Dance Floor Liberation
Los Angeles–based dance artist Jay Carlon knew that the proscenium stage couldn’t house his 2024 work, “Wake,” in its fullness. So he moved it elsewhere: to a rave.
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Marius Petipa’s “Paquita” Grand Pas Classique has been around since 1881. I last reviewed a version in 2023, by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. The Trocks danced a standard (and technically impressive) account of the divertissement, but they did it with copious humor and their own special flair to nod at the bizarro 1846 full-length ballet into which the excerpt was shoehorned—and which very few companies bother with now. How to summarize the absurdity of the original “Paquita”? Here goes: Joseph Mazilier’s “Paquita,” set to the music of Edouard Deldevez, is the tale of a Romani girl, Paquita, who saves a Napoleonic officer from being poisoned by a Spanish governor. It turns out that the two are cousins, as Paquita is revealed to be a noble kidnapped at birth by gypsies. This cousin revelation pleases the lovers, they wed. Pierre Lacotte revived Mazilier’s narrative and incorporated Petipa’s 1881 updates (which are set to the music of Ludwig Minkus) for the Paris Opera Ballet in 2001. The POB just performed it again last month, to drab reviews.
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Los Angeles–based dance artist Jay Carlon knew that the proscenium stage couldn’t house his 2024 work, “Wake,” in its fullness. So he moved it elsewhere: to a rave.
Continue ReadingChoreography wasn’t on Lia Cirio’s radar when artistic director Mikko Nissinen asked her to participate in Boston Ballet’s ChoreograpHER initiative in 2018. The principal dancer had always thought, “Oh, that's not something for me. I just like being in the room and helping people and being choreographed on.” But her good friend and colleague at the time, Kathleen Breen Combes, gave her a nudge.
Continue ReadingIngrid Silva’s expression is calm, the side of her mouth upturned a few degrees, as if she’s delighting in the reception of her own joke.
Continue ReadingFrench choreographer Lea Tirabasso makes dense, intricate work which explores existential concerns connected with science, nature and morality. Witty, vivid and visceral, her work pushes beyond simple genres or choreographic language, creating something far richer and more complex. Her most recent piece, “In the Bushes” is part of the Edinburgh Festival this year. Fjord Review caught up with Léa Tirabasso ahead of the Summerhall run.
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