Mike Gunther

New Studio Company member Andile Ndlovu, from South Africa, was recently featured on the NBC Nightly News. But hey, no pressure Welcome, Andile.

This just announced. Russell Allen, currently ED of Orlando Ballet, succeeds Kay Kendall as ED of WB. Allen is a Va. native and experienced arts leader who formerly managed the Virginia Opera. "Allen said his plans for the Washington Ballet include developing a second home for it in a nearby city, similar to what he had arranged for the Orlando Ballet, which performs regularly in Tampa. Allen also said he wants to expand the Washington School of Ballet. This would require a new facility, or renovation of the Wisconsin Avenue NW building, which houses the company and the school, he said." Washington Post article

Wow! This is so great. Thanks so much for posting this. We loved them in D.C.!

First of all, I hope this is the right forum to raise this topic! Feel free to move it, if not. Houston Ballet danced Stanton Welch's "Velocity" (2003, music by Michael Torke) as part of the June 2008 "Ballet Across America Festival." It was danced exceptionally well, which might color my perceptions. The audience loved it. Cheers, and standing ovations, like you wouldn't believe. Two major critics, however, trashed the choreography (although not the company; see reviews by Sarah Kaufman and Clive Barnes at Links). They accused the work of superficiality, incoherence, and lack of pattern. Speaking personally, I saw a _lot_ of structure in it, although it was more a "Jackson Pollock" kind of fractal pattern -- order in chaos, or patterned chaos -- than the typical lines/circles that we more often see in (even contemporary) choreography. So I wonder: 1) Do you think the patterns that I intuited were really set there by Welch, or was I just seeing things? If you put enough people on stage, or indeed enough of anybody doing whatever, you are bound to see emergent "patterns" whether they are really there or not. 2) "Velocity" was premiered in Melbourne, 2003, by the Australian Ballet; the Houston Ballet premiered it in 2006. What was its performance history and critical/audience reception between those two places? 3) Is it as innovative as I think it is, or are other choreographers perhaps creating in a similar style? I'd really love to see more of this kind of thing, if it's by Welch or by whomever. 4) Has the audience/critical reaction always been as split as it was in D.C. last week? Or has it been different in other performances/venues of this work? Obviously this piece has got me really excited (last week in D.C. was the first time I saw it), so I'm just looking for some feedback here, be it audience or critical or professional (and no, I have no connection whatsoever with Houston, Welch, or Torke!) Mike G.

Program C (Fri. 13th): "Brake The Eyes" (2007) -- well, it ain't Swan Lake, and it didn't break any new ground, we've seen this kind of thing before. The broken uglified movement fighting against a classical score, with some portentous sub-bass electronics tossed into the mix just to make us all understand that this is a "serious work." But, Boston danced the thing with such impressiveness and conviction that I actually enjoyed it! I'm so ashamed "Lilac Garden" (1939) -- I'm probably in some kind of heretical minority on this, but I've always wished for more dancing, and less psychology, in this iconic work. Still, as with "Brake The Eyes," it was performed _so well_ ... thank you, thank you, Joffrey Ballet! "RUSH©" (2003) -- In the 1st part with its eye-popping costumes and bouncy, cheerful, beach boys and girls on happy pills, I thought well, this is going to be a feel-good piece. And that would have been enough, all by itself; but then it got even better. In the middle part, Wheeldon deepened and intensified everything with a keen and yearning pdd (kudos to Alison Roper and Artur Sultanov) that perfectly matched the shift to profundity in Martinu's score. Good Times returned in the 3d and last part, leavened by some themes from Part 2, and jazzed up by some patented Wheeldon tricks (like where the lady, supported horizontally by a couple of men, skips lightly across the chest of her upright partner!) I had barely heard of Oregon Ballet Theatre before this performance, but they have to be on everybody's radar now! Overall, this has been one of the most exciting weeks (or two weeks, counting Proteges) of contemporary ballet at the Kennedy Center. The mix of companies, styles, and works, both known and unfamiliar, has been simply outstanding! To pick just three out of many, if Ballet West, Houston Ballet, and Oregon Ballet ever decide to get together and hold a festival, I'll be on the first plane out west!

I was there Wed. evening. Pretty much a full house downstairs, though I don't know about upstairs. Lots of out-of-towners too. I loved Ballet West's "Serenade." The corps was light and tight and althogether right; the principals were strong, very dramatic and emotionally connected. They made a beautiful story out of this "plotless" ballet, although one that would be hard to put into words. Christiana Bennett danced both nights: 'Waltz Girl' on Tuesday night and the 'Dark Angel' on Wednesday night (thanks glebb for the info about Christiana!). I share your observations about Riolama Lorenzo (In The Night); she and partner James Ihde got the biggest response of the three couples on Wed. (which is not at all to denigrate the other two couples!) The audience just went nuts after Velocity, which fittingly closed the program (no way could anything else have followed it). They stood up and cheered until the house lights came on. I hadn't realized what a strong company Houston Ballet is. Program B (Thursday) was less compelling, though it's always great to see the home team in action. Didn't seem like quite as full a house, perhaps because of the competition from NSO's concert version of Eugene Onegin in the Concert Hall that night. I am looking forward to Program C (Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet dancing Lilac Garden, and Oregon Ballet Theatre) tonight!

Thanks Roma, this answers the question I had (about how professional the Bolshoi "students" seemed!). Not that I minded the performance

I enjoyed the program a lot (Royal Ballet School "Galanteries," Paris Opera Ballet School "Soir de fete," School of American Ballet "Concerto Barocco," Bolshoi Ballet Academy "Grand Pas Classique from Paquita") and was enormously impressed by the Bolshoi Academy. When they started the Paquita variations I thought, "hey, this is pretty good." Then I thought, "hey, wait, this is just the School, not the Company. This is amazing!!!" I wonder what kind of a system they have in the Bolshoi, that they can grow their students to such a level??

This was favorably reviewed in the Washington Post. My notes are from the Sat. matinee performance, with a different cast. Although a small company, Washington Ballet routinely provides two or more great casts, even for a one-week run. What a depth of talent! The program sandwiched Trey McIntyre's High Lonesome between two icons - Balanchine's Four Temperaments and Choo-San Goh's Fives. In the Sat. mat., Sona Kharatian was featured in Choleric (Four) and High Lonesome. Other standouts (you know there were too many to mention them all!) included Elizabeth Gaither and Luis R. Torres, burning up the stage in 3d Theme (Four); Jared Nelson's moving Phlegmatic; and Jason Hartley's "Innocent" in High Lonesome. Hartley danced this part like it was set on him (can anybody confirm this? I know he danced it earlier at Wolf Trap). His astonishing physicality and emotional projection always make him a joy to watch. Fives, the first dance that Choo-San Goh set on the company, was last seen here ten years ago. Last week's performance was superbly coached and rehearsed for the new generation by original dancer Julie Miles. It always amazes me about this company, how fifteen individual bright stars can also dance so beautifully en ensemble when required. Thank you to Washington Ballet for keeping this great work alive! High Lonesome, the "meat" in this choreographic sandwich, was a puzzle to me. It's been reviewed better than I can in danceviewtimes. I got the basic idea, I think, thanks to Hartley's dancing; the McIntyre character is both High and Lonesome. The other characters in this family drama were puzzling to me; I don't think McIntyre gives us enough clues to quite make sense of them. Next month is Cinderella!

Just a few brief impressions (3/27), mostly about "eyeSpace." Anybody else want to chime in? CRWDSPCR (1993) - I enjoyed the robodance-like upper body work in this one. "Second Hand" (1970) - For once, I thought the music better than the dance. Choreography seemed awfully static to me, but the music (John Cage's "Cheap Imitation") had a nice flow. "eyeSpace" (2006) - I was prepared to like this, just because I thought the concept was pretty neat: "[composer Mikel Rouse] wanted to employ the [iPod] shuffle... as a compositional device, thereby allowing each audience member to have his or her own unique sequence of the score... There is also an additional 'environmental score' that is performed live in the theater and represents the cityscape of sounds that music devices attempt to tune out." (composer's program note) However, once I plugged in the iPod, I felt alienated and psychologically distanced both from the onstage action and from the other people in the audience. It was almost a voyeuristic experience with listening to the iPod perceived as a separate activity from watching the dance onstage. Not at all what I expected, and I found it rather disconcerting. I give the MCDC full credit for continuing to serve up new experiences to its audience! During curtain call MC took his bows from the wheelchair, although he did not offer any post-show remarks as he has done here in the past.

Arigato! Great snapshots.

Ray, thanks for your question! WB has offered 7x7 on subscription for several years now. It's never been a donor event. The goal is to present shorter pieces by a variety of choreographers in an intimate venue (which in this case turned out to be the main studio, which can be decorated, lit, and filled with up to 100 seats on temporary risers.) Week 1 basically sold out at full price to season subscribers. I think they cut the price later just for the practical reason of filling more seats towards the end of the run.

Naomikage, is it possible for someone to post a report of this event? It would be interesting to see how NNTB perceives the reception they got in DC. In my opinion the tour was a big artistic success, and I personally hope they come back real soon!

kfw, thanks for such a fine review. I didn't see the Sat. matinee, but they really hit their marks on Sunday. Total commitment from everybody for the closing performance. Like you, I remember Agon as having being danced more crisply in the past. But their "softer" style was so consistent (at least on Sunday!) that I wonder if it is being deliberately coached that way now. Like a different way of interpreting the piece. The folks in NY are so lucky to see this company 23 weeks in the year! What a fine way to wrap up a great winter season of dance here in DC.

They announced a price cut to $30 for the remaining tickets this week (ends 3/9). I agree that $60 is a bit much, but $30 sounds like quite a bargain! I may go again at the reduced price, especially since the casting swaps around from time to time.

Did anybody see Program 2? I'm going Sunday night.

I seem to remember Shanghai Ballet brought White-Haired Girl here to D.C. a couple of years ago. That dance is just Maoist kitsch, but the company danced really well. I missed them not once but twice when I was in China last year, so I hope your timing is better. Anyway let us know what you see when you're over there, a lot of us would be interested. Good luck!

The Washington Ballet is giving D.C. a February Valentine this week at the studio, seven short works by seven different choreographers on the subject of Love. To me, it's always great to see this fine company up close. For one thing, they all have such outstanding personalities that really come across in this intimate format. I look forward to "7x7" every year and have not ever been disappointed. So yes, I felt the love, although the Washington Post didn't. The Post reviewer, Sarah Kaufman, liked the dancers but complained that the format was too intimate (!) and that most of the pieces were too superficial. Not that you can get real profound in seven minutes, but I'm ok with that; sometimes I just like to kick back and help myself to the chocolates. What do the rest of you think?

Mark Morris Dance Group brought his "Dido and Aeneas" to George Mason U. in Fairfax, Va. this weekend. The first thing most people noticed about the Saturday performance was that Dido/Sorceress was danced by a man! Fortunately Bradon McDonald didn't camp it up, gender-wise; Morris' choreography is camp enough by itself. What we got, was strong movement in a unisex role (danced by a woman, Amber Darragh, on Friday). The stereotyped movements of this dance, inspired by dance poses found on ancient Greek vases and frescoes, were performed with great precision by the MMDG; again fortunately, since the choreography mirrors Purcell's music so closely that any imprecision would have been a disaster. The company was superb, I have never seen them dance stronger. As choreography, D&A works best in the Hornpipe; given actual dance music to dance against, the result is thrilling; Lauren Grant, as the featured Sailor, brought down the house! The live music, from Purcell's opera, was a wonder; the MMDG Singers and Music Ensemble - together with the vocally beautiful, excellently phrased, and musically exquisite chorus of the George Mason University Singers - made an international class performance in their own right. I would have been deliriously happy just to listen to this musical performance, even as a stand-alone concert. Mark Morris conducted superbly, and I was blown away by Jamie Van Eyck's vocally rich and beautiful, supremely musical, emotionally moving Dido - on top of everything else, her diction was so excellent that every word of Purcell's text could be clearly understood. Although all-too-short at only 60 minutes, I feel that this dance/concert in the ongoing MMDG/GMU partnership offered a truly uplifting experience. I only wish that the DC dance critics, and more DC dance lovers, would make the pilgrimage to Fairfax, Va (Oh no! It's so far! 30 minutes to the campus!) more often!

I saw the Sunday matinee. Believe it or not, this was my first Raymonda, even though I've been going to ballet for - well let's just say quite a few years. Since I didn't know that ballet, I was not looking critically, just sat back and enjoyed and tried to figure out that complicated plot Cast changes from Sat. were: Miwa Motojima as Raymonda, with subs Yuko Nishiyama for Matada Kumiko (Clemens), Ayako Ono for Yuko Nishiyama (Waltz), and Miho Saito for Matada Kumiko (Grand Pas Classique). My overall impression of the company was that they danced delicately and perhaps over-carefully; that goes for all - soloists, demis, and corps. At least their joints aren't likely to suffer from the hyperextensions that we are seeing lately in other companies. I liked Motojima from her first (scrimmed) entrance; to me there was something winning and genuine about her performance. Technically I think she has ankles of steel, and sitting up close I saw some very nice foot- and leg-work. She sometimes (not often) leaned slightly in pirouette, corrected in several landings, didn't take chances, and won me over with her combination of artistry and "heart" (shin, genuineness). Denys Matviyenko ("y" spelling in "Denys" from the KC program) pretty much nailed his solos, but during a couple of the more difficult lifts I swear I thought he was going to drop her! Sweaty hands? I dunno. Fortunately he and Miwa were both skillful enough to recover gracefully; I'm not sure if most of the audience even noticed. The woman's entrance in the Act II Spanish Dance was awkward, and there was a timing problem with one of the four male dancers in the Act III Classical Quartet. All praise to the corps - they were really together, not only technically but emotively; come to think of it, in my opinion the corps from various companies visiting DC this year are _much_ stronger than corps, from the same companies, in the past. What do you all think? And if it's true, why? One thing I felt throughout was the emotional connection of the characters to each other - For example, in Act II Abderachman vs. Raymonda and her protective demis. It seemed really real, and I hope it projected up to the farther seats as well as it did up close. Summing up, lots of artistry and heart from this company. I'd like to know how they managed to train themselves up to international standard in so few years. (PS - conducting the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra was Ormsby Wilkins, the new ABT Music Director. It's a small world!)

Ultimately it comes down to who hires... in Washington Ballet (D.C.) we have Black, Hispanic, Asian dancers... I think that when choreographers / artistic directors, like Choo San Goh or Septime Webre, are comfortable with multiple cultures, then they are more likely to be clued in to great potential hires, just because they know where those applicants are coming from. In other words, it's not just who you (as a dancer) know, it's (even more important) who knows you!

Tonight (2/7) The Kennedy Center presented Noism08, a contemporary dance troupe from Niigata City, as part of its Japan Festival. The performance repeats tomorrow. Its title is "NINA -- materialize sacrifice" (I have no idea what that means). The performance was 85 min. long, with no intermission. It took place on a bare black stage, lit by warm gold overhead lighting. There were 10 dancers, 5 men and 5 women. The women wore beige 'tards, with the men in black suits, giving a bunraku-like effect sometimes. The music was repeated string or vocalized sostinuto passages over a techno beat. As the curtain opened, the five women were disposed around the stage in mannequin-like poses, which they held for an impressively long time. As the dance evolved, the women were moved around, fussed-over, and reposed by the men, in a rigid type of movement that reminded me of the mechanical doll (or since this is Japan, perhaps we should say "robot") parts of Coppelia. Some passages were quite effective, as when several of the men flipped a stiff-as-a-board woman end over end! When the men were off the stage, the women's movement became more fluid with large swirling extensions (arm/leg/body) into space. The men, when they were not partnering the women/dolls, executed vigorous movements that included interrupted and reversed back and side flips. Seen in sequence with the given musical background, it all fit together quite well. At the end they got a nice standing ovation. Usually the Kennedy Center crowd is fairly conservative, but obviously the contemporary dance audience was out in force tonight.

Washington, DC has turned into "dance city" lately, with ABT and Washington Ballet this week following close on the heels of the Kirov! I attended the Saturday matinee of Washington Ballet's "Genius," with choreography by Mark Morris ("Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes"), Christopher Wheeldon ("There Where She Loved"), and Twyla Tharp ("Nine Sinatra Songs"). All three of these dances are romantic (small "r") pieces that are organized into shorter units (etudes or songs), which gave the program unity in variety with connections on many levels. WB has always been a versatile, spirited company that gives 100% of themselves to everything they perform. What they added to the mix this afternoon was a new level of confidence and sophistication, from Morris's deconstructed forms to Wheeldon's neoclassicism and Tharp's subversive choreography. Standouts included Elizabeth Gaither in "Drink to Me Only," Brianne Bland / Jonathan Jordan and Elizabeth Gaither / Runqiao Du in "There Where She Loved," and Gaither / Du and Bland / Jared Nelson in "Nine Sinatra Songs." Also -- big welcome-backs and lotsa love to Erin Mahoney-Du ("Nine Sinatra Songs"), returning from maternity leave (congratulations, Erin and Runqiao!) and to special guest & former company member Michele Jimenez (alternating with Gaither / Du in "There Where She Loved" and with Bland / Nelson in "Sinatra Songs.") I hope you all managed to see this fine program in between performances of Sleeping Beauty! According to Sarah Kaufman, the Washington Post dance critic, Paloma Herrera and David Hallberg were among the WB audience on Thursday, and Hallberg will also be guesting with the WB in April. By the way, Kaufman loved the show. The remaining performances are Sunday, at 1p and 5:30p.

I attended Wed. The new production is a feast for the eyes... costumes are over-the-top fabulous. Speaking of fabulous, Xiomara Reyes nailed her Rose Adagio, and Reyes and Jose Manuel Carreno delivered a splendid Grand Pas de Deux. I also thought the Corps was Kirov-level impressive. Subordinate roles were covered nicely, albeit with one or two awkward moments, such as a foul-up at the exit of the Prince's Friends in Act II. Anyway, I liked the performance, and loved the new production.

Echoing thanks to our great reviewers! I saw Wednesday's performance - loved it - now I wish I could go back and see the opening night too. I have to say that Tkachenko's Gamzatti did win me over, although maybe if I'd also seen Tereshkina it would have been a different story. I also thought Lopatkina and Kozlov made a good partnership, although soloistically Kozlov seemed a little tired in Act II (saving himself for Act III?). In the corps' Act III entrance it seemed like everybody had their own ideas about the timing and extension of the arabesques. I thought it could have been much more synchronized, but is that asking for the impossible here? And does anybody else think that the Drum Dance is _way_ over the top? It's almost like it jumped into this ballet from some Las Vegas or Parisian-type revue. Overall, though, a wonderful evening and a great company. The Wednesday cast repeats Saturday afternoon.