Sunday, March 6

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A review of Birmingham Royal Ballet by Róisín O'Brien in The Guardian.

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Covid-19 is still biting, and the company unfortunately had to reduce the cast last-minute. There are a few wobbles but professionalism prevails. Each time Mathias Dingman as Basilio appears, I relax: always composed, even during high-flying jumps. Momoko Hirata’s Kitri seems more comfortable in later, more reserved variations. The company excel in gypsy camp revels, and live guitarists on stage nicely complement the solidity of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Tim Hatley’s costumes shine in the details – an inspired multicoloured swish of the gypsy women’s skirts – rather than Kitri’s blunt red dress or the matador’s gleaming suit.

 

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A review of the Royal Ballet by Sarah Crompton in The Guardian.

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Which leaves you with the dancing. In the first of many exciting casts, Yasmine Naghdi stepped in at short notice for Marianela Núñez. Naghdi is a wonderful technician, with every step, each inclination of the head and position of the arms placed perfectly. But she is also extraordinarily self-contained; I long for her to be less perfect and more vulnerable, less efficient and more poetic. As Siegfried, Muntagirov was heavenly: expressive, solicitous, and flying across the stage in long, aching lines.

 

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An obituary for Clement Crisp in The Sunday Telegraph.

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He saw the dance critic’s task as an urgent historical necessity: “I find it tragic that in the century of the cinema, when newsreel film has preserved 80 years of non-entities, from the greasiest political opportunists to pop singers, there is not one frame of the Diaghilev Ballet in action; that Nijinsky is to be seen only in five seconds of film that show an old man walking from his Vienna hotel.”

 

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An interview with Erica Ueberroth, the artistic director of Bakersfield City Ballet.

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KV: You mentioned all those hours of hard work to refine your repertoire. What can we expect from Ethereal Visions?

EU: “We are showing you August Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano and La Ventana........ These are extremely old, classical ballets, where a lot of that original choreography has been lost, but this section that you’ll see in our show, is a part of the choreography that has been preserved over those several hundred years. We also are featuring two contemporary works: one I choreographed called “Splendor in Misery,” and choreographed by our resident choreographer, Alicia Angelini, called “Tin-Pan Alley.”

 

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A review of Tiler Peck's evening at New York City Center by Gia Kourlas in The New York Times.

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Her music-and-dance buffet, which opened Friday, is full of verve — joyful if not exactly transformative. It brings about the kind of fulfillment an Instagram post might: pleasant but forgettable. Peck, a highly regarded principal at New York City Ballet, loves to show how ballet can coexist with other forms of dance, notably tap. That this program has unofficial roots in the Vail Dance Festival, which is directed by Damian Woetzel — and, similarly, presents a mix of dancers from various backgrounds — is clear.

 

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An AFP story on the boycotting of Russian artists with ties to Vladimir Putin.

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"In the current context of brutality against innocent citizens, there is no possibility of making exchanges like those during the Cold War," said Gelb.

The Met has ceased its collaboration with the Bolshoi, and will boycott all pro-Putin artists, a decision also taken by the Paris Opera and many other venues around Europe.

The Bolshoi's trip to London this summer has been cancelled.

 

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The Korean National Ballet presents "Jewels."

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Kang Sue-jin, the world-renowned dancer-turned-artistic-director for the company, again surprised the critics earlier this year as she picked "Jewels" again this February. Not only because it felt rather too soon, as only four months have passed since the October performances, but also because it happened to be this year’s very first stage by the Korean National Ballet. This year also marks the company's 60th anniversary, which naturally means a lot.
 

 

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 Kentucky Ballet Theatre of Lexington and Ashland Youth Ballet present "The Little Mermaid."

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AYB Director Maria Whaley said dancers of the KBT will perform the principal roles and corps de ballet roles. Among the dancers will be KBT soloist Llonnis del Toro, who is no stranger to the area.

"Llonnis has been our Nutcracker prince for the past two years," Whaley said. "He's a magnificent dancer and a great inspiration to the young men in our program."

 

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Twin Cities Ballet presents "The Wall: a Rock Ballet."

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But it is not the first time TCB is performing to the seminal double album. The ballet company danced to the classic rock songs four years ago at the Cowles Center and again at the Ames Center in Burnsville in 2019.