8 replies to this topic

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Ma Cong announces his retirement.

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Cong, who joined the company in 1999, will retire from dancing at the end of the 2012-2013 season to focus attention on his work as a choreographer. Cong will continue on in his role as Tulsa Ballet's Resident Choreographer.

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Sarah Crompton writes on the "Are ballet and opera elitist?" panel discussion she is hosting next week.

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Monday’s panel features: the composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, who has written scores for both opera and ballet, including the thrilling Anna Nicole; the radical director Katie Mitchell, who has just staged George Benjamin’s new opera Written on Skin; the Royal Ballet principal Gary Avis, who partnered Darcey Bussell in her farewell performance and still graces every stage on which he dances; and the thriller writer Dreda Say Mitchell, whose sharp tales depict life on the edge in contemporary London.

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Mobile Ballet presents "Snow White."  Video.

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Mobile Ballet's Winthrop Corey is the Artistic Director and Creator of the production. Dancing the role of Snow White is a local star, former New York City Ballet Soloist, Kathryn Morgan. Noah Hart, a principal with the Alabama Ballet is dancing the role of the Prince.

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A preview of Houston Ballet'snew mixed bill.

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As Houston Ballet prepares for its latest mixed repertory program, there’s definitely a sense of newness in the air with Thursday's opening night almost here. The program features two world premieres — artistic director Stanton Welch’s interpretation of “The Rite of Spring” and emerging choreographer Edwaard Liang’s “Murmurations” — and a Houston Ballet premiere of Mark Morris’s sweet and floral “Pacific.”

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A summary of the critical reaction to the Royal Ballet'sWheeldon and Ratmansky premieres by Roslyn Sulcas in The International Herald Tribune.

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After the fever-pitch buildup, it’s not really surprising that the excitement that preceded the premieres was matched by disappointment after them. The droves of critics who attended seemed, mostly, to let out a collective exhale of discontent.

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Pavel Dmitrichenko is charged in the acid attack on Sergei Filin.

Telegraph

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The dancer was formally charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm and faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted, his lawyer confirmed later.

Two other men, Yury Zarutsky, 35, a convicted criminal who threw the jar of sulphuric acid at Mr Filin, and, Andrei Lipatov, 31, an unemployed man who acted as a getaway driver, face similar charges.

Guardian

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A judge denied Dmitrichenko's request for bail and remanded him in custody for six weeks as the investigation into the attack continues.

Financial Times

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But Pavel Dmitrichenko refused to apologise for his role, even as a judge ordered his detention.

“Are you sure that it was me who did this?” he said, speaking from a cage in a Moscow district courtroom, in answer to a question put to him by the judge about his role in and motives for the attack.

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More:

AP

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Several members of the ballet company who attended the hearing said they couldn’t believe that Dmitrichenko had masterminded the attack, even after they heard his confessions.

List of some of the top players in the scandal.

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Andrei Lipatov. He is accused of driving Zarutsky to and from the scene of the crime, but Lipatov insists he had no knowledge of the planned attack.

The Independent

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When asked if he wanted to apologise to Mr Filin, the dancer asked defiantly: “For what?”

LA Times

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Zarutski, 35, and his lawyer declined to comment on whether the acid was Zarutski's idea.

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Slate asks why the Russians make such a fuss over ballet.

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Ballet dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko confessed on Wednesday to hiring the men who threw acid in the face of Bolshoi Ballet director Sergei Filin in January. Dmitrichenko was reportedly miffed that Filin repeatedly passed over his girlfriend, ballet prodigy Anzhelina Vorontsova, for leading roles. Why is the ballet such a big deal in Russia?

Commentary on the case by Ismene Brown for The Arts Desk.

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What everyone wants to know is why, if Dmitrichenko only ordered a smashed nose and broken teeth, the hired hand Zarutsky took it further to permanent disfigurement and possible blindness. Was it his own idea, Dmitrichenko’s instruction - or someone else’s? After all, the court was told, he prepared car battery acid to ensure it would be more destructive. This is rather more cold-blooded and considered than a mere beating-up.

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A review of the National Ballet of Canada in 'Nijinsky' by Denise Sum for danceviewtimes.

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.....The idea is not to provide a historically acurate rendering of these works, but to imagine the whirlwind experience of moving from St. Petersburg to Paris and being quickly thrust into the spotlight performing these intoxicating, avant-garde works. The predominant musical theme is that of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade". Neumeier designed the sets and costumes based on sketches from Léon Bakst and Alexandre Benois, which add to the richness of this segment. There is a lot going on, but it somehow works.