their musical phrasing is very good, though not yet imaginative; and—most important— nothing they do is forced. Ever.