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Marie Walton Mahon's Personal Best

On episode four of Talking Pointes, we speak with a woman many of you will know, Marie Walton Mahon. Marie, or Miss Marie, as many still call her, has taught and trained literally thousands of dancers here in Australia and around the globe. A dance prodigy in her own right, she was selected as a teenager to train in France with the great Rosella Hightower, and then danced professionally in Marseille, under the artistic directorship of the late, great, Roland Petit.

DANCE FILM | REVIEWS | By Lorna Irvine

Testimonials

I am scratched, punched, kicked and bruised watching Mele Broomes in her extraordinary film Wrapped Up In This. I am compelled by the multitudes within the stories, I feel consumed by its power. I'm disgusted by the real life accounts of racism endured by the womxn Broomes interviewed whilst researching this piece, whose voices are heard as it develops. Yet, it is not without hope, it grows and amplifies. It is utterly visceral and political. It feels radical, revolutionary in its intent. It is discourse, dance, and demonstration all wrapped up at once.

TALKING POINTES | Claudia Lawson

Adam Blanch, the Real Billy Elliot

Today, I'm speaking with my lifelong friend, Adam Blanch. Adam's story has often been compared with Billy Elliot. He grew up in a tiny town in regional Australia called Weston. It's about an hours drive west of Newcastle. In this tiny town everyone can always remember that Adam was dancing. And so, at the age of six, Adam's mum and dad enrolled him in the local ballet class, held in a local hall. He was the only boy. And so, his life in dance began. In this very candid and courageous interview, Adam opens up about his childhood, the bullying...

REVIEWS | By Candice Thompson

Cue Landscape

As I walked in the blazing early evening sun to the subway this past Monday evening, I wondered how the performers of Andrea Miller’s “You Are Here” would fare in such heat. As if to immediately put my mind to rest, the show began with instant catharsis as the dancers plunged into the large rectangular pool upon entering Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza. In unison, they stomped and hopped their way through the water, clasping their own hands together, arms slashing to a driving beat. The steps had a folk dance feel, and their motions felt intentional, grounded, almost sacred. A...

REVIEWS | By Rachel Howard

Tahoe Dance Camp

A recent Dance Data Project survey reports what everyone in the ballet world knows: Women are grossly under-represented in ballet leadership. Just one of the top 10 largest ballet companies in the U.S. is led by a woman, and only 30 percent of the top 50 companies are. Retiring ballerinas, we know, are far more likely to become ballet mistresses and school faculty than artistic directors.

TALKING POINTES | Claudia Lawson

Lana Jones Gives Back

Lana Jones' journey in ballet seems like the dream run for many aspiring youngsters. As a teenager, she won the silver medal at the international ballet competition, the Genée Awards in London, was accepted into the Australian Ballet School, graduated dux and was accepted straight into the company. From there, the dream continued. She rose through the ranks, won the Telstra Ballet Dancer of the Year Award, married a fellow dancer and was promoted to Principal.

TALKING POINTES | Claudia Lawson

David McAllister's Finnish Odyssey

David McAllister is probably the most well-known face of dance in Australia. He was born in Perth and he was accepted into the Australian Ballet School as a 17-year-old. He graduated and joined the company directly, wowing crowds across the globe. His final performance was in “Giselle” in 2001. And then, three months later, he was named Artistic Director of that same company.

BOOKSHELF | INTERVIEWS | By Marina Harss

In his New Memoir, Center Center, James Whiteside Doesn’t Mince Words

If you’re wondering what James Whiteside, principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, did last year during the pandemic, here’s the answer: he wrote a book. How does that make you feel about your own productivity? Well, Whiteside isn’t one to waste time. His new book, which goes on sale in August, is a memoir, with the very clever title Center Center. Center center, in Whiteside’s words, is the name for “a mark on every stage around the world that signifies the center of its depth and width.” This, naturally, is where he aimed to be from a very young age....

OTHER | By Sophie Bress

Digital Transformation of Dance

When Covid-19 swept the globe in early 2020, businesses and organizations across the board were left scrambling. The performing arts sector—heavily reliant upon live, in-person events for revenue—was left with a void, both artistically and financially. This resulted in a rapid shift to digital content in an effort to remain viable. Now, after over a year of modified and predominantly virtual programming, Fjord Review takes a look back to analyze how dance companies pivoted to adjust to a new reality.

REVIEWS | By Victoria Looseleaf

Dances at Dusk

To say that it was a joy to see live dance again after some 16 months is an understatement. And seeing San Francisco-based Alonzo King LINES Ballet in the final offering of the Music Center’s al fresco “Dance at Dusk” series, proved to be the cherry on the quasi-post-pandemic cake. Although we are not out of the Covid woods yet—Los Angeles has reinstated its indoor mask mandate and the Delta variant is on the rise—being socially distanced in pods of four on the Jerry Moss Plaza, made for a perfect blend of art, community and, well, safety.

TALKING POINTES | Claudia Lawson

Talking Pointes

Talking Pointes is a ballet and contemporary dance podcast that interviews some of the most extraordinary and famous dancers, artistic directors and choreographers. In our 2021 season we’re bringing together ten beautiful interviews to explore not just the inspiration and careers of our guests, but all the other stuff that surrounds dance—inspiration, regrets, bullying, body image, sexuality, retirement, lifelong friendships and even how to start a new career when the curtains finally close.

FEATURES | By Cecilia Whalen

Human Touch

With eyes closed, Blakeley White-McGuire and Daniel Fetecua Soto felt stones on their bare feet and the sun on their cheeks, but most of all, they felt each other. Taking turns guiding as the other moved blindly, the modern dance stars made their way through the Sacred Labyrinth on Block Island, RI, and into “The Tongue of the Flame,” what would become their new intimate dance theater duet.

Featured Reads

REVIEWS | Lorna Irvine

Teenage Angst and Institutions

Watching Matthew Bourne's reworked version of the “star-cross'd lovers,” I was briefly reminded of Veronica, played by Winona Ryder, in the dark 1988 comedy by Daniel Waters and Michael Lehmann, Heathers, and her line, “my teen angst bullshit has a body count.” Yes, this is the darker side of Bourne's repertoire,...

INTERVIEWS | Marina Harss

The Me of Today

The choreographer Alexei Ratmansky reflects on the war in Ukraine, the connection between geopolitics and ballet, and joining the house of Balanchine.

REVIEWS | Rachel Howard

Starry Nights

Beneath blue California skies, manicured trees, and the occasional hum of an overhead airplane, Tamara Rojo took the Frost Amphitheater stage at Stanford University to introduce herself as the new artistic director of San Francisco Ballet.

REVIEWS | Faye Arthurs

America, F**K Yeah

After a week of the well-balanced meal that is “Jewels”—the nutritive, potentially tedious, leafy greens of “Emeralds,” the gamy, carnivorous “Rubies,” and the decadent, shiny white mountains of meringue in “Diamonds”—the New York City Ballet continued its 75th Anniversary All-Balanchine Fall Season with rather more dyspeptic fare.

REVIEWS | Emily May

Acosta Danza’s Choreographic Soup

An “Ajiaco” is a type of soup common to Colombia, Cuba, and Peru that combines a variety of different vegetables, spices, and meats.