9 replies to this topic

[dirac]

A review of the Paris Opera Balletin New York by Margaret Fuhrer in The Huffington Post.

Quote

.....As embodied by the company's dancers, it's the epitome of elegance.

That's a strange thing to say about any style of ballet, since all ballet is inherently elegant. But the French value elegance above all. POB boasts what might be the world's most breathtakingly uniform corps de ballet, rows upon rows of dancers who have been exquisitely molded by the Paris Opéra Ballet School. (Nearly all of them are French.) Their technique is handsome, precise, and intensely self-conscious. It has no amplitude. Most of POB's dancers can't project beyond their own fingertips, because they're too worried about whether their fingers are properly placed. They're preoccupied with detail, so they're less likely to take risks.

[dirac]

David Hallberg'sappearance at Jacob's Pillow is canceled.

Quote

Mr. Hallberg, an original collaborator for “Curtain,” withdrew because of an injury, the festival said; it did not describe the injury.

[dirac]

American Repertory Ballet announces its 2012-13 season.

Quote

ARB will be in residence at Hamilton Stage once again in the Spring for preview performances of Douglas Martin’s brand new, full-length ballet, Romeo and Juliet. Based on Shakespeare’s tragic story, and set to Prokofiev’s lush score, Martin will present, for the first time, the full choreography to his latest masterwork. These performances will take place April 13-14, 2013.

[dirac]

Nevada Ballet Theatre will present "Jewels."

Quote

The event is sponsored by New York jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels. Balanchine was inspired after visiting the jeweler to create an abstract ballet around the beauty of jewels.

[dirac]

A preview of Pacific Northwest Ballet's new season.

Quote

The six premieres include works by Mark Morris and Christopher Wheeldon. Audience favorites include the return of "Cinderella," "Romeo et Juliette" and "Swan Lake."

[dirac]

The Nantucket Dance Festival concludes this weekend. Pic of Maria Kowroski and Martin Harvey.

Quote

Under the direction of Benjamin Millepied, himself at the top of the dance world after launching his own West Coast Company this year and recently choreographing the hit film “Black Swan,” the performances of both classical and contemporary ballet showcase duets, known as pas de deux, by stars from the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and Royal Ballet in London. Six of the 10 dancers are husband and wife duos who will perform together.

[dirac]

A preview of Scottish Ballet's new piece, "Run For It." Video.

Quote

This autumn Scottish Ballet will present its first triple bill season under new Artistic Director Christopher Hampson, the opening piece in which was inspired by the Olympic Games.

Run For It had its world premiere as part of this summer’s Cultural Olympiad, and will now be touring Scotland alongside the other works in the trilogy, Workwithinwork, by Hans van Manen, and William Forsythe’s Five Tangos.

[dirac]

Ballet Westdancers will participate in a fundraiser a non-profit yoga outreach program.

Quote

Linsley has enlisted the talent of dancers from Ballet West and Ririe-Woodbury Company to put together a fundraiser for InBody Outreach. "We’re using the dance as a platform to show the wide range of people who can be helped through [yoga] therapy," she said.

At present, InBody has 75 volunteers who work with some 60 programs, including Volunteers of America, the Rape Recovery Center, Youth City Summer Program, Rivers of Recovery (for vets with PTSD) and the International Rescue Committee. "Each organization is different," Linsley said.

[dirac]

The TV series "Suits" has a current plot thread involving ballet.

Quote

The ballet case isn’t turning out to be straightforward, either, and Louis and Rachel soon discover that the director has been pocketing the money meant for the renovations of the rehearsal space. The owner of the space, who hasn’t been receiving money from the ballet company, threatens to finally evict them. Louis is furious with himself for believing the director but after a rousing pep talk from Rachel, he re-works the ballet’s budget and fires the director, using the extra money to renovate the rehearsal space.

[dirac]

Damian Woetzelreceives the first Gene Kelly Legacy Award.

Quote

Kelly and Woetzel's paths have crossed before. When Kelly received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the School of American Ballet in 1992, Woetzel, then a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, performed Jerome Robbins “Fancy Free” as part of the celebration in Kelly's honor. He said later that he was beyond nervous, knowing that he was performing this piece for the man who had made sailors dancing on shore-leave famous in the film version of “On the Town.”

“When I met with Damian this past April, I was struck by the similarities between the two men,” said Patricia Ward Kelly, creative director for the Gene Kelly Legacy, Inc. “Both represent the epitome of masculinity and grace, and at the same time, share remarkable erudition, a strong commitment to education, extraordinary vision and a belief that it is the artist's role to serve as a kind of cultural ambassador. If Gene were alive, he would be extremely proud and honored to have Damian Woetzel as the first recipient of a Legacy Award in his name.”