Friday, February 24

[dirac]

An interview with writer Alice Robb about her new book, “Don’t Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet,”

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In researching “Don’t Think, Dear,” she interviewed former S.A.B. students who, like the author, never made it to City Ballet. One of them joined a contemporary dance troupe, another went on to teach a gentler adaptation of the Balanchine method at a Christian university in Texas, and a third found work as an extra in Central Casting.

“How did we reconcile our past, and our residual love for ballet with the feminist consciousness we eventually developed?” she writes.

 

[dirac]

An NBC News interview with Susan Jaffe.

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A handful of women are making history in the ballet world, taking the reins of some of the biggest dance companies in the U.S. NBC’s Gadi Schwartz has the story of one woman who was recently appointed artistic director at one of the industry’s most prominent companies. 

 

[dirac]

An interview with Michaela DePrince.

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"There are moments where you feel like I'm not good enough," DePrince said. "I had a lot of teachers saying, 'Well, we don't really believe in Black ballerinas' or 'We think you're going to end up getting fat with big boobs and big thighs. You should just be a modern dancer.' There's a lot of people who didn't believe in me."

DePrince is one of a small number of Black classical ballerinas in the world. Additionally, she has vitiligo, a skin condition that takes away pigment.

 

[dirac]

The choreographer who gained notoriety for smearing the face of a critic with a dog's poopy-do faces the fallout.

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Goecke was fired as head of ballet by Hanover State Opera as is facing possible police prosecution.

Now the National Theater Mannheim has dropped his ballet Young Lovers, saying ‘we have to do without his piece and find peace again.’

 

[dirac]

Reviews of Houston Ballet in "Romeo and Juliet."

Houston Press

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The wide scope of the production is impressive – three acts boasting larger-than-life sets well populated by a company with acting chops to spare. In Welch’s hands, Verona is bustling but not busy. His grasp on the action is iron; the ballet is well plotted, expertly timed, and pleasantly balanced. The vocabulary is classical and, much to the delight of the audience, Welch seems to have made it a point to wring dance out of every moment possible. Fouetté turns here, foot flicks there.

The Houston Chronicle

 

[dirac]

The Cleveland Ballet shows its support for Ukraine.

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Outside The Cleveland Ballet Studio, the Ukrainian flag proudly waves. It's blue and yellow represent freedom, love, bravery, and independence. All characteristics, Founder and CEO, Michael Krasnyansky, said is reflected in his dancers.

 

[dirac]

A TV news interview with Amanda Morgan.

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Morgan said she isn’t dancing nearly as much now that she is a PNB soloist. But she is plenty busy.

She is choreographing her first full-length work. The working title is “Chapters,” an exploration of a life in dance, at least so far. It will premiere at the Northwest Film Forum in early May.