Saturday, June 12

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Washington Ballet prepares the final performances of its virtual season.

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It’s unlikely that when Farley made the decision to stop performing — one he arrived at before the pandemic hit — he saw filmmaking in his immediate future. In conversation, he circles back to the traditions of classical ballet — George Balanchine and John Neumeier are among the canonical choreographers he admires — like returning to a well-paved path in the woods. He extols the ritual of the ballet class, the importance of building on the fundamental steps, and the “physical connectivity” between the dancers and audience. But when he reentered the industry as a young choreographer with a classical bent, he entered a world that looked more like a postmodern experiment.

 

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A review of the Royal Ballet and Darcey Bussell's charity gala by Louise Levene in The Spectator.

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...........After a year being drip-fed small-screen ballet, the prospect of a little bling and bravura generated a buzz of excitement around Dame Darcey Bussell’s charity gala. The Hall (Albert) was hired, sponsors were found, eight major companies (six ballet, two contemporary) were available and generous punters paid £240 a ticket expecting big names and greatest hits. They got precious little of either.

 

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An obituary for Carla Fracci.

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Carla Fracci was a tram conductor’s daughter from Milan who became arguably the most famous Italian dancer since Marie Taglioni in the mid-1800s. Her greatest role was Giselle, which she danced with Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov and above all Erik Bruhn, with whom she filmed the work in 1969 and who opened doors for her in the United States.

 

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Festival Ballet Providence returns to live performance.

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Adding to the sense of emerging is that the program is performed outdoors. A dancer-friendly sprung stage is set up in the parking lot at Festival’s Hope Street studio, and while that may not seem like a perfect setting, the weather for Thursday’s “soft opening” was ideal — comfortably warm with a refreshing, light breeze. Even street sounds were no distraction to the mesmerizing movement and music on stage.

 

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Nathan Brooks of the Australian Ballet talks fashion.

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What’s your favourite fashion era?

I love 1950s men’s fashion: that rock’n’roll style, the neutral colours and clean lines. I love the trousers and jeans with tucked in T-shirts; everything had a tailored feel with an edge to it. James Dean, Marlon Brando – they were suave and chic.

 

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A review of the British Ballet Charity Gala by Jenny Gilbert for The Arts Desk.

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It was a noble vision. The reality was a disembodied affair, with Dame Darcey and her co-presenter, cheeky chappy Ore Oduba, MC-ing remotely from an upstairs bar, and the performers struggling to project their considerable energy from a platform built at the foot of the organ pipes across the great chasm of the arena. This space was where the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and its conductor Robert Gibbs sat, suitably distanced. In fact their services were only called on for half the items on the programme. The music I was really looking forward to hearing live – Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No.1 – was recorded.

 

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Former participants in the USA International Ballet Competitition return to Jackson for promotional events.

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Rust is one of the six competitive dancers chosen for a promo to spotlight the historic downtown Jackson.

“The commerical is going to be something we’ve never done before and so we’re very excited about it. We’re using landmarks in our beautiful downtown,” said USA IBC Executive Mona Nichols.

 

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 A remembrance of the New York Negro Ballet Company's visit to Glasgow in 1957.

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On the other hand, the Glasgow Herald’s critic, J.D., took the view that the company had been none too well served by its choreographers.

“The dancers themselves have talent ... but the material they have been provided with falls short of the ideal. Much of it was confusing in its jumble of styles, and sometimes it seemed to be filling in so many bars of music without any real objective in view.”