Child's Play
Co. Un Yamada, a dance company and creative collective established in Tokyo in 2002, returned to the New National Theatre Tokyo last week to reprise their popular family-friendly production from 2021, “Obachetta.”
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Why is it so hard to find a good “Swan Lake” these days? The ballet is performed by practically every classical company, and yet so few of the myriad versions in circulation are any good. The wrong things have been cut out (like the fourth act dances for the swans) or added (like the pesky Jester that pops up here and there, or the Bolshoi’s “Evil Genius”). The period is changed, creating the need for awkward adjustments, or an unnecessary subtext is added, or the mime is erased, or the ending is altered. The variations are endless, but almost no version satisfies. I’ve seen exactly one in the theater that told the story simply and effectively and felt musically alive. Of course there are older stagings that one can watch on video that do seem to work. (An overview of all the available productions would be interesting.)
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Co. Un Yamada, a dance company and creative collective established in Tokyo in 2002, returned to the New National Theatre Tokyo last week to reprise their popular family-friendly production from 2021, “Obachetta.”
Continue ReadingVous les voyez, les étoiles dans la salle?” the woman next to me whispered as the lights dimmed. And indeed, the stalls glittered with former stars of the Paris Opéra Ballet— dancers I recognised, visibly moved and deep in conversation during the interval.
Continue ReadingThere is probably no more beloved ballet, by audiences and dancers alike, than “Romeo and Juliet.”
Continue ReadingIn 2017 Virginie Mécène reimagined the lost Martha Graham solo “Ekstatis.” A review from that Martha Graham Dance Company premiere ended with a strong vote of confidence from critic Gia Kourlas: “Ms. Mécène should keep going.”
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