Friday, December 11

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A story on the claims of former Staatsballett Berlin dancer Chloé Lopes Gomes by Roslyn Sulcas in The New York Times.

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But Ms. Lopes Gomes, 29, said that when she joined the Staatsballett Berlin in 2018, she was told by the ballet mistress in charge of the female corps de ballet to use the body makeup. “I said to her, I’ll never look white,” Ms. Lopes Gomes recounted. “She said, well, you will have to put on more than the other girls.”

 

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A Royal Ballet Nutcracker photo gallery.

Review of the production by Mark Monahan in The Daily Telegraph.

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State Street Ballet presents "Evenings" online.

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Amara Galloway’s “Spaced Out” kicks things off with a spectacular use of the Lobero Theatre’s front plaza featuring dancers Arianna Hartanov, Amber Hirschfield, and Noam Tsivkin. Anna Carnes follows with “A Sum of Parts,” which employed a very different strategy for obtaining video by asking dancers all over the world to share video they made of themselves. Filled with gorgeous duets between dancers and the sliding glass doors in their homes, and shot through with low angles, bare feet, and natural outdoor surfaces, “Parts” fulfilled the implication of its title by being much more than just “the sum.” 

 

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Saint Louis Ballet presents its Nutcracker online.

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“I knew back in June that we couldn’t have 30 or 40 mice kids running around in the studio,” says executive artistic director Gen Horiuchi. “So, that was out of the question.” Horiuchi made the difficult decision to cancel all live performances until 2021. He was in Japan when the pandemic hit in Asia and saw the writing on the wall for his ballet company’s spring and fall seasons. “By experiencing it in Japan early, it made me realize that strong leadership is important to get through this,” Horiuchi says. “That’s why I took a chance.”

 

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James Whiteside presents an online benefit, "Fancy Nut Mix."

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A spectacle of Nutcracker magic will transport audiences to the land of the sweets-the home of the Sugar Plum Fairy, portrayed and choreographed by Whiteside, en pointe. Joined by a cast to celebrate the suite of dances from the beloved land , the evening will also include a Soldier Dance duet, with James and Harper Watters (Soloist, Houston Ballet), an indelible and virtuosic Coffee, both created and performed by Whiteside and long-time partner Isabella Boylston (Principal, American Ballet Theatre), piping hot Tea served by Emmy award winning choreographer Al Blackstone and danced by Whiteside and Tiler Peck (Principal, New York City Ballet), Candy Canes, a tap duet for Whiteside and Demi Remick choreographed by dance artist Remick, and The Grand Pas de Deux featuring the voracity and classical chops of Whiteside and Isabella Boylston in the traditional choreography of Alexei Ratmansky.

 

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Ballet Memphis releases a filmed version of its Nutcracker.

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This year, you’ll get to watch the holiday classic from the comfort of your own home thanks to a one hour professionally shot movie that’ll air on public TV stations across the state called, “The Nutcracker: A Gift From Ballet Memphis.”