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[dirac]

A review of New York City Balletby Apollinaire Scherr in The Financial Times.

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To a string orchestration of folkie Sufjan Stevens’ anomalous electronica album, inspired by the Chinese zodiac, the ballet balances demands which choreographers usually end up choosing between. With a small corps that serenades, magnifies, comments on and camouflages six soloists, Year of the Rabbit is both highly structured and playful, human and architectural, forthright in spirit yet sophisticated in form. The 40-minute ballet endears without being cute and surprises without ever feeling random. The choreography prickles with sharp, evocative shapes and whooshes with momentum. And it uses the classical lexicon mindfully.

[dirac]

Pix from Washington Ballet's Dracula-themed fall gala.

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Rewarding guests for their creativity, Artistic Director Septime Webre hosted a friendly costume competition for the attendee who best interpreted the 'vampire chic' dress code, with the winner taking home complimentary tickets to the upcoming performance at the Kennedy Center and dinner for two at an area restaurant – all in addition to bragging rights, naturally!

Related.

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The soiree was held to celebrate the ballet’s fall season, which will be inaugurated later this month by the company premiere of “Dracula” at the Kennedy Center.

[dirac]

A review of the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet by Susan Isaacs Nisbett for AnnArbor.com.

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The company’s dancers are gorgeous things, fabulous performers: elegant of line, flexible of limb, riveting to watch. No matter what you thought of the choreography, they were a joy to watch.

The choreography, for sure, took advantage of what the dancers had to offer. And why not? Two of the pieces, “Square None” (2012) by Norbert De La Cruz II and “Over Glow” (2011) by Jorma Elo, were made for them. The third piece, Jiri Kylian’s “Stamping Ground” made in 1983 for Nederlands Dans Theater, suited them equally well. (Aspen Santa Fe has many Kylian works in its rep.) But the quirky, hyper-kinetic similarities among the pieces made them something of a blur by the show’s end.

[dirac]

Anastasia Volochkova performs in Armenia. Q&A.

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Can we suppose, that title of the of the concert “New Centaury” signifies a new word and style in ballet.

I am a classic ballet dancer and my activity in ballet has a classical orientation. While working in classic performances I was searching for a new format and dreaming of creating such a show, that can attract mass audience. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to attract modern audience by classic ballet not only in provinces, but in Moscow and St. Petersburg theatres too. For that reason a new program was in a process of arrangement, that will be represented to Armenian audience.

[dirac]

A review of Scottish Ballet by Mary Brennan in  The Herald.

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An ideal springboard for the company premiere of 5 Tangos, where the quirks of mood and pace in Piazzolla's music encourage a dialogue of smouldering gamesmanship and arch seduction. Everyone rises, or rather shimmies and syncopates to the occasion, led by Eve Mutso and Erik Cavallari in sizzling hot form – no wonder new artistic director Christopher Hampson looks relaxed and happy in his pre-performance intro to audiences.

[dirac]

Dancers Over 40 honors Balanchine this evening.

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DO40's first-ever ballet event will feature Merrill Ashley, VIda Brown, Marge Champion, John Clifford, Gene Gavin, Allegra Kent, Frank Ohman, Barbara Milberg Fisher, Bettijane Sills, Carol Sumner, Barbara Walczak and Patricia Wilde. Extremely rare film and video clips will be shown, including excerpts from the Zenobia Ballet, On Your Toes, Western Symphony 1st and 3rd movements (with Mr. Gavin and Ms. Kent), Sanguinic Square Dance and Divertimento #15, (featuring both Ms. Ashley and Ms. Wilde), Pulcinella (Ms. Sumner), Raymonda Variation and Who Cares? (Ms. Sills and Mr. Ohman) and Divertimento from A Midsummer Night's Dream (Ms. Kent).

[dirac]

Commentary by Joseph Dalton in The Albany Times Union on the reduction of New York City Ballet'sSaratoga season.

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It's hard to argue with the ever-rising cost of presenting the ballet, which is the reason for the ever-reduced seasons. And it's admirable that next year two other companies, National Ballet of Canada and the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, will be brought in for seven performances.

Yet one still has to wonder about setting priorities and allocating resources among the existing components of the classical season. There's an increasing and obvious imbalance between the orchestra, whose residency remains three weeks in duration, and the continued cutbacks for the New York City Ballet, SPAC's whipping boy.

[dirac]

An obituary for Yvonne Mounsey.

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In 1965 Mounsey and her family moved to Los Angeles where she began teaching ballet. Eventually taking over the school, renamed Westside Academy of Dance, she formed a decades-long partnership and deep friendship with Rosemary Valaire (dec. 1998). The school's resident ballet company. Westside Ballet of Santa Monica, began performances of "The Nutcracker" in 1972 and both "The Nutcracker" and Westside Ballet's Spring performances have delighted audiences for decades, including the past 12 years at the Wadsworth Theater in Brentwood.

[dirac]

A review of a Bolshoi Ballet Blu-ray of "Giselle" by Steven Ritter for Audiophile Audition.

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In the case of Giselle one would be hard pressed to find a more accommodating performance than this one from the legendary Bolshoi Ballet. The orchestra plays wonderfully, and the sets, though a little like a Thomas Kincaid painting in the first act, are nonetheless pastel soft and quite evocative. The prima ballerina, Svetlana Lunkina, lead soloist of the ballet, was born in 1979 and made her first appearance at the ballet as Giselle in 1997 during her first season with the company. Hers is a very seasoned performance, and she glides across the stage with great assurance and confidence, easily the star of the show even though her costars perform with equal alacrity and style. The sound and visuals are both excellent, and anyone wanting a traditional version of this classic need look no further.