5 replies to this topic

[dirac]

A review of the cinema broadcast of the Paris Opera Ballet in "La Source" by Robert Johnson in The Star-Ledger.

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If ballerinas were the queens—and workhorses—of the 19th-century stage, it is not clear, at first, that Bart’s 21st-century heroines will require a foot bath. Spectacular male dancing dominates Act I, from the flashy "batterie" of Zael (Mathias Heymann) and his four attendant sprites, to the stately, open lines of Djémil (Karl Paquette) and the rigid, Caucasian folk dancing of Mozdock (Vincent Chaillet). While the boys show off, Nouredda (Isabelle Ciaravola) remains demure and wistful. Though striking in her lyricism, Ludmila Pagliero’s Naïla is, at first, a gentle creature; and the difficulties of her pas de deux with Djémil may not be immediately obvious. Bart seems fond of back-handed promenades and "en dedans" turns.

[dirac]

A review of Cape Town City Ballet in "Raymonda" by Theresa Smith in Tonight.

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Those fortunate enough to view all three in action are left with a plethora of happy memories: the finesse and precision of Hikaru Kobayashi and princely elegance of Valeri Hristov, both from the Royal ballet Company; the expressive charm of Laura Bosenberg partnered by the willowy Dirk Weyershausen, a principal of the Norwegian National Ballet; the lyricism and commitment of the CTCB’s Kim Vieira perfectly matched with a confident Daniel Szybkowski, and, for good measure, the macho athleticism of Trevor Schoonraad who hails from the English National Ballet.

[dirac]

The Perm School of Choreographypresents a new "Nutcracker." Item in brief.

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A new version of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker performed by the Perm School of Choreography has provided a spectacular finale for the 15th Festival of Russian Art which was held at the Cannes Palace in Cote d’Azur.

[dirac]

A review of the Eifman Ballet in "Tchaikovsky" by Lloyd Bradford Syke for Crikey.

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As with Karenina, Eifman has neatly compressed Tchaikovsky into two hours, two acts and one intermission. Even this begins to seem like something of an entertainment formula, just as, after firsthand exposure to only two productions, Eifman trademarks begin to emerge. It’s (more than) a little disenchanting. It begins to appear he trots out a standard range of colours; not quite as restrictive as with Henry Ford’s Model T, but too limited (and limiting) nonetheless. For example, one more example of the ‘spider’ stance would have really cloyed.

But let’s balance the books a little. One does have Tchaikovsky’s music to fall back on, which is always an enriching aural and emotional experience. Slava Okunev’s costumes are probably the one element of this work that can make a liar of me: the graduations of his palette, alone, defined subtle and also exhibited almost sublime complementarity. His sets, however, are a little also-ran, at best. Both touring set designers seem to have a penchant for brass beds, as props. And the card-table coffin is hardly inspired.

[dirac]

Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and her daughter Missy will both perform in Ballet Manila's season opener.

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Macuja-Elizalde is the goddess Luningning, while Missy dances as the young Sibol (Bloom), the twin of Gunaw (Doom). In the environmental tale, Luningning falls in love with the mortal Kapuy played by Nazer Salgado. Their twins, portrayed as adults by Francis Cascaño and Yanti Marduli, become locked in a battle over Mother Earth. Dancing as the young Gunaw is Elmoe Dictado. It is based on the children’s book by Palanca hall of fame awardee Ed Maranan, published by Bookmark with illustrations by Ronaela B. Maranan.

[dirac]

The Kremlin Balletorganizes a ballet festival that begins this week and continues through September.

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The audience in Athens enjoyed this project, and the head of the Kremlin Ballet company Andrey Petrov, together with soloist of the London Covent Garden Theater David Mahateli, decided to launch a similar project in Moscow.

However, the Moscow project is even more large-scale than the one in Athens. This time, the program will include not only one, but six ballets, including “The Swan Lake”.