"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

“piano piano”
Nancy Karp + Dancers
Paul Dresher Sound Studio, Oakland, CA
Video of world premiere February 27, 2020                                                              

"The Legat Legacy" edited by Mindy Aloff.
University Press of Florida, 2020.

With its rich list of books on dance history, technique and memoirs,  The University Press of Florida has become the go to publisher for dance books.  This recent work, a reprinting of the 1939 "Ballet Russe: Memoirs of Nicolas Legat" and the 1977 "Heritage of a Ballet Master: Nicolas Legat" under the title "The Legat Legacy" is a welcome addition.

Ephrat Asherie
Works & Process at the Guggenheim Livestream
New York, NY
April 26, 2020

Even before the coronavirus crisis closed live performance in New York City, the Guggenheim’s “Works & Process” series focused as much on artistic investigation as on finished performances. But artists now have new realms of challenge in their creative processes. Like many, Ephrat Asherie is trying not only to ensure her company can eventually come back to live performance, but also can keep

"Romeo and Juliet"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
March 11, 2020

Before Toronto (and much of the world) went on lockdown, the National Ballet of Canada gave a spirited performance of Alexei Ratmansky's "Romeo and Juliet". The original cast from the world premiere in 2011, Guillaume Côté and Elena Lobsanova, shone as the passionate yet doomed lovers. They were supported by a strong supporting ensemble, as well as by Ratmansky's evocative

"Chroma", "Marguerite and Armand", "Angels' Atlas"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
February 29, 2020

The National Ballet of Canada's winter mixed program was a strong one, highlighted by the world premiere of Crystal Pite's captivating "Angels' Atlas", her second ballet commissioned by the NBoC. She created the powerful "Emergence" for the company in 2009 and "Angels' Atlas" follows in a similar stylistic vein while still feeling fresh. This program also marks

“Fruits borne out of rust”
Tabaimo and Maki Morishita
Japan Society
New York, NY
March 7, 2020

Japanese visual artist Tabaimo is a woman on the verge of mid-life, determined to make that transition productively. “Fruits borne out of rust” is a multi-dimensional collaborative performance piece, weaving imagery, sound, and movement to tell mesmerizing stories through scenes that also provoke laughter and discomfort. Co-created with choreographer Maki Morishita and dancer Chiharu Mamiya, the “fruits” partnered Tabaimo’s visual art with

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