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[dirac]

A review of New York City Ballet by Leigh Witchel in The New York Post.

If "Orpheus" has rough patches that we overlook in favor of the genius; "Agon," from 1957, is close to perfect in both steps and music.
The mathematically precise dance that Balanchine called his "IBM ballet" got a sharp reading from the entire cast — maybe too tough. But that worked for the usually placid Maria Kowroski, who needed the push. She shot onstage, whirled around and dove down, hooking her foot around Sebastien Marcovici's head. Andrew Veyette strode forward, glaring at us by the end of a striking reading of his solo, but then he sometimes lost control of his dancing.

Pix from the party.

[dirac]

A review of San Francisco Ballet by Mark Monahan in The Telegraph.

Another of the six pieces that Wheeldon has created for SFB over the years, Programme C’s Within the Golden Hour (2010) also shows them off to their best advantage, but differently so. The fresh-faced Californians’ overall technique does not quite bear comparison with the world’s A-list companies’ – too many effortful lifts, fretful landings and lack of unity among the boys, in particular. And yet, rather than demand technical grandstanding, this work – one of those abstract, multi-movement ballets (like, say, 2002’s Continuum) that Wheeldon does so particularly well – requires warmth, poise and versatility, all of which SFB has in spades.

[dirac]

South Florida Ballet Theater performs this weekend.

This is the fifth time (the second at the Broward Center) the 10-year-old company will present a program of some of the most-famous pas de deux – think of them as dance duets, usually filled with romance. This time around, the afternoon will include dances from "Carmen Suite," "La Bayadere," "Harlequinade," "Coppelia," "Diane and Acteon" and "Peter and the Wolf."

[dirac]

A story on Valentino's designs for the New York City Ballet gala.

For the fall gala, he has created 16 original designs for a ballet set to selections from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and for pieces set to music by Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, Max Richter and Dinah Washington.There also will be a tribute of sorts to Valentino: The ballet will perform Rubies, from George Balanchine's Jewels, set to Igor Stravinsky's Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. A bold ruby hue is known as Valentino red, a colour the designer made his signature over the years.

[dirac]

Reviews of San Francisco Ballet's third and final program.

The Guardian

Ten men on a ballet stage would inspire most choreographers to create a testosterone fest of hurtling leaps and dynamo spins, just in case anyone was thinking nancy boys in tights. But Mark Morris isn't like most choreographers – and the clues to his latest piece for San Francisco Ballet are in its title, Beaux, and in its wayward, light-fingered harpsichord music by Martinů.

Dressed in patterned unitards of pink, orange and lime, the men are put through some hard technical paces, but the point of the choreography lies in its musicality and style....

The Stage

However, these are really no more than quibbles given the quality of the dancing which was further demonstrated in two works by Yuri Possokhov, the company’s choreographer-in-residence. The first, Classical Symphony, is a neo-classical romp set to Prokofiev’s exuberant score of the same name, and great fun to watch. The second is Raku, a dramatic retelling of the burning of Kyoto’s Buddhist Golden Pavilion in 1950. Yuan Yuan Tan’s performance conveyed considerable dramatic skill, as well as exemplifying the consistently high standard of the San Francisco visitors. An inspiring season for dancers.