"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
"Marius Petipa - The Emperor's Ballet Master"
by Nadine Meisner
Oxford University Press, 2019
Our concept of classical ballet stems mostly from the work of Marius Petipa (1818 - 1910), a French choreographer resident principally in Russia at the end of the Czarist era. Until the publication of Meisner's biography, personal information in English about Petipa was somewhat scarce. As a reader of German, I relied on Eberhard Rebling's "Marius Petipa, Master of Classical Ballet", printed 1975 in what
book review
"The Fascist Turn in the Dance of Serge Lifar"
by Mark Franko
Oxford University Press, UK, 2020
Before tackling this exhaustive and exhausting book about the controversial Serge Lifar by Mark Franko, who is a widely published critic and a professor at the University of California's Santa Cruz campus, I suggest that readers review what is generally known about Lifar (1905 - 1986) as a dancer, choreographer, company director, commentator on dance and as a person. I encountered
book review
Book: Edwin Denby – His Life, His Dance Essays, His Poetry
Author: William Dunas
Publication: 2008 in Woodside, NY, USA
This home-made book is a proposal for producing a professionally printed book. The proposal consists of many un-numbered pages of text contained in a black 3-ring folder. The text is photocopied only on the frontside of each sheet of firm white paper. On the cover is the basic bibliographic information and a 1964 drawing by Red Grooms of Denby in profile
book review
Book: “Alles tanzt” issued by Andrea Amort
Published in 2019 by Vienna’s Austrian Theater Museum and Berlin’s Hatje Cantz
This big, weighty volume (almost 380 pages, 10.7 x 8.5 x 1.7 inches) has a German text with English summaries. In addition to the summaries, its plentiful and plush illustrations are proving to be of interest to those who do not read German. The book served as catalog for the exhibit “Cosmos of Vienna Dance
Demo: Now 2020
with Damian Woetzel, Jon Boogz, Robbie Fairchild,
Lil Buck, Lauren Lovette, Roman Mejia, Dario Natarelli,
Melissa Toogood, Brooklyn Rider quartet, Kate Davis, Alberta Khoury
Eisenhower Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
March 2, 2020
There wasn’t the familiar sparkle. This series of highbrow vaudeville acts usually comes to a sizzling climax. Not this time. I don’t think the coronavirus can be blamed. Moreover, the program got off to
“Defile”, “Birthday Offering”, “Meditation from Thais”,
“Allegro Brillante”, “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue”
Eisenhower Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
February 20, 2020
It is a fun program, the Balanchine and Ashton (and Kent) quintuple bill that The Washington Ballet is flaunting this February week. An audience that seemed to fill the theater enjoyed itself from start to stop – especially the stop: Balanchine’s “Slaughter”, which isn’t one of his sublime
“A Tribute to Marian Anderson”
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
McEvoy Auditorium
National Portrait Gallery
Washington, DC
February 3, 2020
She was one of the world’s greatest singers. Marian Anderson (1897-1993) specialized in German lieder and African American spirituals. Opera she had the chance to try only late in her career because prejudice against her African ancestry had, earlier, kept her off stages such as New York’s Met. Currently, Marian Anderson is the subject of a Portrait
“The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude”,
“Approximate Sonata 2016”, “Petite Mort”,
and Shostakovich “Piano Concerto #1”
The National Ballet of Canada
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
January 28, 2020
The Canadians opened their visit to Washington by exploring what classical choreography looks like today. The four pieces on this program share very basic features yet are intriguingly distinct, even the first two works which were made by the same individual. Everyone interested in
Matthew Bourne’s “Swan Lake”
A New Adventures Production
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
January 22, 2020
The image of a swan in ballet is, traditionally, that of a human figure streamlined to the stretching point with arms undulating as if they were wings about to lift off and toes pinpointing the ground. Usually the figure is female. Likely this image predates the initial (late 19th, early 20th Century) “Swan Lake” stagings
“The Day”
Wendy Whelan and Maya Beiser in
choreography by Lucinda Childs to
music and poetry by David Lang,
Eisenhower Theater,
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
Washington, DC
December 6, 2019
At the start of the 20th Century, Diaghilev’s ballet dancers such as Pavlova, Nijinsky, Karsavina, Bolm et al. did “moderne” numbers on their comcert programs. Nijinsky, of course, has been considered an innovative modern dance choreographer as well as a classic-romantic performer. If ballet
“Increasing”, “Little Prince”, “Its Not a Cry”, “Switch Phase” Duo, “Last Glass”
BalletX for Damian Woetzel’s Demo
Terrace Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
October 25, 2019
Although the two cities are close on the map, Philadelphia and Washington have dance scenes that pretty much remained strangers. The Pennsylvania Ballet, which is at home in Philadelphia, did visit Washington in the past. Yet the “other” troupe in Philadelphia – BalletX - had