Saturday, October 21

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Ballet West presents "Dracula."

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Along with my sister, I watched the dress rehearsal performance on Thursday, and the whole production from the set, to the orchestra, to the dancers was breathtaking, beautiful and inspiring. Ballet West’s artistry is refined and the company clearly has exceptional talent both on stage and behind the scenes.

 

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A review of the Sarasota Ballet by Carrie Seidman in The Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

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This was not a bad thing. The Milwaukee-born Hackbarth, previously with Dresden Semperoper in Germany, is a standout addition and a much-needed replacement for Danielle Brown, the longtime principal who announced her retirement over the summer (much to the dismay of her legion of fans). Hackbarth’s trilogy of performances was a testament not only to her stamina, but her versatility and nuance.

 

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A review of the Royal Ballet by Marianka Swain in The Daily Telegraph.

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Conditions weren’t ideal for the premiere of Anemoi, created by Royal Ballet First Soloist Valentino Zucchetti. His work was “a pandemic baby”: born into a turbulent 2021, some of his performers were forced to self-isolate and Zucchetti had to rejig his choreography moments before opening night. Happily, this revival – the opener of a gorgeous Royal Ballet double bill – has had a much smoother entry into the world, although it retains that thrill of energy unleashed after a long period of lockdown. 

 

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A review of the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet by Rupert Christiansen in The Spectator.

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It wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected: in fact, it erred towards the polite and tasteful, and I wondered if a crowd largely consisting of hairy and leathery old rockers – some of them possibly anticipating satanic rituals or heads being bitten off chickens – got much out of it. The numbers, if that’s what you call them, had been quite sensitively filtered and orchestrated, at a decibel level even I found  inoffensive. Recorded voices of the two most famous members of the band, Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne, were intermittently heard reminiscing: both sounded endearing, and I was amused and fascinated to hear Iommi admit that in his youth he had been a ‘medium’ fan of Holst’s The Planets – it makes sense.

 

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An appreciation of "The Red Shoes" by Hugh Barnes for The Arts Desk.

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With the help of the painter Hein Heckroth and the composer Brian Easland, both of whom won Oscars for their work on the film – not to mention Robert Helpmann’s almost Freudian choreography – Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger combined words and images and music and movement to produce a “total artwork” that illuminates the unconscious as well as the exotic world of a Diaghilev-style ballet company.

 

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Ballet Theatre of Maryland presents "The Firebird."

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Over my four decades of writing reviews, I’ve watched at least a dozen productions, including an authentic Russian version in Moscow. Also memorable were performances by the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Dance Theater of Harlem—John Taras’ spectacular take with Martine Von Hamel as the Firebird. I thought of her as I watched this latest rendition with a fresh perspective and vibrant energy.

As the Firebird, principal dancer Lindsey Bell delivered a powerful performance that left a lasting impression on everyone fortunate enough to witness her on stage. Her technique and emotional depth brought the mythical creature to life in a way that was both captivating and haunting. 

 

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Associated Press Q&A with Misty Copeland.

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You are so busy, do you still make time to train?

I was up at 5 a.m. this morning on the treadmill (laughs.) I’m not actively on stage right now because I really felt like it’s kind of now or never. I’ve had an incredible career so far with ABT, and I’ve done everything and more than I imagined......

 

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Gayle McKinney-Griffith has died at age 74.

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Gayle began dancing at a young age. She attended Carnegie Hall's Showtime for Children in New York, and Froman's Professional Ballet School in Connecticut. In high school, Gayle was the dance club president and received the Connecticut College Dance Scholarship to study with professional dancers. After graduation, Gayle attended The Juilliard School where she pursued a degree in ballet before leaving to become a founding member and first ballet mistress of Arthur Mitchell's Dance Theatre of Harlem.