World-class review of ballet and dance.
An octopus named Octavia learns how to communicate with a human, and begins to blush in her presence. Certain fish like to be petted like housecats. Moray eels enjoy being cuddled, and manta rays can recognize their reflections in the mirror.
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For the 71st edition of the prestigious Holland Festival, which took place at various venues around Amsterdam for three weeks last month, artistic director Ruth Mackenzie chose the theme, “Borders and Boundaries,” one that is especially relevant today. In addition to music (with the focus on European composer George Benjamin), film, multimedia, theater, workshops and master classes, modern dance has also been a vital element of the Netherlands’ oldest and largest performing arts festival.
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Any performance of a work by William Forsythe comes with a certain degree of technical expectation—an all-Forsythe triple bill is, in this respect, a bold statement of confidence.
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Like Leonard Cohen’s lamentation, “Anthem.” Like the Japanese art of repair, ‘kintsugi.’ Like you and me, the human condition. Like all of these things, Alice Topp’s brand new work, “Aurum” was presented as part of the Australian Ballet’s “Verve” program.
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From the first few minutes of the show, I knew Clare Barron’s new play “Dance Nation” deserved its hype. In an opening scene, a group of dancers stands at attention at the center of their small studio in Liverpool, Ohio; arms straight at their sides, faces frozen in abject terror, waiting for Dance Teacher Pat to tell them to move their bodies. This is a team of 13-year-old competition dancers heading to the Star Power USA competition, vying for a chance to make it to nationals in Tampa, Florida. (Along their way are stops in Akron, Ohio, and the “Boogie...
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Ballets don’t come much sweeter than “The Sleeping Beauty.” The Petipa classic is a sparkling confection of sequins and tulle, its three acts fizzing with dulcet duets and variations. Kenneth MacMillan’s 1987 version, staged here by English National Ballet, cuts through some of the fluff but is honeyed all the same, with plenty of sugary frolics swirled in. And the cherry on top? A guest turn from former Bolshoi Ballet prima Maria Alexandrova, whose perky expressiveness and top-notch technique impress mightily.
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At the Paris Universal Exhibition at the turn of the twentieth century, where it was said Debussy first heard Javanese gamelan music, near everything newly discovered or newly made could be found. The Eiffel Tower, now synonymous with Paris, for one; the world-encompassing scale of the Galerie des machines where visitors could delight in discovering such things as atmospheric hammers, cigarette makers, phonographs, and telephones. Add to this a colonial exhibition of the ‘other’ from across land and sea masses; the Imperial, the largest diamond in the world; and a giant wooden and stucco elephant, which was later purchased and...
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American Ballet Theatre unveiled world premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s “Harlequinade”—an opulent reconstruction of Marius Petipa’s “Les Millions d’Arlequin”—at the Metropolitan Opera House on Monday, June 4. This is yet another large-scale production by Ratmansky for ABT, where he is artist in residence. Last year, the company premiered his evening-long take on Richard Strauss' ballet “Whipped Cream,” which was part of ABT’s Ratmansky Project: “a five-year, $15 million fund-raising drive to support the creation of at least one new work a year by Mr. Ratmansky,” according to the New York Times.
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Recently retired San Francisco Ballet soloist James Sofranko, who built his leadership chops co-organizing the city’s annual Dance for a Reason cancer benefit gala, is soon off to take charge at Michigan’s Grand Rapids Ballet. SFDanceworks will continue with direction from Sofranko, and with associate direction by former Australian Ballet principal Danielle Rowe. Judging from Rowe’s new work, “The Old Child,” this is good news. Next to a passionately danced staging of Nacho Duato’s career-making masterpiece, “Jardi Tancat,” Rowe’s was the most memorable choreography of this program, and one hopes she’ll keep making dances.
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Tonight's gripping episode sees Matthew Bourne, with a restaging by Etta Murfitt, channeling all of the very best 1940's cinema classics, from Powell and Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death, via Hitchcock, David Lean and American silent movie iconography; as well as the more knockabout elements of vaudeville and slapstick. This is no twee fairytale, but rather, a meshing of historical fact steeped in survival as much as lyrical romanticism. For context, the production is bookended by plummy, RP voiced Pathe newsreels showing the devastation of war.
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There is no other ballet quite like “Coppélia.” A romantic comedy spiced with elements of an action-thriller and accompanied by one of the most joyful ballet scores ever written, “Coppélia” never fails to delight and entertain.
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This new programme from Akram Khan—one of the UK’s foremost contemporary choreographers—is a look into both the past and future. Khan and Farooq Chaudry, producer at Akram Khan Company, have invited four young dancers of colour to present self-choreographed solos that reflect on their heritage and explore the evolving language of contemporary dance. Drawing on genres as diverse as hip-hop and folk dance, their work forms a ‘portrait of otherness’ that encourages innovation of form and promotes visibility of lesser-heard perspectives—something Khan has strived to champion with his own company over the years.
Continue ReadingLong 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.
Continue ReadingIt 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.
Continue ReadingAs 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.
Continue ReadingOne 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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