A Tribute

George Jackson

28 Sep 2020 — 1 min read

"Ave Maria"

dance solo choreographed in 1914 by Michio Ito
to music composed in 1825 by Franz Schubert
performed by Christin Arthur
set by Dana Tai Soon Burgess
dedicated to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the USA's Supreme Court

It is a slow dance, mostly for the upper body. Watching it, one is ever more aware of independent motions that belong to the head and face, to the neck, to the shoulders and arms plus hands, and to the rib cage above the waist. Yet one is also certain that these parts of the human anatomy are animated by one soul existing in a sea of light and shade. The camera shows us the dancer's whole body only briefly. She is dressed in blue, as painters have depicted this figure of motherhood, womanhood and humanity. She takes barely more than one step, but that suffices.

Christin Arthur dances the solo simply. Ruth Bader Ginsberg (1933 -2020) took the time from her work to attend performances of opera, ballet and drama. These works of art broadened her perspective as a judge.

copyright 2020 by George Jackson

http://dtsbdc.org/ave-maria-by-michio-ito-dedicated-to-ruth-bader-ginsburg/

Read more

Mood Music

Mood Music

"Kammermusik No. 2", "Le Tombeau de Couperin", "Antique Epigraphs", "Raymonda Variations"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 23, 2026

The four ballets (three by Balanchine and one—“Antique Epigraphs”—by Robbins) on this program were all plotless explorations of the different atmospheres created by the composers, ranging from the jagged tones of Hindemith’s “Kammermusik No. 2”, the classical calm of Maurice Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin”, the mysterious Grecian echoes of Claude

First and Last

First and Last

"Serenade", "Prodigal Son", "Paquita"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 22, 2026

This evening’s ballets were a a series of firsts and lasts; Balanchine’s “Serenade” (1935) is the first ballet he made in the US, his “Prodigal Son” is the last of his works performed by the Diaghilev company, and Alexei Ratmansky’s “Paquita” (2025), while certainly not the first or the last work he has made for NYCB, is the first

All That Worth Protecting

All That Worth Protecting

“When the Water Breaks,” “Monarcas,” “Floes,” “Symbiotic Twins,” “Network,” “After the Rain,” “Asylum,” “Moss Anthology: Variation #5b (2025)”
vildwerk.
New York Live Arts
New York, NY
December 17, 2025

Dance lovers are drawn to dance because of its inherent beauty: visual, musical, and in story ballets, narrative. And it’s no coincidence. Humans are creatures captivated by beauty, whether born of nature or shaped by human effort. And so, when vildwerk., a three-year-old nonprofit with an urgent mission, married an

Complexions: Gorgeous, Stalled

Complexions: Gorgeous, Stalled

“Beethoven Concerto,” “Deeply,” “I Got U,” “Love Rocks”
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
November 25, 2025

Founded in 1994, Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s endurance is to be applauded, and its two-week run at The Joyce Theater is testament to the weight of commitment. The company bills itself as an innovator, yet Program B, which I saw on this night, revealed that steadfast dedication to creation was more of its forte than innovation itself. Two