dirac Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 Three articles from Bachtrack on the life and work of E.T.A. Hoffmann. Sugar-coating the sinister: ETA Hoffmann at the ballet Quote In Hoffmann’s much more elaborate plot, Marie finds the Nutcracker herself and mends it with a bit of ribbon from her dress. In doing so she sees a flash of a human face on her wooden doll. She is unworried by this odd occurrence of a doll showing signs of life, and falls asleep with her Nutcracker. In her dream it is a seven-headed Mouse King and she doesn’t awaken the next morning from a lovely dream, but with a physically injured arm. Master of the fantastical: the life and work of ETA Hoffmann Quote Known today primarily for his literary works, it is often forgotten that ETA Hoffmann, a multi-faceted artist and universal genius, also practised as a lawyer, composer, Kapellmeister, music critic and illustrator. “On weekdays I am a lawyer and at most a bit of a musician, on Sundays, I draw during the day, and in the evenings I am a very funny writer until late at night,” he wrote to a friend. Bachtrack top ten: ETA Hoffmann Quote Léo Delibes: Coppélia Léo Delibes composed the music for this comic ballet, which is inspired by Hoffmann’s creepy story, Der Sandman, which later featured in The Tales of Hoffmann. In the ballet, the inventor Dr Coppélius has made a life-sized mechanical doll which is so life-like that young villager Frantz becomes besotted with it… much to the irritation of his girlfriend, Swanilda, who decides to break into the workshop. [Mark] Link to comment
dirac Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 A review of the Australian Ballet by Stephanie Glickman for Australian Stage. Quote Leading woman, Benedicte Bemet as love interest Columbine, is delicate and crisp with an exciting technical precision. She has a soft yet extremely focused quality, nicely foiling the spiky energy of Chynoweth. Decked out in white suit with sleeves well-past his hands, Callum Linanne as Pierrot plays the foppish clown with a droopy yet physically precise quality. Sharni Spencer is a warm and radiant Pierette. The ensembles are colourful, large and full of ballet kidlets – always a crowd-pleaser! Link to comment
dirac Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 The director of the New Albany Ballet thanks a local business for its help. Quote They then built special racks to accommodate the length of the mirrors, and planned an additional day to come deliver and install the 80 feet of mirrors in Meridian. And after a three-hour drive and an three extra installation hours, the mirrors are safe and sound in their new home in the Meridian School of Ballet. Although the new facility is currently under construction, it’s a great start to see the mirrors up and the new studio space starting to take shape. I can’t say enough about how kind they were to me and how hard they worked to get them reinstalled without damaging them. Link to comment
dirac Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 A preview of Cape Town City Ballet's winter season. Quote Ikigai is an invigorating triple bill inspired by the Japanese philosophy of life purpose, life happiness and life peace. Suitably depicted in those ideas are ballets by three generations of award-winning choreographers: Jirí Kylián’s Falling Angels, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs and Kenneth Tindall’s Polarity, in collaboration with the artists of CTCB. Link to comment
dirac Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 A review of American Ballet Theatre in "Of Love and Rage" by Ivy Lin for Bachtrack. Quote The second act’s dramaturgy also falls apart. In Act 1, it’s fairly easy to follow the plot without looking at the program. But the second starts with a “dream” ballet that summarizes the first act and only gets more muddled. Mithridates and the King of Babylon both fall in love with Callirhoe and both have retinues of corps dancers. The King of Babylon also has a wife with her retinue of ladies. It’s not entirely clear, however, how any of this is connected to the plot. By the time Callirhoe and Chaereas are finally reunited, it was so many plot twists ago that I barely remembered when they were together. A review of ABT in The New Criterion. Quote Dancing the role of Callirhoe was Catherine Hurlin, a native New Yorker. Callirhoe must be an astounding, world-shaking beauty. Ms. Hurlin was beautiful in every way conceivable. At the beginning of the story, she was girlish, winsome. As the story progressed, she was womanly, elegant, queenly. Though the story can be silly, Ms. Hurlin never was. Link to comment
dirac Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 A review of the English National Ballet in 'Giselle' by Leigh Witchel for dancelog.nyc. Quote Revisiting the work, its strengths haven’t changed: powerful group work and gripping performances from Rojo, Jeffrey Cirio and Stina Quagebeur as Giselle, Hilarion and Myrtha. Unfortunately, the weaknesses – murky lighting and murky dramaturgy, are still there. Link to comment
dirac Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 Kansas City Ballet has big plans for one of its campuses. Quote Yesterday, Executive Director Jeffery Bentley announced a $1.8 million expansion and renovation project at their building at 5328 W. 95th St. in Prairie Village. It will increase the number of studios from two to four,and triple its square footage from 3,400 square feet to more than 10,000. Link to comment
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