7 replies to this topic

[dirac]

Anthony Dowell's 70th birthday is celebrated by Rupert Christiansen in The Telegraph.

Quote

The French word farouche – an adjective meaning something both shy and wild, like a faun – could have been invented to describe his special quality (did Nijinsky have it too, I wonder?). Farouche-ness irradiated all his dancing, whether he was darting with lightning precision through Ashton’s The Dream and Enigma Variations; unrolling the sort of exquisitely phrased slow legato which Macmillan exploited in Des Grieux’s first solo in Manon; trembling with fierce adolescent anxiety in Tudor’s Shadowplay; or rapt in introspection at the still centre of Van Manen’s Four Schumann Pieces.

[dirac]

Virginia Ballet Theatre forms a partnership with Ballets de San Juan of Puerto Rico.

The sister company relationship officially began last week with Martinez's first rehearsal, led by Kathy Brenner Lasakow. She choreographed "A Waltz Remembered," one of the dances programmed for the Sweetheart Concert Series, a Valentine's program of romantic works set for this weekend at TR Dance Center.

Besides Lasakow's piece, Martinez will perform two duets with another dancer from Ballets de San Juan - Carla Sofia Curet, who arrives on Tuesday.

[dirac]

An update on the Filin affair by David Ng for The Los Angeles Times.

Quote

It's unclear which dancers or how many are being investigated. The New York Times cited the same report and also reported over the weekend that the Bolshoi is contemplating suing one of its dancers, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, who has been outspoken about his disagreements with the theater's leadership.

[dirac]

A preview of Grand Rapids Ballet Company's new mixed bill by Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk for The Grand Rapids Press.

Quote

Grand Rapids Ballet Company, which danced “Who Cares?” two seasons ago, is revisiting the production with a special guest appearance by the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra to perform the music of George Gershwin.

The company that Dance Magazine said last fall is "experiencing a renaissance,' premiered Wevers’ “The Sofa” last year, but is bringing it back.

[dirac]

The Cairo Opera Ballet Company will perform "Swan Lake." Item in brief.

Quote

After 2003, Swan Lake was no longer staged at the Cairo Opera House, until 2011 when the choreography was practically rebuilt from scratch. Since then the ballet has been performed several times.

[dirac]

A review of  Teatro alla Scala's "Notre Dame de Paris" by Laura Cappelle in The Financial Times.

Quote

With her corset-like tunics and sensual footwork, Petit’s Esmeralda is a cousin of his landmark Carmen, and there is no better enfant terrible to play her today than Natalia Osipova, the former Bolshoi star who ran away to St Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Ballet. Her legs are at once ordinary and extraordinary for the ballet stage: not immediately striking but lightning-fast and explosive in their effects, not least the gravity-defying jumps she is famous for. As Esmeralda she uses them to the full, commanding the stage with mischievous ardour from her initial variation, and her vividly realistic despair in Act Two is a reminder of the larger-than-life acting she has honed over the years.

[dirac]

A review of the West Australian Ballet by Rita Clarke in The Australian.

Quote

WA Ballet dancer Daniel Roberts fashioned a short version of Jubilate to open the new WA Ballet Centre in 2010, then blithely agreed to create a full-length version for 17 dancers, set to Mozart's Piano Concerto No 20. His dancers revelled in some edgy duets. At one stage, one couple tripped and dropped each other, showing how not to do ballet. It didn't enhance the piece for this reviewer, although others laughed. It needs a few more ideas, but Roberts is a man to watch.

[dirac]

Ballet Arkansas will honor Chelsea Clinton.

Quote

As a young girl, Chelsea performed with Ballet Arkansas and appeared in several of its productions of The Nutcracker.