Frankenstein
If the ballet world now seems inundated with Dracula productions, Frankenstein adaptations are a rarer sight.
PlusWorld-class review of ballet and dance.
Created by Scottish Dance Theatre’s artistic director Joan Cleville, and filmed in one long, continuous take by digital artist Tao-Anas Le Thanh, “The Life and Times” is inspired by amongst other Baroque works, the Diego Velazquez’s painting, Las Meninas, which invites the viewer to observe the painter in his studio, flanked by a group of sumptuously attired models. The performance was originally streamed in 2021, partially in response to Cleville's rumination about our time spent in lockdown.
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If the ballet world now seems inundated with Dracula productions, Frankenstein adaptations are a rarer sight.
PlusIt’s amusing to read in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s generally exceptional program notes that George Balanchine choreographed the triptych we now know as “Jewels” because he visited Van Cleef & Arpels and was struck by inspiration. I mean, perhaps visiting the jeweler did further tickle his imagination, but—PR stunt, anyone?
PlusAs I watch one after another pastel tutu clad ballerina bourrée into the arms of a white-tighted danseur, a melody not credited on the program floats through my brain. You know the one.
PlusMisty Copeland’s upcoming retirement from American Ballet Theatre—where she made history as the first Black female principal dancer and subsequently shot to fame in the ballet world and beyond—means many things.
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