Friday, February 26

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An article on Alexei Ratmansky's new ballet in The New York Times.

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One of the busiest choreographers in ballet is back in the studio, thanks to bubble protocols. “For what I do, and for the language I use, the stage is needed,” Ratmansky said.

 

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A KRON4 interview with Kimberly Marie Olivier of San Francisco Ballet.

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“People think that if my skin isn’t white, I ruined the line so, I mean the whole tights thing is, you know, I don’t care to get into those conversations because then you can nit pick and say all the skin tones should be the same and then I would not be allowed to be dancing,” Olivier said.

 

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A feature on  Balanchine's "Prodigal Son" by Michelle Smith for America magazine.

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With choreography full of bent limbs, fists and acrobatics, “Prodigal Son” feels jarring and modern even today. It carries its own shock value. By adding a new character, the Siren, an embodiment of temptation and sin, the ballet brings new life to a parable that has been repeated to the point where it can become overly familiar instead of appropriately challenging.

 

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A review of Adriana Pierce's #QueertheBallet by Tom Phillips for danceviewtimes.

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The art form of ballet is overdue for a queering – i.e. expanding its repertoire of meaning beyond the traditional binary codes of gender and sex.  Adriana Pierce, an alumna of George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet and Miami City Ballet, went into a recent residency with a clear goal in mind: “to create a duet for two women which honors their movement styles, physique, emotionality, and connection in a way that is not harnessed by ballet’s traditional technical ideals.  I also feel it’s imperative that audiences get to see genuine and thoughtful queer stories and relationships.”  By the end of the residency she was well begun, maybe halfway done.  But next comes the hard part.