7 replies to this topic

[dirac]

Ballet Theatre of Maryland performs this weekend.

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This year, the two-act “Aladdin” kicks off an expanded bill that also will include “The Nutcracker” on Dec. 1-2 and “Frontier: The War of 1812” on Jan. 27.

The two additional performances mean that patrons can subscribe to the series and pay less per ticket than the single-ticket price.

[dirac]

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet visits Ann Arbor.

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And the ownership idea has worked. The company has in fact carved a niche not only in Aspen but in Santa Fe, and dancers have stayed with the company longer than Mossbrucker might have hoped. “We didn’t really expect it,” he said.

One thing that might have kept the dancers happy (aside from the gorgeous settings the company enjoys in its two Western homes) was also unexpected: the number of commissions—now around 26 works—the company has generated since its inception.

[dirac]

An interview with Kim Ki-min.

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Korean ballet dancer Kim Ki-min said that his Asian physique, generally regarded as a drawback in classical ballet, prompted him to work harder.

“I have gone through many tough times due to my disadvantageous body shape, which sometimes caused me intolerable pain but I’ve never given up,” said the 19-year-old dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet in an email interview with The Korea Times.

[dirac]

An interview with Trey McIntyre by Donald Rosenberg in The Plain Dealer.

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Faced with the prospect of establishing a company, McIntyre said people assumed he might settle in New York, San Francisco or some other big metropolis.

"I had a hard time justifying that," he said. "That would add one more company to a community overserved with dance and would be a drag on local resources. I really love the idea of being a pioneer and moving to a community that hadn't developed to any extent."

[dirac]

A review of Fall for Dance by Robert Johnson in The Star-Ledger.

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“Transformation in Tap,” the first number on Friday, involved a confessional monologue in which Jared Grimes described learning to love his inner cheeseball. Then he performed a back flip. In “Shutters Shut,” a pair of white-faced clowns from Nederlands Dans Theater grimaced and contorted to a circular poem by Gertrude Stein. Finally, in the aptly titled “Void,” the BalletBoyz indulged in a sentimental caricature of the urban slums. Here, in the video backdrop and then in person, Matt Rees was a lonely hoodlum yearning to express himself, his stage a concrete porch awash in garish, fluorescent light. An agonic duet for shirtless men seemed the ultimate cliché.

[dirac]

Mikhail Baryshnikovappears in a Citizens of Humanity video.

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It’s a commitment that explains why Citizens founder Jerome Dahan choose Baryshnikov as the first subject of his yearlong video series—Baryshnikov is as devoted to dance as Dahan is to denim. “I am very passionate about this,” says Dahan, who also founded Seven jeans. “I design for tomorrow.”

The series will feature 20 artists and creators discussing what drives them and how their work contributes to experiencing humanity. New subjects and videos will be released monthly accompanied by a limited edition t-shirt from each contributor.

[dirac]

An obituary for Yvonne Mounseyby Alastair Macaulay in The New York Times.

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With her spectacular height — she was over 6 feet tall on point — long legs and cool eroticism, she came to epitomize the character for a generation.

For Balanchine, she also created supporting solo roles in “La Valse” and “Swan Lake” (both in 1951) and the Spanish dance in “The Nutcracker” (1954). For Robbins, she created the roles of the Queen in “The Cage” (1951), the Harp in “Fanfare” (1953) and the Wife in “The Concert” (1956). All these ballets remain in the repertories of City Ballet and other companies.

[dirac]

A story on the dearth of female choreographersin ballet, Australian iteration, by Philippa Hawker in The Sydney Morning Herald.

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The debate is relevant to Australia. The Australian Ballet, for example, has not had a new work by a female choreographer on the main stage since 2003, when it presented Meryl Tankard’s Wild Swans.

Its artistic director, David McAllister, is aware of this gap and has female choreographers ‘‘on the agenda’’. ‘‘There are a couple of people I have been talking to on the international stage who are keen to choreograph for us,’’ he said.