Tuesday, March 19

[dirac]

A profile of the choreographer Emma Portner.

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“Islands” also reflects Portner’s complicated feelings about ballet, which she studied growing up but left behind as an adult. The idea of two women sharing a pair of pants came, she said, from an interest in subverting the form’s gendered traditions. Rather than create a pas de deux for a man and a woman, she would have women partner each other. Rather than separate their bodies with wide, stiff tutus, she would bind their hips together.

 

[dirac]

Houston Ballet presents "Cinderella."

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With added spectacle, this depiction of “Cinderella” dove into the ideas of class, feminism and dignity under the artistic direction of Stanton Welch and the beautiful set and costume designs of Kristian Fredrickson.

 

[dirac]

A review of Pacific Northwest Ballet by Rich Smith in The Stranger.

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Before the program's descent into the shadows of One Thousand Pieces, PNB hits the audience with Matthew Neenan's Bacchus, a pretty, lyrical ballet driven by the spritely strings in composer Oliver Davis's composition. PNB gave this piece its first stage in 2019, and it pleases in the way spring's first crocuses, daffodils, and cherry blossoms please. 

Moira Macdonald reviews PNB for The Seattle Times.

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Every dance has a backstory, and “One Thousand Pieces” has one that’s rather more dramatic than most. Created by Alejandro Cerrudo in 2012 for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in honor of that company’s 35th anniversary, it was to have had its Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere in 2020 — and first performance with a live orchestra playing the Philip Glass score. But its local debut was scheduled for mid-March of 2020, meaning that the planned two-week run was canceled at the last minute amid COVID shutdowns, and “One Thousand Pieces” was performed just at an invitation-only dress rehearsal in front of a tiny, socially distant audience. Some dancers could be seen wiping away tears at the final bow; no one knew, back then, when live performance would return.

 

[dirac]

Louisville Ballet presents a new piece with music by Jack Harlow.

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This world premiere features acclaimed choreographer Ching Ching Wong set to a soundtrack of Harlow's music for a one-of-a-kind integration of local ballet and contemporary music. The performance will be part of the Louisville Ballet's 2024-25 season, which will be announced later this spring.