Talent Time
It’s “Nutcracker” season at San Francisco Ballet—36 performances packed into three weeks—which means that the company is currently serving two distinct audiences.
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Latest
‘Tis the Seasons
Last week I caught up with choreographer Pam Tanowitz and Opera Philadelphia’s current general director and president, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo to talk about “The Seasons,” the company’s latest production premiering at the Kimmel Center’s 600-plus seat Perelman Theater on December 19.
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Icons of Paris
If Notre-Dame remains one of the enduring symbols of Paris, standing at the city’s heart in all its beauty, much of the credit belongs to Victor Hugo.
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Reach for the Stars
When dancer and choreographer Marla Phelan was a kid, she wanted to be an astronaut. “I always loved science and astronomy,” Phelan said.
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Float like a Butterfly
Sans tutu or pointe shoes, New York Ballet principal Sara Mearns delivered a knock-out punch in her 20-minute solo, “Zebra.”
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Mishima’s Muse
Japan Society’s Yukio Mishima centennial series culminated with “Mishima’s Muse – Noh Theater,” which was actually three programs of traditional noh works that Japanese author Yukio Mishima adapted into modern plays.
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Critics' Picks 2025
Throughout the year, our critics attend hundreds of dance performances, whether onsite, outdoors, or on the proscenium stage, around the world.
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Take Me to Church
On December 11th, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater presented two premieres and two dances that had premiered just a week prior.
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In Contrasting Light
The “Contrastes” evening is one of the Paris Opéra Ballet’s increasingly frequent ventures into non-classical choreographic territory.
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Robot Love
I’m in the audience of the Pit to watch Kaori Ito’s solo performance, “Robot, l'amour éternel.” It’s in the blackbox performing space at the New National Theatre Tokyo, intimate and close. The stage is an open, raised platform, gauzy white fabric covering the floor.
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On the Right Track
Architects often use scale, along with other design principles such as light, rhythm, and form, to subtly guide a person's eye and body through a space—to take the gaze at street level to the highest point of a building, or to the horizon and beyond.
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Everything Is Romantic
An enchanted forest, a love gone wrong, and a swarm of women in long white tutus—when a formula works, it really works. Such is the case of “La Sylphide,” the nearly 200-year-old Romantic ballet which first premiered in 1832.
Continua a leggereFeatured Reads
Firebird Rising
Long before the dancers take the stage, Dance Theatre of Harlem’s season at New York City Center feels like one of the most energizing cultural events of the spring.
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Rare Birds
It is rare for George Balanchine’s grand, bedazzled “Symphony in C” to open a program. Its champagne-popping finale for 52 dancers tends to be a nightcap.
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The Spring is Blooming festival, by Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, now in its fifth year, has become a highlight of the spring dance circuit.
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Jack of Hearts
As the audience come to their feet at the end of this ballet there is a noted difference to be seen on stage. Three women stand with joined hands, taking their call as the romantic leads of a loud and proud lesbian ballet.
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School Report
One of San Francisco Ballet’s greatest assets is its home venue, the Beaux-Arts style War Memorial Opera House, with four rings of seating that require performers to project their energies practically to the exosphere.
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