New York City Ballet
"Serenade", "Andantino", "Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux", "Swan Lake"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 11, 2022
New York City Ballet had scheduled a marathon of Peter Martins' "Swan Lake", but like so many plans, it had to be revised, though echos of that eternal bird did remain in the programing. The audience did get a full evening of Tchaikovsky's music, a pas de deux set to the music originally
New York City Ballet
"Mozartiana", "Rubies", "La Valse"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 5, 2022, evening
City Ballet's all Balanchine program spanning 30 years, from the 1951 "La Valse" to the 1981 "Mozartiana" included snapshots of some of Balanchine's most distinctive ballerinas, Tanaquil Le Clercq ("La Valse"), Patricia McBride ("Rubies"), and Suzanne Farrell ("Mozartiana"). The current dancers, so different from the originals, need to both copy the steps and go beyond
New York City Ballet
"Allegro Brillante", "La Source", "Firebird"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
January 22, 2020
New York City Ballet celebrated Balanchine's 116th birthday with an all-Balanchine program which looked back to his (and ballet's) past. The classical clarity of "Allegro Brilliante", the nineteenth century Parisian perfume of "La Source", and the Diaghilevish exoticism of "Firebird" are from different streams which flowed into his imagination.
"Allegro Brillante" opened with a
San Francisco Ballet
“Nutcracker”
San Francisco War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco, CA
December 22, 2021
Even if you are not that interested in Ballet, chances are you have seen “Nutcracker” at least once as a child, during an elementary school class visit, or even on a date, I have been told that those are popular as safe and pleasant. But then are those of us who go year for year, sometimes wondering whether it is really worthwhile
Alonzo King Lines Ballet
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
November 6, 2021
San Francisco, CA
It is rare to get a standing ovation half-way through an evening’s program. But the Alonzo King Lines Ballet dancers had it more than had earned with outstanding performances of excerpts of four King choreographies, the oldest going back to 2007. The company had been on the road and, after two performances only, was about to take off again for a
"Serenade", "Angels' Atlas"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
November 11, 2021
Having endured one of the longest lockdowns in the world, the pent up desire for connection and live performance in Toronto has been palpable. The National Ballet of Canada’s triumphant return to the stage after 20 months was cause for joyous celebration, an opening night like no other. The evening consisted of two great ensemble pieces: George Balanchine’s
"Eternity 123"
Vangeline
Triskelion Arts, Brooklyn
October 30, 2021
Butoh queen Vangeline describes her solo "Eternity 123" as a "symbolic journey of women's liberation across time." I tossed the program note aside and watched the show with an open mind, with which the artist proceeded to play.
The piece begins with nothing but a dress – a full-length, frilly see-through chiffon – draped over a slip, revolving in the air. In time the dancer
“Fandango,” “Bloom,” “Where We Dwell”
Roman Mejia, Tiler Peck and Herman Cornejo, Ayodele Casel
Fall For Dance – Program 5
New York City Center
New York, NY
October 23, 2021
The last program of this year’s Fall For Dance Festival looked back in looking ahead. Alexei Ratmansky’s 2010 work “Fandango” was presented in a restaging on a male dancer form, Justin Peck’s new work “Bloom” drew heavily on George Balanchine’s iconic “Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux,” and the
“Mapping Out A Sky,” “38109,” “Each In His Own Time,” “Meet Ella”
BalletX, Lil Buck, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Caleb Teicher & Company
New York City Center
New York, NY
October 22, 2021
The Fall For Dance Festival never really left, considering the two programs it offered in a digital streaming format last year, but still its return to a live audience felt like a homecoming. A bonus on the second night of Program 4 was the unscheduled appearance
Opening of the 2021/2022 Season
The Washington Ballet
National Building Museum
Washington, DC
October 21, 2021
This opening program was not what the publicity had led people to expect. It was an evening of divertissements, some classic, some new and others somewhat familiar. "Flames of Paris" a 1932 extravaganza by Vassily Vainonen from Soviet Russia that promulgates revolution but not necessarily democracy, wasn't attempted in its entirety. Only the well known, acrobatic, neoclassical pas de deux was
“Deep Blue Sea”
Bill T. Jones
Drill Hall, Park Avenue Armory
New York, New York
October 3, 2021
When, on Sunday, the audience entered the Park Avenue Armory to see Bill T. Jones’ latest work, “Deep Blue Sea,” Jones was already there. He slowly moved through various patterns, as people flowed past him. Then he shifted to another part of the enormous space of the Drill Hall to go through more patterns, actions which he continued to execute in different
book review
Book: "No Fixed Points. Dance in the 20th Century."
by Nancy Reynolds and Malcolm McCormick
Yale University Press, 2003
and recently reprinted
This book hits readers like a space rock, all 907 pages of it. Its authors, Nancy Reynolds and the late Malcolm McCormack (1927 - 2018) were dancers and have proven themselves to be scholars. My only real objection to the current edition is the difficulty of holding such a thick book in one's hands or even resting it