7 replies to this topic

[dirac]

Houston Ballet hosts its annual Nutcracker Market.

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For the next four days, "shop til you drop" will be the mantra of thousands of eager purchasers who pour through the turnstiles at Reliant Center for the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market. And with more than 300 merchants offering oh-so-tempting goodies, the acres of shopping space can be mind-boggling. CultureMap to the rescue with 10 not-to-be-missed shopping opportunities.

[dirac]

Boston Ballet'sNutcracker gets a costume makeover.

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In a visit to the ballet’s costume shop in the troupe’s South End studios, designers soldered new tiaras and headpieces while dressmakers hand-stitched jewels to tutus. Heightchew described the new look — think 1920s “Pride and Prejudice” — as more restrained but no less visually exciting than the past “Nutcracker.”

[dirac]

Metropolitan Ballet Company opens its season.

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Also on the program will be Robert Rodham’s “Snow Scene and Snow Pas de Deux” from “The Nutcracker,” once a part of Pennsylvania Ballet’s original Nutcracker production. These magical story ballets, brought to life with exuberant dancing, will delight children of all ages.

[dirac]

Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk takes note of (and links to) a new article in Dance Magazine on the Grand Rapids Ballet Company.

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Sucato credits artistic director Patricia Barker with the company’s resurgence since she took the helm as artistic director in 2010, though adding that the former principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet “built on the foundation laid by her predecessor, Gordon Peirce Schmidt.”

“When Schmidt left, he took with him the 50-plus ballets he created for the company, so Barker has focused her attention on building a new repertoire. Her well-received mix of cutting-edge contemporary ballets by choreographers like Brian Enos and Olivier Wevers, and masterworks by Balanchine, Taylor, and Parsons, has allowed her to accelerate her vision for the company," Sucato writes.

[dirac]

A preview of the local Nutcrackerseason by Nancy Churnin for The Dallas Morning News.

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The 20th anniversary of Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker kicks off our local Nutcracker season, which features plenty of chances to see young dancers onstage (check out our roundup of some promising productions on the facing page). For example, Jennifer and Hank Princehouse have been studying ballet since they were 4. Now 17, the Plano twins, veterans of Toby’s School of Dance in Richardson, are heading into their 10th year dancing in The Great Russian Nutcracker.

[dirac]

A review of the Suzanne Farrell Balletby Sarah Kaufman in The Washington Post.

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Neither Suzanne Farrell’s glittering name nor the coaching prowess behind it is enough to give her dancers the luster they desperately lack.

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, performing at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater, needs to offer more than nostalgia and history. Yet this is the sum of its strengths.

[dirac]

An interview with Liam Scarlett by Sarah Frater in The Wall Street Journal.

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Mr. Scarlett is quick to acknowledge Ms. Mason's role in his career, saying that without the opportunities she provided his position would be far less strong. But the greater the opportunities, the greater the expectation. The dance world has pinned high hopes on the endorsement of Ms. Mason, who as a dancer worked closely with both Kenneth MacMillan and Frederick Ashton, two of the most important choreographers of the 20th century. "There is huge pressure on delivering," he says, "not just [for the sake of] the audience but the dancers as well. There is nothing better for dancers than having new work made on them. If the dancers believe in the work, the audience will as well."

[dirac]

A review of the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 'Giselle' by Jennifer Shennan in The Dominion Post.

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Gillian Murphy dances her inaugural Giselle with breathtaking control and superbly phrased delivery. Her technique is impeccable but never bravura.

She may have the reputation of being a fast dancer but believe me, she does slow too. Balances are held, arabesques developed, port de bras sustained, pirouettes gifted, all speaking of love. Lucky RNZB, and they know it.