14 replies to this topic

[dirac]

Sara Mearns hosts a new video blog on The Huffington Post, "Barre None."

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I also get to wear J. Mendel and Valentino gowns to our season galas in the fall and spring. Now, don't get me wrong. These are moments in time when somehow the stars line up, and I am in the right place at the right time to be apart of these opportunities. These are not regular occasions, and most of the time, on a daily basis, you will find me in black jeans and a t-shirt that an ex-boyfriend gave me. But I do love to dress up and look glamorous when the moment calls for it, and I am lucky enough to have access to beautiful things.....

[dirac]

A review of BalletMet Columbus by Tim Feran in The Columbus Dispatch.

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BalletMet Columbus’ revival of the full-length ballet Romeo & Juliet is not the cliched, limp image of a grand romance. Instead, this is a vigorously danced portrayal of two nice kids who are great together but can never get a break, of two innocents who meet a tragically unnecessary end.

First presented in 1998 and choreographed by former artistic director David Nixon, this Romeo & Juliet is more than two hours and covers a great amount of narrative.

[dirac]

The Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Russian State Ballet of Siberia performin the Midlands.

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The Russian Ballet of Siberia will headline Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre with a series of productions.


It will perform The Nutcracker on Sunday (February 17) at 4pm, Coppelia on Monday (February 18) at 7.30pm and Swan Lake on Tuesday (February 19) at 2.30pm and again at 7.30pm.The Nutcracker features Tchaikovsky’s matchless score for this most famous of fantasy ballets.

[dirac]

A review of the Joffrey Ballet by Michelle Meywes for Chicagoist.

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The rest of the program is more straightforward, with more story-like qualities. The youthful exuberance of Interplay could have been another scene in West Side Story. After all, it was the second ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins, the man responsible for the award-winning musical. Sea Shadow is a telling of the classic tale of man and siren, with our hero falling in love with an irresistible sea nymph. Their movements are fluid and sensual, making for a steamy, lovelorn duet. It is performed in honor of its choreographer, Joffrey Ballet co-founder Gerald Arpino, who would have been 90 this year.

[dirac]

The Birmingham Royal Ballet's "Aladdin" was paid for entirely by public and private companies.

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The dance company said that as arts companies were seeing major cuts in funding, it was vital for them to find alternative sources of funding. The fundraising campaign has been fronted by former Royal Ballet star Darcey Bussell.

An interview with Carl Davis about the score.

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But Carl had to ensure that his composition could work with BRB’s orchestra and therefore was careful not to use any unusual instrumentation.

“Birmingham Royal Ballet is a touring operation, and it seemed important to conform to the line-up of the orchestra that the company would be carrying, given that they do productions of the Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev full length ballets. Other than exotic touches from the percussion section it’s pretty standard,” he says.

[dirac]

A review of Cincinnati Ballet's "Romeo and Juliet" by David Lyman in The Cincinnati Enquirer.

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Ballet can be robust. And shocking. And funny. And athletic. And downright erotic. Do those sound more interesting?

When Cincinnati Ballet presented artistic director Victoria Morgan’s “Romeo and Juliet” in 2008, it had all of that. There were no spoken words. But Morgan and her dancers captured the very essence of Shakespeare’s tragedy.

[dirac]

A story on the new ballet-themed issue of CR Fashion Book.

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The issue, which will hit newsstands next week, features an interview with Misty Copeland, the black Swan of American Ballet, a conversation with the “spirit” of Vaslav Nijinsky, who died over 60 years ago, and a fashion spread based on the life of a dancer who becomes a teacher (pictured here) teaching students the history of dance after Marie-Agnes Gillot, Michael Clark, Michel Fokine, Pina Bausch and Fanstasia. There’s even an interview with dancer Kiara Kabukuru, authored by Gisele Bundchen, and the first editorial shoot of Rick Owens.

[dirac]

Sam Chittenden of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is retiring.

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The development as a dancer was noticed by others, too. Shortly before “Life Forms,” Chittenden was cast in Thierry Malandain's solo piece, “Afternoon of a Faun,” a work more sensual, provocative and artsy than physical. “It highlighted his physicality, but it also gave him a chance to express himself in a powerful, but quiet, inward way,” Mossbrucker said. “To see him by himself, carrying this whole ballet, that's when people understood Sam — as a dancer, as a person, as an artist. He was a different dancer after that. He's physical — but in such an unassuming, good-natured, organic way. It's not ego, just power, the joy of how it feels to move.”

[dirac]

Diablo Ballet solicits suggestions for its new ballet on Twitter.

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Participants are also voting on three potential music selections at Diablo Ballet's YouTube page.

For the Twitter suggestions, it's now up to Diablo Ballet Artistic Director Lauren Jonas and choreographer Robert Dekkers to pick seven choreographic suggestions. Dekker, a dancer with Diablo Ballet, is artistic director of San Francisco's Post:Ballet.

[dirac]

A review of Grand Rapids Ballet Company by Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk in The Grand Rapids Press.

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Titles such as “Amazed in Burning Dreams” take it from there.


Audacious, exploratory choreography made the program, and artistic director Patricia Barker’s casting made it clear she’s showing off a growing roster of young dancers, supported by a handful of key veterans.

[dirac]

A review of Pacific Northwest Ballet by Robert Johnson in The Star-Ledger.

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For ballet lovers, the real excitement came on Wednesday, when the Seattle-based troupe re-introduced itself with a Balanchine triple bill. The works on display—especially "Apollo" and "Agon"—are among the most significant creations of 20th century dance. If the ensemble seemed excessively cautious in "Concerto Barocco," the first piece out, their timidity must be due to their short time living inside the work. More performances are exactly what’s needed.

[dirac]

Two reviews of Ballet West's "Cinderella."

The Salt Lake Tribune

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Arolyn Williams will steal your heart as Cinderella in the biggest little ballet ever produced by Ballet West.

Although the cast exceeds 30 dancers on stage at times, it’s the details that make this ballet so rich warmed by well-wrought characters. Sir Frederick Ashton’s very English blend of lyrical classicism and modernity give us a "Cinderella" that’s theatrical, refined and inventive.

The Deseret News

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Particularly stark is the seeming mismatch of music and story. It's often a wonder that this swirling score of eerie waltzes was indeed written for “Cinderella” (to answer to the question of a man sitting next to me, who turned to his wife and whispered loudly: “Are they playing the right music?”).


It’s a valid question. The effect can feel perplexing. It’s a study in music and mood. Although we’re watching Fredrick Ashton’s choreography depict the classic fairytale, Prokofiev’s minor-keyed, haunting score casts an entirely different spell....

[dirac]

An interview with ballet teacher Wilhelm Burmann by Pia Catton in The Wall Street Journal.

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Though the class is intense, there are moments of good cheer and camaraderie. Mr. Burmann will often ask a dancer to repeat a movement until his corrections are incorporated. When that happens, the class breaks out in congratulatory whistles and snaps.

As Mr. Burmann well knows, not every dancer absorbs his guidance. There has to be a certain kind of chemistry between teacher and student—a chemistry he experienced, for example, with all-star partners Ms. Ferri and Julio Bocca. Even then, Mr. Burmann is clear about his part in it all. "It's not that I was the greatest teacher," he said of working with the pair. "We were the greatest together."

[dirac]

A review of Nashville Ballet by Amy Stumpfl in The Tennessean.

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But it’s the evening’s final selection — the world premiere of “...but the flowers have yet to come,” — that is sure to leave audiences talking long after the curtain falls. Created specifically for “Attitude,” this innovative piece features choreography by Gina Patterson and music by Nashville-based singer/songwriter Matthew Perryman Jones — who performs live with his band in full view of the audience.

[dirac]

A review of Washington Ballet by Sarah Kaufman in The Washington Post.

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Do you want to know what I was telling myself a full hour later, as the romantic entanglements derived from the knotty, naughty 18th-century French novel “Les Liaisons Dange­reuses” had gotten only tanglier? No? I don’t blame you.