7 replies to this topic

[dirac]

Béjart Ballet Lausanne cancels its spring 2013 tour.

Quote

The Switzerland-based dance company Béjart, in a return Houston engagement, was to perform the Stravinsky composition to coincide with its 100th anniversary. But Béjart has canceled its touring season, Houston's Society for the Performing Arts announced today.

[dirac]

Melissa DeRuiter & Roy Kaiser Jr. get spliced.

Quote

In early 2003, Melissa, now the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' executive vice president of development, was grants manager at the Pennsylvania Ballet. She was seeking a hugely important Dance Advance grant to fund Christopher Wheeldon's Swan Lake. Needing to learn as much about the production as possible, Melissa made an appointment with the ballet's artistic director, Roy.

[dirac]

A preview of Amy Seiwert's troupe Imageryby Carla Escoda in The Huffington Post.

Quote

A timeline of the great women ballet choreographers would fit on a Post-it: Bronislava Nijinska, Agnes DeMille, Twyla Tharp -- all three of whom took some heat in their time for stretching the genre. (DeMille herself dismissed Tharp's choreography as "tiresomely neurotic.")

The fragments of this program on display at a rehearsal last weekend underscore Seiwert's impeccable curatorial taste. All three choreographers are classically trained and made names for themselves first as ballerinas with well-known North American companies, and all three are stretching the ballet vocabulary, particularly supported pointework, in new and startling ways. They seem to care little for tramping the well-worn neoclassical path first blazed by Balanchine and now tended by his disciples including Chris Wheeldon and Wayne McGregor, nor do they explore the gorgeous, opaque realms architected by Alonzo King.

[dirac]

A preview in brief of Ballet Fantastique by Marty Hughley in The Oregonian.

Quote

For the past decade, the company has quietly built up a reputation in its hometown, where it sold out a recent run at the Hults Center with a version of “Cinderella” set to early 1960s pop hits -- the same show with which it finally will make its Portland debut. The songs have been arranged by Shelley and Cal James, who lead the onstage band. And Sunday’s performance also will features guest dancer James Fuller of Ballet Austin in the role of Prince Charming.

[dirac]

Two new trustees are appointed to the board of the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

Quote

Ms Burdon and Mr Fyfe are ballet enthusiasts and are both looking forward to joining the company for the opening of the TOWER Season of Cinderella in Wellington this Thursday 2 August, before the production tours to six other centres.

[dirac]

The National Ballet of China will perform The Red Detachment of Women.

Quote

The performance celebrates the 85th founding anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China.

[dirac]

A piece on new ballet choreographersby Deborah Jowitt in her blog, DanceBeat.

Quote

These days, ballet companies commission works by Mark Morris, say, or Jirí Kylían—choreographers not concerned with the classical language. But choreographers do emerge who want to utilize aspects of ballet tradition and yet explore new ways to extend or subvert it. Cherylyn Lavagnino is one of these. Jessica Lang is another. A Juilliard graduate who performed for a while with Twyla Tharp’s company, THARP!, Lang has, since 1999, set works on numerous companies, including the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, Ballet San Jose, Ailey II, and ABT.

[dirac]

A review of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet by Tresca Weinstein in The Albany Times Union.

Quote

Mauricio Wainrot’s choreographic take on “Carmina Burana,” as danced by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Wednesday evening at Jacob’s Pillow, is an ambitious and enigmatic work. In this 1998 piece, Wainrot takes five sections of Carl Orff’s cantata and gives each a distinctive mood, movement language and setting. The combined result offers new entryways into this classic composition—and also shows off artistic director André Lewis’ flawless dancers.