Wednesday, March 16

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Olga Smirnova departs the Bolshoi.

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In a move likely to shake up the ballet world, Ms. Smirnova, 30, on Wednesday announced that she had joined the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, becoming one of the most significant Russian cultural figures to leave the country because of its invasion of Ukraine.

Related.

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Smirnova, 30, left Russia in March. In a statement on her Telegram account republished by the Dutch dance troupe she said she was "against war with all the fibres of my soul."

 

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

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At the end of “The Seasons,” a co-commission with American Ballet Theatre long delayed in its premiere here due to the pandemic, choreographer Alexei Ratmansky took a bow. Born in Russia but naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2016, Ratmansky lived in Kyiv, Ukraine, as a young boy and began his dance career at the Ukrainian National Ballet; his family is still in Ukraine. He was in Moscow creating a new ballet for the Bolshoi when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, and he immediately left. All last week he was in San Francisco working with the Ballet, returning to a supportive artistic home. Bounding onstage Tuesday, Ratmansky seemed exultant as he applauded the dancers. Then he drew from his blazer a large blue and yellow Ukrainian flag, beaming in defiant energy. The audience roared in support.

 

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A review of the Royal Ballet in "Swan Lake" by Leigh Witchel for dancelog.nyc.

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Even with changed steps and narrative details, Scarlett was working in an attractive classical style. The opening waltz, like all his group dances, were clear and had air in them; he wasn’t afraid that simple meant no signature or individuality. The opening waltz began with soldiers and officers, adding women after. The care the men gave to port de bras was gorgeous. If New York City Ballet makes the stereotypical case for being a feet-and-legs company, The Royal Ballet is the stereotypical poignant argument for an upper body company. Everyone does arm work the same and it’s beautiful.

 

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The Youth International Ballet Competition finals come to St. Petersburg (no, not that one).

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The competition is a major destination for pre-professional ballet dancers where an extensive panel of ballet directors are invited to adjudicate, teach, and scout talent. This enables the competition to serve as a leading platform to discover potential and to offer educational and professional opportunities to top ballet programs.

 

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Lauren Lovette is the new resident choreographer of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

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When Taylor, a modern master, died in 2018, at 88, the company lost its chief choreographer. In creating the position of resident choreographer, Michael Novak, a former company member who took over the artistic reigns at Taylor’s request, wanted to build something lasting: He made it a five-year job. That allows enough time for the choreographer to bond with the dancers. And it provides himself with a creative partner.

 

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Q&A with Charles Askegard.

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DD: What was your favorite Balanchine role to perform?

CA: When I first joined New York City Ballet, I didn’t always know which roles I was going to perform until I would be called in for a costume fitting. One of the first fittings I was called into was at Capezio to be fitted for a pair of boots for Stars and Stripes. This meant that I would be performing the role of El Capitan, which was one of my first roles with the company. Also in my first year, I performed the 2nd movement of Symphony in C and continued to dance both of these roles throughout my career at the NYCB. Because of that, those are my two favorite roles.

 

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Alonzo King makes his first piece for American Ballet Theatre.

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And although it’s a first, it’s also a circling back for King, whose path crossed with ABT in years past by way of a summer intensive he attended as a young dancer and through his coaching of ABT principal dancer Natalia Makarova.

 

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Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui will be honored at Jacob's Pillow.

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"Also known for his creation of a singular vocabularies for men dancers, on the occasion of our 90th anniversary as we honor our founder, Ted Shawn, and his contributions to men in dance, I can’t think of a more fitting and deserving choreographer to receive this award."

 

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Aspen Santa Fe Ballet welcomes Complexions Contemporary Ballet back to Aspen.

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When guest choreographer Dwight Rhoden came to the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet studio in 1997 to create a new work on the upstart company, it began a tradition of creation and commissions that would last 25 years, bring young creators from around the world to Aspen and bringing international acclaim to the locally based company.

 

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Boston Ballet presents a new mixed bill.

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The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” is one of five of the legendary band’s iconic rock songs fueling Galloway’s new ballet “DEVIL’S/eye.” Choreographed especially for Boston Ballet, the work is the centerpiece of a program that also features a reprise of Jiří Kylián’s dazzling “Bella Figura” and George Balanchine’s stunning abstract ballet “Chaconne.” And if it makes audiences in the decorous Citizens Bank Opera House feel like dancing, so much the better.

 

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Cleveland Ballet holds a benefit for Ukraine.

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“I cannot find the words to describe when there are children dying, old people dying,” Cleveland Ballet CEO Michael Krasnyansky said.

Krasnyansky, a Ukrainian native, hopes they can raise at least $30,000 for his homeland.

 

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 A Forbes Q&A with San Francisco Ballet gala chair René Rodman Diamond.

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Let’s chat a little about this year’s Gala. Specifically, what have been the biggest challenges so far putting on a Gala during a pandemic?

The biggest challenge to me and most of SF Ballet and SF Ballet Auxiliary is not being able to meet in person for the past two years. But we are grateful to have had the means to move on virtually. Could you imagine this pandemic happening even 20-30 years ago? The safety of the dancers is of primary importance, and the SF Ballet has prioritized keeping everyone working. But there have been many stops and starts, and maintaining and building momentum and morale has been paramount. For example, when we came up with the theme, it was over an in-person lunch with four members of the Auxiliary. It took that human touch to make the “magic” happen. So many of these women in SF Ballet and SF Ballet Auxiliary are close friends. There’s a real social element to the work and volunteering that we’ve been missing that we’re ready to get back to.

 

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A review of the Northern Ballet in "Casanova" by Geoffrey Mogridge for The Wharefedale Observer.

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Kenneth Tindall, in his first full length ballet, makes Casanova’s life seem such a natural subject. One of many stand-out episodes in this epic piece of dance theatre is Tindall’s flowing choreography of one of the most erotic scenes ever seen in a ballet. This is between Joseph Taylor’s Casanova and Abigail Prudames’s ‘M.M’; an aristocratic nun who seduces Casanova for the gratification of her voyeuristic lover Cardinal de Bernis.

 

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Ivan Putrov talks about putting together the Dance for Ukraine gala.

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Putrov said it had been “an incredible two weeks” putting the event together, adding that “in unity, our message strengthens and in this case, our gift of artists, which of course we use all the time, will actually be used to save lives. So I feel it’s very important to not be silent, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Last year he produced the Ukrainian Ballet Gala at Sadler’s Wells, which saw Ukrainian dancers partner stars of the London ballet scene and shone a spotlight on ballet in the Ukraine.