dirac Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 A review of Washington Ballet by Sarah L. Kaufman in The Washington Post. Quote The legs, the attitude: They belonged to Sona Kharatian, the Washington Ballet’s dark-eyed slayer of souls. Her unfurling kicks, carefree arms and air of easy triumph turned the spoofy Balanchine ballet “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” into her private playground. Kharatian’s performance as the Striptease Girl in this 1968 parody of brawling mobsters and showbiz capped the Washington Ballet’s “Balanchine + Ashton” program at the Eisenhower Theater. It also left an indelible impression of an artist who owns her work. Link to comment
dirac Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Reviews of Alina Cojocaru's Alina. The Times Quote Following in the footsteps of Sylvie Guillem and Natalia Osipova, Alina Cojocaru — by day, a lead principal dancer of English National Ballet — is the latest superstar ballerina to assemble a programme of dance designed to showcase her artistic sensibility and range of talent. The result is a much better evening than this sort of vanity project often turns out to be. The Guardian Quote Two highlights are short films by choreographer/director Kim Brandstrup, beautifully made miniatures rich with insight into a dancer’s world. The first, Faces, watches Cojocaru in mesmerising closeup as she marks through a dance in her head, her eyes tracing a story. Kiev is a personal portrait of the dancer revisiting her old ballet school and it poignantly shows the thread of learning passed on, the imprint of teachers’ words and hands living in her dancing body. The Daily Telegraph Quote In the event, the programme doesn’t entirely avoid the standard portmanteau-show pitfalls. Juliano Nunes’s new love-triangle, Journey, although perfectly respectable, feels tonally surplus to requirements here. And exactly how much the two short films bring to the table is debatable, even if they do (in 2018’s Faces) show Cojocaru commendably up-close and unvarnished, and (in the new Kiev) see Cojocaru pay touching tribute to some of the teachers who most influenced her when she left her native Bucharest to train in Ukraine.... Link to comment
dirac Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 More reviews of Alina. The Stage Quote Reminiscence, the second piece, is a pas de deux with her off-stage partner and fiancé, Kobborg. If that dynamic is expected to produce a frisson, it fails. But what it does engender is an endearing lovingness to their playful, kittenish exchanges. The Financial Times Quote The star herself performs in all the live dance on offer. Two short films by Danish dance- and film-maker Kim Brandstrup allow her to catch her breath: an extract from 2018’s Faces, featuring Cojocaru close-ups plus a sentimental journey to Kyiv in which the camera pans across the ageing hands and faces of her formative ballet teachers. Screensavers? Conceivably. Worthy material for inclusion in a night of live theatre? Don’t be daft. Link to comment
dirac Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 Manuel Legris is appointed artistic director of La Scala Ballet. Quote According to French news sites, Olivieri, who has led La Scala Ballet School since 2006, will continue to serve as the academy's director. Link to comment
dirac Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 Tobi Tobias has died at age 81. Quote “Tobi was passionate about the Bournonville school of classical dancing to the point of obsession,” Ms. Aloff, said. “It summed up everything she valued about theatrical dance: liveliness, deep knowledge of tradition, respect between women and men, spiritual humility, meticulous attention to nuance of character and language.” Link to comment
Recommended Posts