Matthew Bourne’s “The Red Shoes”
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
October 10, 2017

The storyteller, whether it is Homer or Matthew Bourne, entices our attention with living, breathing, recognizable characters with whom we empathize and not with the originality of the tale being told. Bourne, the British choreographer, has a good record of taking familiar yarns such as “Swan Lake”, “The Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” in order to reawaken them as

“Les Sylphides”, “Le Corsaire” Duo, “Bolero”,
“The Prodigal Son”
The Washington Ballet’s Russian Masters Program
Eisenhower Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
October 8, 2017 at 8 PM

This so-called Russian view of humankind was amazing. All the bodies on stage belonged to what seemed real people and even imaginary beings pulsed with red blood in their veins, yet – as in life - individual  temperaments differed distinctly. According to the program’s

“The Taming of the Shrew”
The Bolshoi Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
July 28, 2017

The famed Bolshoi Ballet has given New Yorkers many tastes of its excellent classical repertory during the company’s visits over the years, but has gotten some understandable criticism for those selections – the classics are great, but was the company stuck in time and where were the new works? This year’s presentation of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s “The Taming of the

“El Pintor,” “Pá Triana Voy,” “Sentio,” “Caminos,” “A Solas,” “A Mi Manera”
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana
BAM Fisher
New York, NY
May 17, 2017

In a short run at the BAM Fisher theater, Carlota Santana’s spirited company presented impressive flamenco technique, a cherished relationship with the dance form and generous storytelling through dance. The intimate setting of a small stage allowed for a closer connection to the dancers and their expression, and the performance amounted to a

“Don Quixote”
American Ballet Theatre
The Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 16, 2017
 
For her debut in the role with American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland presented the crowd with a robust but not particularly enthusiastic Kitri, and fellow debutants Jeffrey Cirio as Basilio, Luciana Paris as Mercedes and Calvin Royal III as Espada enlivened the production with joyful and appealing dancing. The ballet wasn’t perfect, but the shining moments shone brightly, even if that light did