Saturday, June 22

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The 50-year anniversary of Mikhail Baryshnikov's defection is celebrated by Joel Lobenthal in Air Mail.

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All hell broke loose! There’s no better way to describe the weeks that followed. Baryshnikov’s defection was a news item—an uplifting one that unfolded in tandem with the death throes of the Nixon presidency. After some guest performances with the National Ballet of Canada, the blue-eyed Russian made his New York debut in July, with American Ballet Theatre, launching a 15-year association with the company that included nine years as its artistic director. The Balanchine ballerina Gelsey Kirkland announced that she would leave the New York City Ballet to be Baryshnikov’s partner at A.B.T.

 

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A review of the National Ballet of Canada by Denise Sum for danceviewtimes.com.

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The beloved classic “Don Quixote” has not been seen in Toronto since 2011. At that time, it was the Petipa/Gorsky/Beriozoff version, which was fun but perhaps in need of a refresh. Prior to that, in 2007, the company performed the George Balanchine one act version, which is a different work entirely as it is centred more on the title character and his relationship to his ideal woman or Dulcinea. In securing Carlos Acosta’s production (created in 2022 for Birmingham Royal Ballet), the National Ballet of Canada has the privilege of being the first North American company to perform this updated version – a dazzling showpiece with the ability to capture the interest of balletomanes and new audience members alike. This ballet felt similar to Rudolf Nureyev’s “Sleeping Beauty” which he brought to the NBoC in 1972 – the company was galvanized by the presence of an international star whose production provided a vessel within which the dancers could really grow. In watching the opening night performance of Acosta’s “Don Quixote”, one could really feel the excitement of the dancers collaborating with such a renowned artist. 

 

[dirac]

A local TV news interview with the new executive director of  Ballet Hawaii.

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Joining Sunrise is Richard Vida, the executive director of Ballet Hawaii.

 

[dirac]

Iain Webb talks to BBC News.

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Mr Webb said that once he moved to York, he felt he needed to keep tight-lipped about his hidden talent among his school friends.

"I used to wrap up all of my ballet stuff in a parcel, as if I was going to mail it back to Scarborough to my mum, just so no one ever found out," he said.

“You have your best mate at school who you fall out with, then suddenly one day in the middle of class, he said, ‘Webby does ballet’.