Thursday, February 8

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A story on the "toxic" ballet world by Charlotte Lytton in The Daily Telegraph.

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Martin Howland, a Royal Ballet School graduate, recalls students who, determined to reach waif-like status, ended up taking “dangerous decisions to look a certain way. And of course, that has a horrible effect on your health – both physical health and mental.” (A 2013 study confirmed that ballet dancers are at higher risk of suffering from eating disorders.) 

 

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Photographs of Rudolf Nureyev by Colin Jones, with commentary.

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With a decade of training under his belt, Jones was perfectly adept at combining his lithe physicality and impeccable timing to capture the scene. At a time when artists and celebrities preferred to be photographed as paragons of beauty, Jones sought a deeper truth that spoke to the reality of their circumstances. “Dancers only want to look absolutely perfect in their pictures. To me that wasn’t what it was about, it was about the physical work,” Jones said. “I prefer dancers backstage, because it’s what the audience never saw, they never saw the hard work these people went through to get to their professional peak, they only saw the glamour.”

 

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 A review of New York City Ballet by Leigh Witchel for dancelog.nyc.

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In Ashley’s role, Sara Mearns didn’t have Ashley’s Amazonian quality. Mearns interpreted the part as Mearns is wont to: as a Big Ballerina role. God knows Ashley would not have wanted the pressure of representing all of ballet when she stepped out on stage. Mearns seemed just fine with that. Her opening à la seconde pirouette was almost a metaphor. Despite Knight being beside her, she was going it alone.

 

Mary Cargill reviews NYCB for danceviewtimes.com.

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Sebastian Villarini-Vélez did not quite have the measure of Melancholic, demonstrating the positions rather than experiencing them; the end of his solo isn’t a test to see how far his back can bend, it is a vision of a man who is pressed down by fate; his dancing, though clear,  needed more weight and struggle.  Sanguinic, danced by Isabella LaFreniere, which Preston Chamblee in his debut, did have a struggle.  LaFreniere burst on with a thrilling urgency, but she didn’t deliver the shimmering footwork which echos the little grace notes in the music, instead diving into her menage with such force that she almost fell out of her turns.  This seemed to unnerve her, and the rest of her performance was a bit muted.  The final circular lifts, nobly supported by Chamblee, though, had a memorable grandeur, showing off her eloquent upper body.

 

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Dance Theatre of Harlem visits North Carolina.

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Dancers rehearsed this week at the Belk as the company’s artistic director gave them a few tips. Some wore black or brown leggings that complimented their skin tones, while others donned colorful tutus or skirts. They stood tall, shoulders back, and heads upright, as they gracefully moved across the stage.

 

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Pacific Northwest Ballet makes its first visit to Spokane.

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Ostersmith is confident that Boal and company will accomplish just that since dance is on the rise.

“We know there is a dance audience here and that it keeps getting bigger,” Ostersmith said. “We have 30 dance studios in this area and that’s more than there were before the pandemic. I know that many of those dancers are coming out to see the Pacific Northwest Ballet.

“This is a can’t-miss event for those who love the arts. And dance is everywhere in Spokane. Every single person in Spokane knows someone that dances, whether it’s a daughter, a niece or a neighbor. I can’t wait for the dancers to see this performance.”

 

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A report from the Prix de Lausanne by Ilona Landgraf in her blog, "Landgraf on Dance.

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In the early days of the Prix de Lausanne, candidates had more freedom in selecting their presentations, presently, however, the artistic committee predetermines a selection of classical and contemporary pieces, and each candidate selects one of those to prepare. This process made it easier for the jury to make comparisons but resulted in a repetitious program at the gala. Several variations were shown twice; Do You Care? by Aleisha Walker was presented three times. While the nine prize winners danced both the classical and contemporary variations, the other eleven finalists performed one solo each. Only one boy – the Brazilian João Pedro Dos Santos Silva – dared to tackle the role of Harlequin from Petipa’s Harlequinade. It was a good choice – he won a scholarship.