The Bolshoi Ballet
"Coppélia in HD"
Bolshoi Ballet
Empire 25 Theater
New York, NY
June 10, 2018
There was no more joyous place to be in New York on a gray damp Sunday than inside a standard issue (vertical) multiplex in wildly overcrowded Midtown. The reason? Sergei Vikharev's staging, for the Bolshoi in 2009, of "Coppélia" based on that of Marius Petipa and Enrico Cecchetti for the Imperial Russian Ballet in 1894. The production is – even on film – proof of the magic
"Ritmo" "Ambiguous Dance" "Laughing Frame" "We are all Dragons in Drag" “Tableaux 2017” “Divine Conversations”
San Francisco International Arts Festival
Fort Mason Center
San Francisco, CA
May 31-June 3, 2018
This year’s San Francisco International Arts Festival offered a line-up similar to the one it has since 2013. That means Circus, Comedy, Music, Performance, Theater and Video, the vast majority from the Bay Area. Given the “international” in the name, the Festival disappoints almost every year. For
National Ballet of Canada
"Frame by Frame"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
June 1, 2018
When the National Ballet of Canada announced a full length commission from Guillaume Côté, some may have had their doubts. Côté is a brilliant performer, but his work as a choreographer has been uneven. His 2016 adaptation of "Le Petit Prince" did not instill much confidence in his ability to craft a coherent narrative work. Furthermore, this
"Snap" "Homing" "The Old Child" "Jardi Tancat"
SF Danceworks
Cowell Theater
San Francisco, CA
June 8, 2018
Good choreography, well performed. What else could you want? If this formula includes new and contemporary choreography by a group of independent dancers whose sense of ensemble is excellent, you get an intelligent, challenging evening of dance that makes you look forward to what else is coming down the line. Such again was the impact of the now three-year old SF Danceworks
"What Counts", "This, and My Heart Beside...", "Trio Sonatas", "Undercurrent"
Lydia Johnson Dance
The Ailey Citigroup Theater
New York, New York
June 7, 2018
Lydia Johnson's chamber ballet troupe presented one premiere ("Under- current") and three recent works in its New York season. She has a great respect for music, shown by the detailed credits; unlike many programs, hers included both the composer and the title of the work, as well as the specific recording which was used,
"La Source", "In Creases", "Circus Polka", "Western Symphony"
School of American Ballet
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
New York, NY
June 1, 2018 matinee
The afternoon began with a disconcerting jolt. The curtain rose on "La Source" revealing not the lead couple, but two members of the corps standing sentinel at the back corners of the stage. In deference to its student performers, "La Source" had been reconceived and recombined. Instead of two pas de deux interlarded with soloist and ensemble
American Ballet Theatre
“Harlequinade”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York
June 6, 2018
American Ballet Theatre is offering four casts in eight performances of Alexei Ratmansky’s reconstruction of Marius Petipa’s “Harlequinade” this week at the Metropolitan Opera House. The cast I saw was particularly interesting because nearly all the major roles were taken by dancers from the company’s lower ranks. This gave them a chance to prove themselves, and they more than met the challenge. Harlequin was portrayed
interview
danceviewtimes in conversation with Alexander Meinertz
“I’m a huge admirer of Bournonville’s work. In fact, I would argue that Bournonville was not just a great choreographer in the sense that he really knew how to move dancers to music in really delightful and exciting ways. In his day he was called a “ballet poet”, and I think that’s accurate: his storylines and stagings are second to none and stand out to this day for their complexity and
American Ballet Theatre
"Harlequinade"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 4, 2018
by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2018 by Mary Cargill
Nineteenth century ballet comedies often involve poor girls in love with poor young men, rebelling against a parent who has a beady eye on a rich suitor ("Don Quixote" and "La Fille Mal Gardée" are familiar examples), with true love winning happily in the end. (As Oscar Wilde would say, that's why it'
American Ballet Theatre
"Harlequinade"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 5, 2018
The Petipa/ Ratmansky soufflé "Harlequinade" has many ingredients, chief among them the older terre à terre style, with its sharp, fast footwork; making lace with their feet is a frequent description of those Imperial ballerinas. Columbine, the heroine of the comic ballet, has choreography packed with these terre à terre moves, as she hops almost continually – slow hops, fast hops, backwards,
New York City Ballet
"Concerto Barocco", "Agon", "The Four Temperaments"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 3, 2018
The final performance of New York City Ballet's spring season had several debut and farewell performances, and in the case of corps member Cameron Dieck's role in "Agon", both happened at once. Long-time soloist Savannah Lowery said goodbye dancing the second violin in "Concerto Barocco" and the Bransle Gay in "Agon"; it is
American Ballet Theatre
“Coppélia”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York
June 2, 2018
“Coppélia” is among the nineteenth century ballet classics, but compared to others, such as “Giselle” and “Swan Lake,” it is presented much less often. This may be because it is a comic ballet and therefore taken less seriously. But even when it is performed, its dances often look fusty, and its humor outdated. So it was a pleasure to see New York City Ballet’s version