8 replies to this topic

[dirac]

A review of Boston Ballet's Nutcracker by Pete McQuaid for The Lowell Sun.

http://www.lowellsun...ado/ci_22072856

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Rejuvenation is the theme of this new iteration of The Nutcracker, which received new sets and costumes for the first time in almost two decades. Each scene -- from the spacious party room, to the shimmering whiteness of the enchanted forest, to the classical regality of the Nutcracker's court -- makes the stage seem bigger than it ever could be. The costumes glean with freshness, as the dirty Mouse King has the same magnificent detail as the sparkling Sugar Plum Fairy.

[dirac]

Space Coast Ballet presents its Nutcracker.

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Students from the Melbourne studio, led by artistic directors Boris Chepelev and Janna Kirova, will be joined by some guests from Kirova Ballet, Chepelev and Kirova’s dance studio in Miami. Chepelev and Kirova split their time between Melbourne and Miami.

[dirac]

An interview with Tamara Ledermann of Vienna Festival Ballet.

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Originally, Tamara was to have shared the Plum part with another dancer on tour, but her workload has since spiralled. “The plan was to split the double-performance days, but the other girl has got injured, and I just thought, ‘Well, it’s going to be good for me to do the extra shows’,” she says.

“So I’ve now done maybe six double days, when the body feels pretty heavy and swollen after the two shows. It’s the pulsations in the bunions that you feel.”

[dirac]

A review of “An Evening with Kylian/Inger/Walerski,” shown as part of the Ballet in Cinema series.

TheaterJones

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Watching the company's performance "An Evening with Kylián, Walerski, León and Lightfoot" on Sunday afternoon in the Ballet in Cinema from Emerging Pictures series, the two-and-a-half hour show was such a heavy dose of dark and grim that the memory will last a long time, and served to remind me that northern Europeans dance to a different drummer. Angst anyone?

The Star-Ledger

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Renowned companies such as the Wuppertaler Tanztheater, DV8 Physical Theatre and Rosas all would make fine candidates for this series. Instead, Ballet in Cinema has chosen to present a floundering repertory company, the Nederlands Dans Theater, or NDT, in a program titled "An Evening with Kylián/Inger/Walerski," shown nationwide on Sunday and being reprised tonight.

Only the Kylián portion is worthwhile.

[dirac]

Linda Maybarduk-Alguirewill give a talk about Rudolf Nureyev in Sarasota.

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Maybarduk-Alguire, a former first soloist with the National Ballet of Canada, danced with the legendary dancer after his defection in 1961 and her family became part of his adopted network of friends around the world. She will share her personal reminscences of Nureyev as well as a short film featuring performances, as well as archival footage of his homes, costumes and unique gravesite.

[dirac]

Ballet Austin solicits local opinion on the casting of Mother Ginger.

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This year’s annual production maintains Ballet Austin’s tradition of having the role of Mother Ginger played by a local Austin celebrity. Ballet Austin asks the Austin community to cast the esteemed role of Mother Ginger for the season’s December 23 performance, by voting for the final nominees.

[dirac]

Commentary on live music'simportance to dance performance by Peter Dobrin in The Philadelphia Inquirer's blog.

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Dance critic Alastair Macaulay wrote lovingly of the dancers, but made no mention of the musical forces. It might have been nice if somewhere in the 857-word review he would have found space for one more: Tchaikovsky. George Balanchine is mentioned four times, but it is apparently not all that significant that well before Mr. B. came along, the piece was brought into the world by a composer.

Regular readers of ArtsWatch will recognize this subject as a leitmotif. Why do dance writers, and sometimes even dance companies, forget that without the music, dance would be, well, absurd? It's an especially salient point now that a few troupes have decided to let their orchestras go and use taped music instead.

[dirac]

Boston Ballet tones down the battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker Prince.

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This time out, chaotic choreography (cannons shoot candy and peanuts hurl across the stage like so many “Super Mario” props) takes the fizzle out of the fight. The Nutcracker “Can’t Touch This” Prince is unscathed, and after one quick jab the Mouse King is down for the count. “That was fast,” said the 8-year-old sitting next to me.

[dirac]

The Bad Boys of Dance visit Vancouver.

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“I dreamed of touring early on, and so I choose music that the whole world knows. It’s not necessarily my favourite music, but it’s what you hear at Starbucks or on the radio. In our next show we’re thinking of using ‘Gangnam Style’ as a comedy number.”

There’s no denying the Bad Boys’ popular appeal. What started out as a company of six now has three casts touring the world at a time. Each show features six men as well as one “pretty girl of dance”, which in Vancouver will be Adrienne Canterna, Thomas’s wife and the show’s main choreographer.