dirac
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Posts posted by dirac
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Oh, well. Wait patiently, check it out of the library (well, not my local library, but they can borrow it from somewhere else for me).
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Or it's just very, very expensively produced (?)
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An interview with Simone Orlando.
QuoteOrlando made the tough decision to go back to school in her 30s to study business at the B.C. Institute of Technology, navigating technology she knew nothing about and studying alongside people in a younger generation. “I decided I needed to reinvent myself because I didn’t know what the future was going to hold for me.”
Orlando completed two years and received a diploma in business. At the same time, the former artistic director of Ballet Kelowna was looking to step down and the company was hiring for the role Orlando now holds.
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Richmond Ballet presents "Dracula."
QuoteAudiences can expect new theatrical elements including flying brides, special effects and a ghostly carriage.
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A review of New York City Ballet by Gia Kourlas in The New York Times.
QuoteThat grief — the solitude of “Solitude” — is apparent from the start. The principal dancer Joseph Gordon kneels before the limp body of Theo Rochios, a young student of the company-affiliated School of American Ballet. Rochios, in a bright blue shirt — it lets him nearly glow in the darkness — lies flat on his back while Gordon holds his hand.
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San Francisco Ballet gets a $60 million donation.
QuoteThe gift, from an anonymous donor described as a longtime backer, is intended to help support the creation of new work and to strengthen the Ballet’s financial security, the company announced Thursday.
QuoteThe vast majority of the gift, $50 million, will be used to bolster the company’s endowment, currently valued at about $108 million, and to help finance the creation and acquisition of new works. The remaining $10 million will be used to help cover operating costs in Rojo’s first few seasons.
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Reviews of the Joffrey Ballet.
Quote“Hungry Ghosts” and its companions for the evening — a revival of Andrew McNicol’s 2019 “Yonder Blue” and the company premiere of Liam Scarlett’s “Hummingbird” — all create distinct, striking worlds.
Case in point: A gorgeous backdrop of black runny paint on white muslin (by John Macfarlane) literally glows under David Finn’s crisp, cool lighting in Scarlett’s “Hummingbird.” That drop is tucked under like a sail to reveal a raked ramp for the dancers to slide down, seemingly from an abyss. Visually, it’s miles from “Hungry Ghost’s” back 40, behind Mehler’s gauzy veils. But the sense of an unseen beyond, in the shadows, is a theme that permeates each of these pieces and provides a throughline to the evening.
QuoteThe first dance was Yonder Blue choreographed by Andrew McNichol; it gave me a Kubrick vibe from 2001 A Space Odyssey. The dancers wore various shades of blue with scenic and lighting designs by Jack Mehler. Yonder Blue expresses dance as emotion with the dancers melting into one another and then expanding like flowers blooming, McNichol moves the dancers in perfect unison as a backdrop while a pas de deux weaves in and out of the web of arms and bodies. The Joffrey ensemble is in perfect form, each expressing an intimacy that can only come from a camaraderie among the dancers. The spare and melodic music was by composer and cellist Peter Gregson. McNIchol was inspired by essayist Siri Hustvedt's A Plea for Eros, which explores love from a woman's point of view and shows how love can transform or engulf a person.
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A review of the Washington Ballet by Celia Wren in The Washington Post.
QuoteThe improvisatory spirit of jazz. The virtuoso rigor of ballet. An odd-couple pairing?
Not in “Coloring Silent Space,” prolific choreographer Jessica Lang’s rewarding new work, which deftly marries resonant movement to jazz music performed by the Craig Davis Trio. Lang’s dance proves the concept of the Washington Ballet’s new production “Jazz Icons: A Fine Romance,” a fusion of dance and live jazz that also features Dwight Rhoden’s world premiere “Midnight Riff.”
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An interview with Aaron Watkin, the new director of the English National Ballet.
QuoteYet her reign was marred by unsubstantiated claims of bullying, while the wider ballet world is currently reeling from a series of sexual abuse allegations and eating disorder and mental health revelations that has exposed the ugly heart of this most exquisite of art forms. Add to that a challenging financial climate, a rapidly shifting cultural landscape and the persistent misapprehension that ballet is an exclusive art form, and Watkin, 54, has a formidable task ahead. “ENB is in fantastic shape,” he says in his light Canadian drawl. “But there’s no doubt we have to work hard at changing perceptions.”
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More reviews of the RB.
QuoteThe festival was not just a celebration; it was a statement. The Royal Ballet, traditionally seen as a custodian of classical ballet, showcased its commitment to fostering new talent and embracing change. Joshua Junker, Gemma Bond, Mthuthuzeli November, and Jessica Lang stepped into the spotlight, each bringing a unique voice to the venerable stage. Junker's 'Never Known' opened the evening with a display of twitching, angular movements, setting a tone of deliberate exploration. Meanwhile, November's 'For What It's Worth' pulsed with the rhythms inspired by the legendary Miriam Makeba, and Lang's 'Twinkle' danced to the innocent tunes of Brahms and Mozart, reinterpreting the familiar 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'.
QuoteGemma Bond’s Boundless, we’re told in an introductory video, was partly inspired by watching the unfettered freedom of movement of young children. Possibly appropriately, the resulting 30-minute piece looks as though someone has dumped their entire toybox on the floor. It’s an overexcited neoclassical grab bag of whirling moves on a bare stage from which it’s hard to pick out any clear intention or personal style. Led by Yasmine Naghdi and Ryoichi Hirano, the dancers launch a frantic volley of spins, jumps, lifts and dips – with the odd bit of skipping or a star jump for good measure – to an accompaniment of Joey Roukens’s thundering In Unison concerto. Naghdi and Hirano have a moment of peace in a slow duet and look as though they’re turning to each other for comfort after enduring a toddler’s tantrum. Great tutus, though.
QuoteWhat’s bold about this February’s Festival of New Choreography at Covent Garden is that the Royal Ballet hasn’t asked its leading house choreographers – Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon – to contribute. The season would be better labelled Choreographers New Here; and the company is taking a real risk. (It’s also lowered its prices considerably. Seats usually costing over £100 cost less than £50 this time.) The four pieces of the main house’s new quadruple bill have been created by people making their house debuts as choreographers. Each ballet is introduced by a short black-and-white film that, briefly, sensibly, introduces us to the choreographer and to her or his notions of what she or he intends. This (a device often used in New York since 2008) is effective: it does much to get us on side before the choreography even begins.
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The Royal Ballet offers a Festival of New Choreography.
QuoteAs for the works themselves, there’s an almost inevitable unevenness, but both the variety and ambition on display are undeniable. If it were a competition, a joint, heads-held-high bronze medal would go to the first and last pieces: Boundless, by former Royal Ballet dancer Gemma Bond; and Twinkle, by US choreographer Jessica Lang. (Rating for each: ***)
QuoteThe only choreographer drawn from the Royal Ballet’s ranks is Joshua Junker. Never Known opens with a twitching, angular pack of dancers staring up at a high, hazy light (Zeynep Kepekli’s gloriously responsive lighting is key to all four ballets). Junker’s movement is often deliberate, close to the floor. He stretches his cast, quite literally: spines slink backwards, one dancer drapes over another’s shoulders, there are daring lifts with one hand in the small of the back. Unexpected pools of movement form in the sonar ping and warble of Nils Frahm’s electronic score, which gives way to surging piano and a fraught duet for Liam Boswell and Francisco Serrano. What will Junker do next? It should be special.
QuoteAfter the interval comes the night’s biggest hit: For What It’s Worth, a burst of sunshine by Mthuthuzeli November. It’s inspired by his background in South African street dance but to that he adds a joyous classical sheen — all the dancers glow. The music (by November and Alex Wilson, superbly orchestrated by George Morton) and the costumes (by Yann Seabra) are as vibrant as the dance, which swings and sways deliriously. It’s fronted by an extraordinary turn from Mayara Magri, whose initial solo is like a beautiful prayer and whose deep-bodied fluidity and kinetic exuberance are off the charts.
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Maybe there's some black humor in this I'm not getting. At least it was apparently just a small envelope of his ashes.
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Wonderful, jorge. Thank you for reviving this thread!
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Reviews of the Perth Festival's Ballet at the Quarry.
QuoteThis opening season features two Australian premieres and one world premier by British choreographers George Williamson (dubbed a rising star of British dance) and the also much lauded David Dawson, regarded as a trend setter on the international ballet scene. To accompany these illustrious offerings is the delicious surprise of the evening, the short but masterful 3 min 40, choreographed by Gakuro Matsui, Principal Dancer of the WA Ballet.
QuoteIt also comes as the company enters a new era. They are currently in a transitionary phase, Artistic Director Aurélien Scannella has departed after a decade which has seen the WA Ballet swell in its numbers, take on bold new work, and create pathways to develop dancer’s creativity and choreographic skills.
David McAllister has stepped in a Guest Artistic Director for this year, but fans of the company eagerly await what comes next, so it’s fitting that this year’s season at the Quarry takes on the name Metamorphosis.
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A review of San Francisco Ballet by Rachel Howard in The San Francisco Chronicle.
Quote“Song of the Earth” plays against the tremendous drama of Mahler’s music with pared-down clarity. No flashy costumes, just practice-style leotards in white, black and beige. The movement is equally exposed, its inventiveness entirely within the discipline of ballet logic. When the dancers push through an extension with a flexed foot, you might think of George Balanchine’s “Apollo.” But other motifs, like swaying deep crouches, or a bend into a sitting-on-air position with legs turned in, bring to mind Asian forms of theater and highlight “Song of the Earth’s” cultural mélange. After all, the text of these German-composed songs is six poems by the venerated eighth century Chinese poet Li Po.
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Carolina Ballet presents an all-Gershwin program.
QuoteThe spotlights shone on the Fletcher Opera Theater and heralded Carolina Ballet’s latest performance, “Rhapsody in Blue,” which opened Feb. 1. Choreographed by Zalman Raffael, the performance was accompanied with live music celebrating American composer George Gershwin’s work known for twisting classical music with American jazz elements from the 1920s. “Rhapsody in Blue” is a delightfully breathtaking performance that brings uniquely American music and dance styles to the stage.
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Alexei Ratmansky talks about his new work for New York City Ballet.
QuoteIt seems right that Ratmansky, arguably the most important ballet choreographer working today, is entering that territory at New York City Ballet, where he has made some of his most personal and original work, tapping into the furthest reaches of his imagination. Because of the company’s repertory, built on the ballets of George Balanchine, and because of the dancers’ ethic — “it’s about the choreography and the music, not about them,” he said — Ratmansky feels an open-endedness in the creation process here. “I can say, let’s go in this direction,” he said, “and I know that something will happen.”
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A report from the Prix de Lausanne by Ilona Landgraf in her blog, "Landgraf on Dance.
QuoteIn the early days of the Prix de Lausanne, candidates had more freedom in selecting their presentations, presently, however, the artistic committee predetermines a selection of classical and contemporary pieces, and each candidate selects one of those to prepare. This process made it easier for the jury to make comparisons but resulted in a repetitious program at the gala. Several variations were shown twice; Do You Care? by Aleisha Walker was presented three times. While the nine prize winners danced both the classical and contemporary variations, the other eleven finalists performed one solo each. Only one boy – the Brazilian João Pedro Dos Santos Silva – dared to tackle the role of Harlequin from Petipa’s Harlequinade. It was a good choice – he won a scholarship.
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A preview of Atlanta Ballet's "Coco Chanel: the Life of a Fashion Icon" by Celia Wren in The Washington Post.
QuoteA dance sequence with dancers’ bodies evoking the famous interlocking C’s is one part of “Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon,” now making its North American premiere at Atlanta Ballet through Feb. 17. The moment is just one of the ways in which the acclaimed choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa addresses the lingering, complex influence of her subject, the French designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
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Jessica Lang talks about her new piece for the Royal Ballet, "Twinkle."
QuoteLang loved the brief and set to work on what was to become Twinkle – and if that immediately evokes "twinkle twinkle little star" in your mind, you’re spot on. That was indeed the charming children’s lullaby that inspired the work.
‘I couldn’t get this idea of "twinkle twinkle" out of my head. I literally saw [RB principal] William Bracewell, the piano, the star… but I wondered if that was big enough… I thought, I’m going to have to add something to it. So, the lullaby, the childhood memories of this delicate tune, if we stay in that world of childhood and nighttime and lullabies and the stars, going to sleep, well, then let’s go to Brahms' Cradle Song...."
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The Royal Opera House partners with the MS Society to provide a dance residency for peole with multiple sclerosis.
QuoteLouise Cabral, 56, from London:
I always danced all my life. That was known as part of my personality. MS can take really important things away from you. You feel like part of your personality was amputated, I’m no longer ‘Louise the dancer.’
I never thought I would have the opportunity to dance at the Opera House, especially because I have MS. But, no it is because I have MS! It’s a dream come true.
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Photo gallery of the Royal Ballet rehearsing Robert Binet's "Dark with Excessive Light."
QuoteThe Royal Opera House’s Linbury theatre will be transformed for Canadian choreographer Robert Binet’s new show, where the audience can roam freely. Take a first look.
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Diablo Ballet celebrates its thirtieth season.
QuoteThe premiere of Saunders’ Diablo commission, “Dr. Magic,” is a centerpiece of the company’s Feb. 9-10 program, which also includes “Sleeping Beauty’s Wedding,” the lavish third act of Marius Petipa’s ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” set to Tchaikovsky’s playful score. An encore performance of Gerald Arpino’s athletic “Confetti” featuring music by Rossini, completes the program.
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Matthew Bourne presents "Edward Scissorhands" in Birmingham.
QuoteMatthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands is a ballet adaptation of the 1990 Tim Burton film of the same name. Given the nature of Scissorhands as a Frankenstein’s Monster-esque creation who moves unsurely, as though his body is connected by little more than hope and thread, the film makes an interesting challenge for renowned choreographer Bourne to translate into the medium of dance. However, it is a challenge that I believe he achieves magnificently, particularly in the strength of his casting for Edward (Liam Mower). Mower’s talent is evident in the way in which he manages to maintain the stilted movements of the character whilst still demonstrating the grace and fluidity of a skilled dancer.
Wednesday, February 14
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An interview with Tiler Peck.