Wednesday, March 4

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A review of Ballet Vlaanderen by Brian Seibert in The New York Times.

Quote

In Mr. Cherkaoui’s “Faun,” the fault isn’t in the dancing and direction. The sweet and skilled Philipe Lens and Nicola Wills make as much as possible out of this silly 2009 remake of Nijinsky’s “Afternoon of a Faun.” There’s a trace of “which part goes where?” sex comedy to the joint gymnastics and the noodling canoodling of this faun and nymph, but not nearly enough to offset the twee, faux-naïf tone and choreographic thinness. Of the many versions of “Faun” a company might dance, this is among the least distinguished, but that might just make it a distinguishing choice for Ballet Vlaanderen under Mr. Cherkaoui.

 

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Angel Corella seeks to remove ethnic and racial stereotypes from Pennsylvania Ballet's "La Bayadere."

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Corella also sought input from a local expert, Pallabi Chakravorty, the chair of the music and dance department at Swarthmore College, who is also an anthropologist and choreographer with her own company Courtyard Dancers. To her surprise, Corella didn’t just want to talk. He wanted her in the studio to help with the choreography.

 

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A review of Ballett Zurich in 'Nussknacker und Mausekönig' by Graham Watts for Bachtrack.

Quote

Spuck has dispensed with the traditional national dances of the second act, using the music for narrative purposes, so that for example the familiar melodies of the Chinese Dance take place in Act 1 as a pas de quatre for four princes in powdered wigs and frock-coats (without a Fu Manchu moustache in sight). Spuck has reawakened darker aspects of the Hoffmann narrative that had dropped out of popular consciousness, such as the inner tale of Princess Pirlipat and the Hard Nut, which had been omitted from the balletic interpretations of Petipa onwards. It provided Spuck with the opportunity to integrate Tchaikovsky’s overture into his choreographic text.