Monday, February 28

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A review of San Francisco Ballet in "Don Quixote" by Terez Rose for Bachtrack.

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Debuting in the production as Kitri was Misa Kuranaga, formerly a principal with Boston Ballet. It was her biggest night on the SFB stage since joining the company in 2019 just before Covid shutdowns. As Kitri, she was charming and artful, if not singular (that title goes to fellow principal Mathilde Froustey). Her turns were strong, her leaps airy and her chemistry with Angelo Greco’s Basilio brought further energy to the ballet.

Jim Munson's review of SFB for Broadway World.

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San Francisco Ballet is putting on a big ol' party in the guise of high culture with its latest program, that enduring chestnut Don Quixote. Sure, there are ballerinas dancing on pointe supported by their dashing cavaliers, the occasional tutu and a stunner of a grand pas de deux, but the whole enterprise really wants nothing more than to entertain the pants off you, and in that it thrillingly succeeds. While my own preferences tend toward ballets with more psychological nuance and emotional complexity, this might be just the ballet we need right now when we're finally, possibly, hopefully(?) emerging from our collective COVID cocoon. This Don Q feels like a massive celebration - for the dancers, for the orchestra and for the audience.

 

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A review of Birmingham Royal Ballet's Don Q by Graham Watts for Bachtrack.

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Necessity is the mother of invention and the particular constraints of touring to smaller stages compelled set designer Tim Hatley to rethink his original large set where the houses of Barcelona moved around the stage. These cumbersome perambulating buildings have been replaced by the firmer foundations of a now static set, which is not only serviceable but also more pleasing. Acosta’s earlier production had a windmill that also moved, now replaced by Nina Dunn’s excellent, sinister video designs that turned the windmill into that most realistic monster of Don Quixote’s febrile imagination. Hatley also renewed the costume designs and this whole new look for the ballet fitted the authenticity of Acosta’s Spanish narrative as tightly as a matador’s spangled suit (known as el traje de luces).

 

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A review of the Australian Ballet in Yuri Possokhov's "Anna Karenina" by Lee Christofis for Limelight.

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To this point, the ballet has flown rapidly, sometimes so much that it was difficult to follow; interval chatter was dominated by “who’s who?” as libretto pages flapped across the theatre. Furthermore, a lack of character development in some roles seemed odd, notably Kitty (principal Benedicte Bemet), whom Tolstoy conceived as tempestuous as she is delightful.

 

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A review of Gonzalo Garcia's farewell performance by Ivy Lin for Bachtrack.

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Prodigal Son is a famously challenging role even for dancers at their peak. It’s a long ballet, with many famous moments, so there’s no place to hide. Garcia if anything jumped higher and farther than the last time I saw him dance this ballet (pre-pandemic). His finest attribute as the Son is how essentially lovable he is – he was young and callow, but there was none of the brattiness of so many other portrayals. When he crawled across the stage after being robbed and beaten by the Goons, he broke everyone’s heart. The final embrace by the Father (Aarón Sanz) had more emotional impact because of Garcia’s innate decency. Sara Mearns was commanding and voluptuous as the Siren. This role brings out the best in her. Mearns and Garcia don’t have the big height differential of some Siren/Son pairings, but Mearns’ emphatic phrasing and forceful personality made their pas de deux full of danger.

 

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Boston Ballet presents world premieres by five female choreographers.

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The Boston Ballet will be putting female artists front and center in its production “ChoreograpHER” (March 3-13), building on an initiative that was first launched in 2018. Five unique women creators will debut world premieres of dance performances that they have led, each boundary-breaking piece featuring a distinctive vision and voice. While female dancers make up a strong and significant part of the ballet world, historically, choreography has been directed with a male figure at the front of the room, said artist Lia Cirio. As these women artists take the spotlight through the presentation of their new works, the Boston Ballet endeavors to affect culture by empowering others to step forward and shine.

 

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The Joffrey Ballet returns to Berkeley.

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Now the dance ensemble will be giving its first post-pandemic live performances outside the company’s home base of Chicago. When the Joffrey takes the stage March 4 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, almost exactly two years later, it will be with a joyous synchronicity celebrating how to survive and thrive despite crippling circumstances.

 

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The Bavarian Junior Ballet Munich visits Israel.

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Since settling in Israel in 2011, Barrios has focused her energies on training young dancers for a life in ballet and contemporary dance. Her program for young dancers is in its fifth year and has already seen several students find employment in major companies around Europe. Another facet of her work with young dancers came to fruition in the collaboration with the Munich Junior Ballet.

 

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 State Street Ballet presents "Sleeping Beauty."

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And yet, talking to Cecily MacDougall about it today, she has nothing but good things to say about what that uninvited hiatus has done for the production. “These two years have allowed the project to evolve,” MacDougall told me. “State Street’s Sleeping Beauty is bigger and better now than it was in 2020. We have had many more rehearsals, we have added live music played by the Opera San Luis Obispo Grand Orchestra, and we’ve had an extraordinary opportunity to mature as a company.” At the same time, as in all these fairy tales involving sleep, the world has changed.