5 replies to this topic

[dirac]

Reviews of Ballet Black.

The Independent

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There should be no need for a company called Ballet Black, just as there should be no need for all-female political party shortlists. But there is, and for two reasons: to offer a platform for classically trained dancers of colour, particularly women, conspicuously absent from Britain's big ballet companies; and to provide role models for a rising generation of talented kids. But in the 12 years of Ballet Black's existence, it has found itself a third raison d'être. It's hard to think of another small company that even comes close to its turnover of new work.

The Observer

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Perhaps the most impressive of Pancho's achievements is that over the years she has commissioned more than 30 danceworks. Her latest programme is typically varied. The most accomplished piece is The One Played Twice by Javier de Frutos. To a suite of Hawaiian songs, the oldest dating back to the mid-19th century, De Frutos crafts a sequence of dances whose swaying rhythms and melancholy undercurrents perfectly fuse with the retro vibe into which the BB dancers seem to be able to slip at will. Sarah Kundi, in particular, only really looks fully dressed with a hibiscus blossom in her pin curls.

[dirac]

A preview of Kansas City Ballet's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

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This will be the third time the Kansas City Ballet has performed Whitener’s adaptation of the play. The first was in 1997, not long after Whitener became the ballet’s artistic director in November 1996.

[dirac]

A review of Carolina Ballet by Roy C. Dicks in The News & Observer.

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“Rite” originally was about sacrificial rituals but Stowell takes a universal approach that examines society’s insiders and outsiders, creating a chilling view of humanity. The minimalist setting by Michael Mazzola, revealing the back wall and side entrances with no masking, employs three cloth walls that move to create various spaces. The score is a two-piano arrangement by Anatoly Larkin, who plays it live, along with Tad Hardin, creating appropriately mysterious percussiveness.

[dirac]

Dayton Ballet closes its seventy-fifth season.

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It was 75 years ago that two Dayton sisters — Josephine and Hermene Schwarz — opened The Schwarz School of Dance. In May 1937, they gathered together the school’s finest dancers, named the troupe “The Experimental Group for Young Dancers” and staged a performance at the Dayton Art Institute. That was the first performance of what was to become the second regional ballet company in the United States.

[dirac]

Reviews of Madison Ballet's Dracula.

The Daily Page

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The dancing was topnotch throughout, but I didn't need to be further convinced that it was a daring "rock ballet" by seeing three dancers play air guitar. As George Balanchine once said, "In ballet a complicated story is impossible to tell ... We can't dance synonyms." Smith (sporting a red-plumed mohawk in honor of the production) distills Bram Stoker's Dracula in this production, but you'll still want to read the program's synopsis of the 1897 gothic-horror novel.

The Capital Times

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Matthew Linzer plays the original irresistible vampire, a cooly androgynous predator who makes no distinction between genders when he's lusting for a drink. Smith embraces moments of homoeroticism in his staging, letting Dracula linger over Harker (Brian Roethlisberger) and newly vampiric Lucy clutch longingly at her former best friend.

[dirac]

A review of Mobile Ballet's "Winthrop Corey's Snow White" by Tamara Ikenberg for al.com.

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In the title role, Mobile Ballet veteran and New York City Ballet soloist Kathryn Morgan, is a naturally perfect Snow White. Her bright red lips, porcelain skin and beautiful brunette hair make her visually ideal. Plus, her sweet expressions and elegant movement infuse the classic character with a sense of innocence and charm.