Thursday, May 19

[dirac]

An interview with Olga Smirnova.

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"I think I was honest with myself and just followed my conscience... I thought it was right for me," said Smirnova, becoming visibly emotional.

"I felt so terribly sorry about all this... all these people who... lost their houses," she said

 

[dirac]

An investigation reveals that Igor Zelensky is romantically involved with Vladimir Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova.

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Tikhonova and Zelensky are also said to have a daughter who was born in 2017, around the time when Tikhonova reportedly divorced sanctioned business executive Kirill Shamalov. 

Related.

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Zelensky - who was Russian born with Georgian roots and not believed to be related to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky - quit the Bavarian State Ballet last month, apparently after refusing to condemn Putin's bloody war in Ukraine.

 

[dirac]

A review of the Ballet of the State Theater Nuremberg by Ilona Landgraf in her blog, "Landgraf on Dance."

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Montero re-worked his “Submerge” for Nuremberg – enlarging it from its original eleven dancers (from Zurich’s 2018 Junior Ballet) to a 19-strong ensemble. Barely discernable in the foggy gloom, they wait motionless at the rear of the stage, their eyes fixed on something in the distance. Together they walk forward, staring into the bright glow of the pit, at once an attraction and terror. Simultaneously, they step into the light, as if crossing into a moment of courage. For those in the audience who haven’t consulted the program booklet in advance, the next scene (in which the dancers undulate their limbs like gently floating seaweed) reveals the subject of this piece: deep-sea diving. A scuba diving course in 2018 served as Montero’s source of inspiration.

 

[dirac]

A preview of Houston Ballet's latest premiere.

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It’s been awhile since Houston Ballet patrons experienced new work. The professional dance company’s artistic director Stanton Welch premiered “In Good Company” before a live audience during fall 2021’s “Jubilee of Dance” — other than that, it has been classics recently.

Come Friday, the wait is over. Houston Ballet alum Trey McIntyre brings “Pretty Things” to the stage in rock star fashion. Here’s what to know about the dazzling piece inspired by one of the greatest artists of all time.

 

[dirac]

The Joffrey Ballet visits Santa Barbara.

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Birthday Variations, set to music by Giuseppe Verdi, was a treat for the tutu and pointe-shoe fans. The work’s symmetrical plan offered three variations for solo dancers on either side of a central pas de deux performed by dancers Yumi Kanazawa and José Pablo Castro Cuevas. For the rest of the evening, Birthday Variations functioned as a reminder and, for newcomers, a primer in proper ballet construction and technique. 

 

[dirac]

Nevada Ballet Theatre closes its season with "Carmina Burana."

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Roy Kaiser is the artistic director of the Nevada Ballet Theatre.

He said the production they’re doing “isn’t really about anything.” The original score was inspired by writings and poems from the 13th century. The dances will reflect the power of the music in a contemporary way, he said.

 

[dirac]

A review of Miami City Ballet by Paul du Quenoy for The New Criterion's blog.

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In this piece, Balanchine explored a more athletic and even sexual dancing style than nineteenth-century ballet scenarios had permitted. To emphasize the young man’s wanderlust, the wiles of the siren who tempts him into ruin, and his degradation at the hands of ne’er-do-wells, Balanchine borrowed moves from gymnasts, acrobats, and circus performers to deliver gut-wrenching moments with a ferocious passion. The scenes of drunken revelry and sly seduction contrast with the son’s homecoming. In a departure from the Biblical source, the son implores forgiveness from his father rather than simply receiving the grace of unconditional love.