Wednesday, March 31

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A review of American Ballet Theatre by Lauren Gallagher for DanceTabs.

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The modern ‘convenience’ of streaming is on-demand, on your own time. Not only did I miss City Center, I missed the full, encapsulated experience. Domestic life sheds like a skin when we enter a theater, a space dedicated solely to the altar of art. Cell phones are (hopefully) off. No alarms, interruptions from family or pets, or unexpected repairmen........... Definitions of space and purpose blur, work and play areas are indistinguishable and interchangeable. Does this diminish offering a streaming program? No. Dancers need to be seen, to perform, and to participate in the creation of new works. Dance’s unique dependence on collaboration is in direct opposition to isolation. ABT created this program, rehearsed and performed it following all COVID protocols and regulations dictated by government and health authorities. To have accomplished this is a great feat for any company, especially after a year of dancers taking class in their kitchens and on their patios; not to mention the fiscal challenges of a year without normal ticket revenue.
 

 

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Q&A with fitness trainer and former dancer Debra Rose.

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J.: You came out to California to dance. How did you end up with Lines, the legendary ballet company of Alonzo King?

Debra Rose: I must have been 21, maybe. I went from the School of American Ballet [in New York City] and I came out here. I danced with Oakland Ballet for a minute, I guested for a minute with San Francisco Ballet, and then Alonzo asked me to sub for somebody who was injured. And that was it, I was a goner. His sensibility, his aesthetic, his focus, the direction he was going was unbelievable to me — and still is. I feel honored to have danced with Lines.

 

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A review of San Francisco Ballet in "Jewels" by Rachel Howard in The San Francisco Chronicle.

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The performance of “Diamonds” capping this cobbled-across-time “Jewels” is really special. I say that personally because I remember being at the 2017 Sunday matinee when Sasha De Sola made her debut opposite Tiit Helimets. The energy of that performance was exhilarating, and what’s surprising is how it pops off the screen almost as intensely as in person. Balanchine famously did not want dancers to overtly emote, and De Sola may push that line here, but it makes for a strikingly tender connection with Helimets in every small moment of catching each other’s gaze or touching each other’s hands. And De Sola’s speed and radiance through the swift turns of the penultimate movement are unmatched.

 

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A portrait of Tamara Karsavina is auctioned off at Christie's and donated.

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It is the second painting of Karsavina by Blanche. He previously painted her in the role of The Firebird. That painting is now housed in the Paris Opera, where the ballet premiered.

The painting which has been given to the RAD is of particular significance, as there are very few paintings of Karsavina not in ballet costume.