"Signs", "A Suite for Kay", "Circus Polka", "Symphony in C", fourth movement
School of American Ballet Workshop
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 4, 2022 matinee
This SAB program, attended by a packed and enthusiastic audience, was a bit more piecemeal than usual, with only one complete work, Giana Reisen's premiere "Signs". ("Circus Polka", Jerome Robbins' charming bonne bouche for young dancers, hardly counts as a work.) "A Suite
"Wall"
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
Courtyard of the National Portrait Gallery
Washington, DC
May 19 2022 (evening)
There was no printed program for this dance premiere. Yet some credit information could be had from the Internet announcement for the event, Burgess had based his choreography on a magical realist novel by Mexican author Octavio Paz (1914 - 1999). Nevertheless, it wasn't the story or an aspect of plot that captured my attention first and foremost but the scenery:
ICONS Choreographic Institute Thesis Dance Concert 2022
Dance Loft on 14
Washington DC
May 15, 2022 (matinee)
It is not surprising that there were resemblances among the dance works shown on this program. Vladimir Angelov was, after all, the teacher of all the choreographers and performers who were being presented. Angelov's pupils seem to think that dance is an unfolding of the human body - as if were a piece of clothing that had been wrapped up and needed to
“Don Quixote”
Royal Danish Ballet
Copenhagen, Denmark
5 March 2022
According to the handout program, on opening night May 2022, Nikolaj Hübbe claimed that Marius Petipa´s “Don Quixote” is one the greatest Russian Classics. I myself will not go that far. However, I will support that “The Don” provides both classical and comical dancing and acting.
“Don Quixote” arrived at The Royal Danish Ballet in 1983 and became a great hit, as well as having a significant
New York City Ballet
"Divertimento No. 15", "Afternoon of a Faun", "Allegro Brilliante", "The Four Temperaments"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
April 27, 2022
The three Balanchine ballets in this program varied musically and sartorial (tutus for "Divertimento", chiffon for "Allegro" and leotards for
"The Four Temperaments") but all three showed Balanchine's mastery of geometric shapes to create a hierarchy, with the corps and soloists weaving through the music and around
"Don Quixote"
Marius Petipa, Alexander Gorsky, Kevin McKenzie and Susan Jones
American Ballet Theatre
Opera House
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
Thursday, 31 March 2022
It was fun, this production of a 19th-Century Russian ballet. Not sophisticated humor but shrewd slapstick. Danill Simkin blazed as the barber Basillo so that people in the audience asked whether it wasn't Baryshnikov. No, it was Simkin indeed in the barber boy role. As his love Kitri,
Farewell Celebration for Kevin McKenzie
American Ballet Theatre
Kennedy Center Opera House
March 29, 2022
Two things happened in Washington, at the Kennedy Center's Opera House on Tuesday evening, March 29. One was a farewell celebration for American Ballet Theatre' artistic director Kevin McKenzie. He has been in charge of the company for about 3 decades but will be retiring at the end of the current season. Who will succeed him has not yet been announced.
"The Sleeping Beauty"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
March 17, 2022
Rudolf Nureyev's The Sleeping Beauty is a signature ballet for the National Ballet of Canada. A lavish production with challenging choreography for the whole company, it has been used to mark many special occasions. It opened the inaugural season at the company's current home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, in 2006. This
"Skyward", "After the Rain", "On Solid Ground", "Elite Syncopations"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
March 9, 2022
The National Ballet of Canada's winter season started with a farewell run of "A Streetcar Named Desire" for company veteran Sonia Rodriguez. The farewells continued with a mixed program to celebrate Jillian Vanstone's retirement after 22 years. The NBoC acquired Christopher Wheeldon's stunning "After the Rain" for the occasion – an intimate
"A Streetcar Named Desire"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
March 2, 2022
The National Ballet of Canada is back with full capacity performances at last. The pandemic delayed many retirements and planned farewell performances for dancers around the world. Thankfully, principal dancer Sonia Rodriguez was able to hold out and close a remarkable 32 years in the company with a run as Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire." It
"For a Dance Never Choreographed"
A film by Luca Veggetti
Text from notes by Martha Graham
Voice: Chen-Wei Lee
Cinematography: Stefano Croci
Music: Paolo Aralla
For artists and introverts, the Pandemic of 2020-22 was a window of opportunity – a chance to observe the world in the absence of normal human activity. During lockdown and quarantine periods, walking deserted streets or sitting in empty public spaces, we could suddenly see form without function — the structure of civilization without
New York City Ballet
"The Four Temperaments", "Sonatine", "Black Swan Pas de Deux", "Swan Lake"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 15 and February 19, matinee, 2022
These two performances featured debuts of many of City Ballet's talented young dancers. Some, of course, were more successful than others but all of the dancers, new and old, looked comfortable, confident, and very well rehearsed, especially when dancing in pairs; the dancers seemed to