Friday, March 11

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A review of New York City Ballet by Leigh Witchel for dancelog.nyc.

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For his penultimate Prodigal Son, Gonzalo Garcia performed the lead role like a letter from a forty-year-old to a twenty-year-old. Other dancers have used the physical energy of the steps to create the character. Garcia didn’t attack the turns and leaps with that desperate energy; they were more crafted than urgent. It was a portrait of the artist as an angry young man.

 

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Ivan Putrov and Alina Cojocaru talk about their charity gala, "Dance for Ukraine."

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Prompted by her life partner, the choreographer Johan Kobborg, she decided on the latter. “Johan said, ‘Why don’t you organise a fundraising gala?’ Five minutes later I was on the phone to Ivan. That was only a week ago. Within two days we had the offer of a theatre — the London Coliseum. And it’s been like a snowball gaining speed and size ever since. Usually with galas you have endless conversations with dancers about repertoire and so on before they agree to anything. In this instance people immediately said yes.”

 

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Darcey Bussell and the Duchess of Cornwall visit the new headquarters of the Royal Academy of Dance.

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The new building in York Road, Battersea, south London, is 60,000 square feet and almost double the size of the old premises.

The Duchess of Cornwall - the Royal Academy's vice-patron since 2020 - unveiled a foundation stone, and revealed she has taken up over-55s ballet herself via the academy's Silver Swan scheme.

 

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A review of Houston Ballet by Margaret Downing for Houston Press.

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From an ominous wind sounding through the theater before the dancers even appear to an emotional send-off into the stars, the 95 minutes of Stanton Welch’s Sylvia is many, many, oh so many things.  But buoyed by incredible dancers, clever choreography and a striking score, Sylvia is never dull, not for one moment.
 

 

[dirac]

Daniel Ulbricht's "Stars of American Ballet" visit Hawaii.

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This fundraiser event takes place this Saturday, but this evening KHON2 had the chance to speak with the Ballet Hawaii Executive Director Kimi Takazawa.

 

[dirac]

The artistic director of Russian Ballet Orlando will not change her company's name in spite of public hostility.

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Then Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. And her business received a torrent of hate.

“We got bombarded with threatening phone calls telling us we were murdering children and we should go back to Russia, all the curse words,” she said. “We had to turn off our Facebook reviews. We couldn’t keep up with deleting the comments.”

 

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Former ballerinas of Dance Theatre of Harlem will participate in a public discussion of the company's history.

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Lydia Abarca Mitchell, Sheila Rohan, Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Karlya Shelton Benjamin, and Marcia Lynn Sells were among those who assisted the two men in realizing their vision. They are now using their years of dance experience to help usher in the next generation through their foundation, the 152nd Street Black Ballet Legacy. On March 14, they will join forces with the Philadelphia Ballet at the Bellevue Hotel to share stories about their careers and connections to Dance Theatre of Harlem.

 

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Sarasota Ballet presents "A Comedy of Errors."

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David Bintley’s full-length ballet adaptation of the Shakespeare classic is gearing up for its world premiere in Sarasota, and the dancers are priming for their final rehearsals. Bintley, waiting to see his creation brought to life, isn’t worried about bringing Shakespeare to the stage without words. But he is curious to see how the crowd will warm to it.

 

[dirac]

Oakland Ballet presents the "Dancing Moons Festival."

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The Oakland Ballet is one of those companies that signed on and is now making good on its word, uplifting Asian American choreographers, dancers, composers, and designers in the Dancing Moons Festival.

The Dancing Moons Festival will take place over two weekends from March 24 - April 2.

 

[dirac]

A review of the Royal Ballet by Vikki Jane Vile for Broadway World.

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John MacFarlane's opulent designs are as luxurious as always - so much so, the raising of the curtain to begin Act III is a highlight in itself as the sumptuous golden ballroom is revealed for the scene at the palace. The full complement of 24 swans in the iconic white acts are faultless, disciplined and synchronised. Yuhui Choe and Leticia Dias are sincere and beautiful as the Two Swans, and the four Cygnets dig deep to remain in time on a couple of occasions but still deliver stoically. Thomas Whitehead, a last-minute replacement for a COVID-stricken Gary Avis, cuts a lone and ghostly figure as Rothbart.