Saturday, July 30

[dirac]

A review of Taylor Stanley's evening at Jacob's Pillow by Janine Parker in The Berkshire Eagle.

Quote

Observers were struck by Stanley’s quality of movement throughout that dance, which revealed deeper nuances within this already-notably sensitive dancer. It was a watershed moment; Stanley has called this role, this expansion of movement possibilities, a “gift.” And so, with Abraham serving as artistic advisor to the project, Stanley stars in a program that, with recent or new works by choreographers Jodi Melnick, Andrea Miller and Shamel Pitts, scratches this new itch of artistic exploration. The past, however, is present here, too, in excerpts from George Balanchine’s 1957 “Square Dance” and Talley Beatty’s 1947 “Southern Landscape.”

 

[dirac]

An interview with James McDonell of Australian Ballet.

Quote

Swan Lake Variations is a classical piece celebrating the joy of dance and the beauty of Tchaikovsky's famous score. This will be the second time McDonell takes to the stage across regional towns after performing with the company last year.

"I have had to sacrifice, I guess you could say, a normal life," McDonell said.

"I trained six days a week, 8:30am until 6pm. So that comes with sacrificing things most people my age would be going out or doing. But I can't afford to be doing that as much as others."

 

[dirac]

An interview with Carlos Acosta.

Quote

I was a man on a mission. I was away from my family and I didn’t speak a word of English. I didn’t know what a bank was, let alone anything about life in London. But it was the right place for me to be.

I dealt with feeling low by living in the future. Projecting better things that could happen became my defence mechanism. Even to this day, I’m always thinking about my next project.

 

[dirac]

Dancers talk about coping with sore feet.

Quote

“Flat shoes? Oh, my goodness,” says New York City Ballet star Tiler Peck. “We’re constantly told by our physical therapists to make sure you have an arch support.” She uses drugstore inserts in her sneakers and tops them off with a heel lift made by AliMed, a supplier of medical products.

“They give your calves a rest,” says Peck. “It’s just a little, half-circle thing that lifts your heel up just a bit.”

 

[dirac]

A co-founder of Olympic Ballet writes a letter to the editor celebrating the company's history and community support.

Quote

With creative and dedicated people all around us, the time of growing Olympic Ballet flew by. Collaborations with motivated students, high-quality artists, excellent live orchestras, exciting artistic events everywhere, deep personal friendships, and extraordinary restaurants made for a special and unique life experience (with mountains, ocean and ferries). These exceptional and diverse organizations, building great reputations together, made Edmonds a little Sausalito! How proud we were to be part of this creative and beautiful community.