Friday, May 10

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Cincinnati Ballet holds its anniversary "60th Celebration" gala.

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To be expected, there was an abundance of video footage of long-departed artistic directors and dancers, of favorite performances of the past. But this was not an evening weighed down by nostalgia. Yes, it sometimes took on the feeling of a spirited lovefest. But the evening’s greatest strength was the way it showed us just how far the art form itself has come in the past 60 years.

 

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Ballet Arizona presents "The Four Seasons" outdoors.

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“The Four Seasons” makes its return to Desert Botanical Garden. Set to Vivaldi’s iconic score, take a journey in movement through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, along with costumes designed and hand-painted by Ballet Arizona Artistic Director Ib Andersen, with the backdrop of the desert landscape and the setting sun.

 

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A story on John Lam's retirement in Northeastern University's magazine.

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It’s Lam’s second “graduation” of sorts this month. This spring, he finished his master’s degree in nonprofit management at Northeastern University, making him a “double Husky.” He earned his bachelor’s in 2023, both degrees thanks to a partnership between Northeastern and the Boston Ballet that offers company members tuition scholarships and flexible frameworks to tailor their degrees around the all-consuming demands of professional dance careers.

 

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The Royal New Zealand Ballet presents "Swan Lake."

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Mayu Tanigaito, as Odette, is incredible: airily jumping and twirling, making it look easy. I found myself looking for signs of strain: the slight ripple of her chest as she caught her breath after a particularly taxing sequence. Her solo parts were especially impressive, as well as her frenetic dancing as Odile, Odette’s evil double. Prince Siegfried, performed by Laurynas Vėjalis, is a perfect counterpart: cheerful if incurious about the commoners he, hmm, swans past in the first scene, his body overtaken with awe when he encounters the swans around the lake. I did find that the penultimate scene in the palace was much more compelling and dramatic than the actual final scene, but perhaps this is part of the tradition of the ballet. 

 

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A review of the Philadelphia Ballet by Ellen Dunkel in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Just like Roxander, Zecheng Liang, the protagonist of The Prodigal Son, spent much time soaring across the stage Thursday night. But he also dug deep into the emotions of the character of a young man eager to see the world, who was deceived, robbed, stripped down, and left broken as he crawled on his knees back home.

Dayesi Torriente was excellent as the Siren, the sexy, strutting seductress, although her movements were slightly less sharp than some others who have danced the role.

 

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A review of the Boston Ballet by Jeffrey Gantz in The Boston Globe.

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The final program of Boston Ballet’s 2023-24 season is a warm-up for the company’s tour to Paris, where it’ll perform at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées May 27-30. Two of the three pieces being performed as part of “Spring Experience,” this weekend and next at the Citizens Bank Opera House, are on the Paris bill: William Forsythe’s “Blake Works III (The Barre Project)” and Jiří Kylián’s “Bella Figura.” They’ll be accompanied there by Jorma Elo’s “Bach Cello Suites.” Here in Boston, however, we get to see the world premiere of Ken Ossola’s “The Space Between.” Thursday the dancers looked sharp in all three works; they’re ready for Paris.

 

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A look back at the making of George Balanchine's "Coppelia."

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The story is less about the premiere itself and more about how it came to be--and in my rewind tonight, a look back at the stress and pressure of staging a full-length fairytale far from home.