6 replies to this topic

[dirac]

Some results from Varna.

The Washington Post

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While American athletes are vying for gold medals in London, a local dancer has won a gold of his own at what has been called the Olympics of ballet. The Washington Ballet’s Brooklyn Mack won first prize Sunday at the International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, the company announced Monday.

Mack shared the senior men’s gold medal with Ukrainian dancer Denys Cherevychko of the Vienna State Ballet. Among the works Mack performed was an excerpt from “Le Corsaire.”

Japan Times

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Two Japanese dancers won second prize in the women's and men's categories at the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, on Saturday.

[dirac]

Darcey Bussell on Strictly Come Dancing......

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The 43-year-old ballet star - who is replacing Alesha Dixon on the panel - admits she will be ''frustrated'' if she sees a celebrity performer who she knows could be doing better, and will not be afraid to tell them if she is disappointed.

...and on post-retirement depression.

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But when she moved to Sydney with her husband Angus Forbes and daughters Phoebe, 11, and eight-year-old Zoe, the sudden break from the relentless pressure of performing left her feeling down.



Miss Bussell admitted: ‘I got depressed. I didn’t appreciate how low I got. My husband did. He said, ‘‘You know, Darcey, you’re better when you’re busy’’. I thought it was weakness to show you couldn’t cope.’

[dirac]

Ballet Quad-Cities enters into a partnership with Orchestra Iowa.

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And, in turn, Ballet Quad-Cities gets live music for two of its performances in the upcoming season. “It’s always been a goal of our ballet company to have live music,” Cook said.

“There are so few ballet companies, and it doesn’t matter how large or how small they are, that don’t have the luxury of live music,” she added. “For our community, for Cedar Rapids, it’s a coup and makes everything that both of our organizations do that much stronger.”

[dirac]

A review of San Francisco Ballet at Stern Grove by Allan Ulrich in The San Francisco Chronicle.

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Those who munched at tables and those who bunched on the hillside were feted with a banquet of diverse repertoire that played to the company's strengths throughout. To be honest, not all the dances selected by Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson looked ideal on this outdoor stage. But there's a certain thrill for balletomanes in observing dancers, bundled in sweaters and huddled at the sides awaiting their entrances, no matter how much theatrical illusion is compromised.

[dirac]

Hirings and rehirings at Ballet San Antonio.

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In a big step toward elevating the company's professional standing, artistic director Gabriel Zertuche hired former Pennsylvania Ballet principal dancer Dede Barfield and former Boston Ballet soloist Raul Salamanca to serve as ballet mistress and ballet master, respectively. They will coach and train dancers, run rehearsals and supervise the ensemble's day-to-day operation. Salamanca also will become one of the principal dancers.

[dirac]

A story on the opening of the Joffrey West Ballet School, with photos.

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This was a Hollywood event with many actors and celebrities in attendance and an elegant red carpet reception two hours before the performance. The brilliant Spanish painter Domingo Zapata also had an exhibition of his paintings in the gallery at the reception. In Joffrey tradition the students have the opportunity to work and train with a star faculty and some of the best choreographers in the world. Joffrey of New York is now here in Los Angeles and should be supported by all local ballet and dance enthusiasts.

[dirac]

A review of the Peter Schaufuss Ballet in "The Nutcracker" by Laura Thompson in The Telegraph.

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Such artistic crimes notwithstanding, there was the hint of an interesting idea. The Christmas party at which Clara is given her nutcracker – here a toy version of a television superhero – was seen partly through her child’s eyes, in an almost nightmare vision of boozy raucous adulthood. Then, in the second act, her imagination transformed these party guests (her parents included, hence Mukhamedov’s ‘role’ as Cavalier) into benevolent figures who perform for her delight. Among these, the Spanish couple had the best choreography and Luke Schaufuss, in a stand-out performance, gave entrancing proof that he had inherited his father’s balletic talents.