A Journey of Healing
Across North Africa, the all-night music-dance-trance ritual called lila (pronounced lee-lah) is celebrated as a means for spiritual healing.
FREE ARTICLEWorld-class review of ballet and dance.
Though the New York City Ballet’s Spring Gala featured two premieres, the real buzz of the season belonged to the revival of Balanchine’s “Tzigane”—now titled the more politically correct “Errante”—after a 30-year absence. It was created for the high priestess of the Balanchine ballerinas, Suzanne Farrell, during the 1975 Ravel Festival. (The original title was not an ethnic slur then, but language, like choreography, is mutable). Farrell owns the rights to “Errante,” and she came back to stage it for City Ballet’s 75th anniversary season herself. The uber-muse was estranged from the company for a period while Balanchine was alive (“Errante” was the first role he made for her upon her return) and then again after he passed, but relations have thawed in recent years. She has coached a select few of her signature roles, but this personal staging is a giant leap forward.
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Across North Africa, the all-night music-dance-trance ritual called lila (pronounced lee-lah) is celebrated as a means for spiritual healing.
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Continue ReadingAs the fight for greater visibility for women choreographers continues, it was encouraging to see Carlos Acosta, director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, commission an all-female creative team for “Luna,” the final piece in his trilogy celebrating the company’s hometown.
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Welcome back Suzanne Farrell, I hope you are staying for a long time.
I was lucky enough to see Farrell’s repetiteur rehearse Domenika Afasenkov in a run-through of the role. Different, but equally stunning. Can’t wait to see her onstage, although I am not sure the ballet comes back in 2024-2025.