dirac Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 A preview of American Ballet Theatre's summer season. Quote While some of the ballets are literal visualizations of the tales that inspired them, others present a more abstract exploration of the source texts’ themes and ideas. Either way, as ABT’s Associate Artistic Director Clinton Luckett told Observer, “there will be great storytelling through great dancing.” Link to comment
dirac Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 A review of the National Ballet of Canada in "Jewels" by Paula Citron for Ludvig Van Toronto. Quote Principal dancer Siphesihle November was not unexpected in the leading male role given his technical prowess, and he did not disappoint, particularly when he tossed off his wickedly fast turns as he exited the stage at one point in the piece. The surprise for me was principal dancer Koto Ishihara, she of exquisite grace, whom I would have cast in Emeralds. Nonetheless, here she was using her superb technique to execute all the Balanchineisms that come hurtling a mile a minute at the dancers. Precision is the key, which Ishihara has in spades. Link to comment
dirac Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 Milwaukee choreographer Dawn Springer talks about challenging ballet's gender norms. (Radio interview) Quote However, ballet also has ties to heteronormativity. Originating in the royal courts of the Renaissance, ballet reinforced strict masculine and feminine stereotypes, with male dancers portraying strong, dominant figures while female dancers embodied grace and passivity. Classic ballets often center around heterosexual romances, and training, costuming and presentation emphasize gender distinctions — further embedding these norms. Link to comment
dirac Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 Ballet Theatre Company of West Hartford, CT reverts to being a school only. Quote West Hartford’s Ballet Theatre Company was founded in 1999 as a ballet school – producing a spring show and contracting with a few professional dancers for the students’ holiday season performances of The Nutcracker – but an aggressive expansion several years ago to incorporate a professional company ultimately proved unsustainable and that operation has been dissolved while the organization is regrouping and returning to its roots. Link to comment
dirac Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 Yasmine Naghdi talks about the benefits of receiving coaching from a sports psychologist. Quote At 32, and a principal dancer since 2017, this was hardly her first rodeo. Was she surprised by the spiking anxiety? “I saw it coming,” she admits. “Dancers are known for striving for perfection. When I’ve done a performance that was under my expectations, I hold on to it. It’s tormenting.” Link to comment
dirac Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 A review of the Royal Ballet by Leigh Witchel for dancelog.nyc. Quote Brahms Waltzes is one of Ashton’s more fascinating miniatures because it takes the salon qualities of both the music and Duncan’s performances and scales them up to an opera house. Drop Osipova on to that and the scaling becomes, well, it was pretty pumped up. Osipova embodied Duncan, if Duncan were a major Russian ballerina. Whose name was Natalia Osipova. That is to say it had very little to do with Duncan, or Ashton. Every port de bras was a declamatory shout, every movement filled with drama drama DRAMA. Link to comment
dirac Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 An intereview with Paul Tazewell on designing the costumes for Pacific Northwest Ballet. Quote In town for a whirlwind of fittings earlier this month, Tazewell said that “Swan Lake” was actually the last time he’d designed a full-length ballet, back in 2003. He remembered that production as “an absolutely wonderful experience” and was excited to return to PNB — and to create fairy-tale costumes that will harmonize with [Preston] Singletary’s set designs. Link to comment
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