9 replies to this topic

[dirac]

The South African Mzansi Ballet struggles to keep going. Video clip.

Quote

"We recoup about a third of our running costs through ticket sales," says Badenhorst.

For the other two thirds, the ballet company has to rely on generous contributions from South African dance lovers. But Badenhorst says that this is not enough and not sustainable for a long-term business plan. "Our product, which in our case is the luxury brand of ballet, needs to be sold like any other product, because by keeping us like an arts company, you literally keep us on our knees," he says.

[dirac]

A review of Tulsa Ballet in "Lady of the Camellias" by James D. Watts Jr. for Tulsa World.

Quote

It shows that Caniparoli has paid equal attention to details of theatre as well as dance - there are no anonymous performers in this story, no dance sequence that exists simply to fill space on the stage. Everything is there to tell a relatively simple, yet still very rich, story.

And this story - perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most adapted, romantic tale after "Romeo and Juliet" - was superbly told by Tulsa Ballet's dancers.

[dirac]

Updates on the Sergei Filin affair.

The New York Times

Quote

Mr. Filin, who left Russia for a clinic in Germany on Monday for a rehabilitation that may last for months, made the comments in a telephone interview with The New York Times. He has said that he knows who is behind the attack, but that he would not offer further details for fear of interfering with the investigation. A police spokesman told Interfax on Monday that the names of suspects in the attack would be made public only after they had been detained and indicted.

The Los Angeles Times

Quote

Filin, 42, is expected to receive eye treatment in Germany. He left a Moscow hospital on Monday and spoke to reporters. He described his vision as "foggy and blurred"....

Reuters

Quote

"I have forgiven each and everyone who participated in the act," he said.

He wore a netted bandage that covered his scalp and neck but revealed a slightly scarred and blotchy face. "I feel well, I'd even say great, if only my eyes could see a bit better," Filin, 42, told reporters outside the hospital.

[dirac]

The New York International Ballet Competition cancels this year's event.

Quote

During the past few years NYIBC's private donor base has shrunk, creating sizable decreases in individual contributions. Ilona Copen, NYIBC's founder, long-time leader and face of the organization, passed in early 2010 after a long battle with cancer. Since, NYIBC has made ongoing restructuring efforts, but the philanthropic climate from the time of the most recent competition in 2009, has proven to be a serious challenge.

[dirac]

A review of the Joffrey Ballet by Donna Perlmutter for LA Observed.

Quote

But, pardon me, the whole of it seems puny today. Because the music has eaten the ballet! The visual events onstage are dwarfed by the score.

We're now used to hearing augmented orchestras turn "Sacre" - by itself - into an unequaled feast, more vast and overwhelming than any theater could contain. Our own Philharmonic powers through the score, courtesy of Salonen, Dudamel, et al - even though the pit band here, despite a wayward trumpet entry, did a creditable job, led by Joffrey music director Scott Speck.

Paul Hodgins' review  in The Orange Country Register.

Quote

Forsythe's "In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated" is emblematic of the American-born choreographer's style: athletic and ballet-based yet lithe, generous and exuberant in its contours. It's universally popular, and no wonder. Territorial, aggressive, with thrilling moments of bravura solo work and dynamic, geometrically defined group patterns, it's tightly contained inside a sharp-edged lighting design by Forsythe. At first it looks as if the dancers working beyond the verge of the lighted stage are in the wrong place, but it's part of the choreographer's vision. This dance seems to be a continual activity unfolding on a vast canvas, and we're seeing only a fragment.

[dirac]

A preview of Milwaukee Ballet's Genesis concert.

Quote

Milwaukee Ballet is probably right to call “Genesis” one of the only truly international choreographic competitions in existence. Artistic Director Michael Pink chose this year's finalists from over 30 applicants representing six nations. Choreographers submitted videos of past work and proposals for a new ballet to be created in Milwaukee. According to Pink, this year's submissions were the finest ever.

[dirac]

An overview of the history of acid violence by L.V. Anderson for Slate.

Quote

In particular, reports of acid violence have increased since the 1960s in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. Human rights scholars note that acid violence is correlated with gender inequality, acid’s cheapness and accessibility, and the failure of courts to convict perpetrators. The Acid Survivors Trust International estimates that 80 percent of victims of acid violence are women, and many perpetrators are men who throw acid as revenge against women who have rejected them sexually. However, thanks to increased reporting, the creation of NGOs in support of victims, and increased media and academic scrutiny of acid violence, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, and India have adopted new laws over the past decade increasing penalties for acid violence and regulating the sale and transport of potentially lethal acids.

[dirac]

A television news feature on Sacramento Ballet's 'The Great Gatsby.'

[dirac]

A review of New York City Ballet in "Paz de la Jolla" by Tobi Tobias in her blog, "Seeing Things."

Quote

Hyperactive arms and legs, like the long, thin limbs of gangly teenagers, shoot this way and that. It’s clear from the get-go that Tiler Peck (no relation to the choreographer) is the tomboy in the bunch; Sterling Hyltin, the sweetheart; Amar Ramasar, the eternal boyfriend. The ground is the sandy beach; the 15-member corps de ballet, costumed in blue, is the ocean—as dangerous as it is beautiful. The subsequent goings on are melodramatic in a predictable seaside vein, as if Peck were saying “Well, it’s always like this, isn’t it?”.

[dirac]

Reviews of Pacific Northwest Ballet in "Romeo et Juliette," links courtesy of sandik.

The Seattle Times

Quote

Moore (whose long-overdue promotion to principal dancer was announced onstage after the final curtain) brought a swagger to Roméo’s early scenes that made his transformation into a rapturous boy in love, moving as if in a dream, all the more affecting. Nakamura had a sweet tentativeness in her first moments, as befitted a very young girl not yet sure of her body; later, she developed a fiery urgency, as if love had taken hold of her and changed her. In the balcony pas de deux, McCaw Hall suddenly seemed like a tiny, intimate place; we could almost hear them breathing.....

The SunBreak

Quote

Seen a second time, more and more of Maillot’s choreography falls into place, deepening the relationships between characters. The concept for the production is summed up in an anguished Friar Laurence’s (Karel Cruz) dance with a möbius strip — no matter how he tries to nudge the couple’s path away from disaster, his good intentions are warped by some balancing influence that pushes back. It’s in the nature of things; when Roméo and Juliette dance, palm to palm, their hands oscillate.

SeattleDances

Quote

Kaori Nakamura and James Moore were perfectly suited, both physically and emotionally, for the title roles. In the balcony pas de deux, a boyish and infatuated Moore is so overcome he could do nothing but lie on the ground, head in hands, only to catch the flirtatious Nakamura in his arms when she least expects it. Despite being one of PNB’s longest-standing dancers and most serious technicians, Nakamura softened for the role, optimizing a playful, yet fierce and fiery young Juliet.