Friday, April 2

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A review of the Stuttgart Ballet by Lyndsey Winship in The Guardian.

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Beethoven is not considered the most danceable of composers, and Bigonzetti’s piece might give that theory some credence if it weren’t for the other ballets in this all-Beethoven bill, two classic works from the 1970s by Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen. Adagio Hammerklavier is a lucid piece of exquisitely controlled emotions and exquisitely controlled limbs, and Grosse Fuge brings unexpected accents to a challenging score. Van Manen partners the music on equal terms, rather than in a slightly dysfunctional relationship.

 

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

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At Pacific Northwest Ballet, two online premieres: Donald Byrd’s has a Western theme and Alejandro Cerrudo’s undulates.

Review by Nadia Vostrikov for The Ballet Herald.

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As an interlude between pieces, we are shown a beautiful trumpet solo by Libby Larsen and performed by Sarah Viens, Fanfare for the Women. Filmed in February 2021, Sarah is a lone musician in a high vaulted made-for-acoustics room, perhaps the orchestra’s rehearsal area.

Dancers are nothing without the music and focusing on the talented musicians often hidden in the orchestra pit is always a good idea.

 

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An interview with British dancer Julie Felix.

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Britain’s first professional black ballerina - who worked in Birmingham and worked in Solihull - has revealed the racism she suffered in her career, including being called a ‘black swan’.

Julie Felix, 65, performed in front of US President Ronald Reagan, king of pop Michael Jackson Prince, opera star Luciano Pavarotti, and with Lionel Ritchie.

But her career nearly did not take off - after she was turned down by a leading dance company because of her colour.

 

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Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre streams Susan Jaffe's "Boléro."

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Restrained, moderate-tempo music gives Maurice Ravel’s 1928 ballet Boléro an unassuming start, giving choreographers room to work in the piece’s growing energy and intensity. And in seven sold-out performances earlier this year in Carnegie Museum of Art’s Hall of Sculpture, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater artistic director Susan Jaffe did just that.