“Symphonic Dances,” “The Cage,” “Andantino,” “Cortège Hongrois”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 30, 2015

Besides the music composers’ national origin, the works presented by New York City Ballet as part of the “Hear the Dance: Russia” program had one artistic commonality: dancers in all of the pieces seemed on a quest for a freeing approach to the stylized and formalistic aspects of the choreography. Despite a number of debuts, it was mostly the

"Donizetti Variations", "La Valse", "Chaconne"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 28, 2015

by Mary Cargill 
copyright © 2015 by Mary Cargill 

The New York City Ballet's intriguing program showcased three takes on Balanchine's views of romance, each featuring a central couple surrounded by formal corps patterns. The Bournonville-influenced "Donizetti Variations" will probably never appear on anyone's list of Balanchine's greatest hits, but it is a supremely

“Swan Lake”
Mariinsky Ballet
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Brooklyn, NY
January 22, 2015

Fielding a leading cast of two imports, the Mariinsky Ballet showed points of departure and a sense of new direction against the backdrop of its iconic tradition. Amidst the uneven performances from the Perm ballet school trained Oxana Skorik and the Royal Ballet school trained Xander Parish in the main roles, you could see glimpses of emerging interesting new styles, and their imperfections kept them from

“Swan Lake”
Mariinsky Ballet
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Brooklyn, NY
January 16, 2015

Ulyana Lopatkina’s interpretation of Odette is largely viewed in Russia as the epitome of the role, and her single performance in the Kostantin Sergeyev’s 1950 retooling of the Petipa/Ivanov “Swan Lake” original during Mariinsky Ballet’s New York tour showed why. Not a single one of her movements was amiss, much as not a single one of them lacked detail, and to witness

"ChopEniana,” “Patterns in Space,” “Esmeralda,” “Dying Swan,” “Don Quixote”
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
December 18, 2014

The “ladies” of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo once again dazzled the audience with their clever humor and admirable technique, and from the pre-performance announcement that a dancer, a certain Ms. Notgoodenoff, will not be performing to the last note of the Hava Nagila that they spontaneously broke into while still in their “Don

“Chroma,” “Suspended Women,” “Revelations”
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York City Center
New York, NY
December 12, 2014

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s premiere of Jacqulyn Buglisi’s 2000 work “Suspended Women,” carefully wedged between the no longer new for the company “Chroma” and the classic “Revelations,” offered a moving glimpse of the atemporal elements of the female experience, and the evening’s program as a whole provided a perspective on the company’s artistic dimension.

Buglisi’s

"Preludes", "Homage to Edgar Allan Poe", "Are We There Yet?", "Frida"
Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble
The Theater at the 14th Street Y
New York, NY 
December 7, 2014, 3:00

The Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble presented a group of dances by modern choreographer Anna Sokolow with American themes; George Gershwin, whose music was used for her 1984 "Preludes" represented the cheerful, optimistic side, while "Homage to Edgar Allan Poe" (1986 and 1993) and "Frida" (1997) focused on the artistic

“Castles,” “Fabulist,” “Dome”
Doug Varone and Dancers
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
December 2, 2014

The three works presented by Doug Varone and Dancers at the Joyce Theater each told a different type of story. The 2004 “Castles” opened the night with formations and disintegrations laced with narratives resembling and inspired by fairy tales, the New York premiere of “Fabulist,” a somewhat autobiographical solo performed by the choreographer himself, was a deeply moving storyteller’s monologue, and the world

"Don Quixote"
Mikhailovsky Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
November 22, 2014, matinee

The Mikhailovsky Ballet's production of "Don Quixote" lists seven choreographers (Petipa and Gorsky, of course, but also Fyodor Lopukhov, Kasyan Goleyzovsky, Nina Anisimova, Igor Belsky and Robert Gerbek) plus one stager (Mikhail Messerer). It would probably take a dance archaeologist to sort out the different layers and figure out who actually did what, but the outline and choreography of this production is very similar

"Le Halte de Cavalerie", "Class Concert", "Prelude"
Mikhailovsky Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
November 19, 2014

The Mikhailovsky's triple bill was a brief trip through its archives, featuring a one-act Petipa comedy, a 1960 Bolshoi classroom extravaganza and a 21st century piece by its former director Nacho Duato. The program was presented in chronological order, but unfortunately, the quality of the choreography was in descending order, though the dancing throughout was generally first rate. "Le

“Flames of Paris”
Mikhailovsky Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
November 16, 2014 (matinee)

How could you make Stalin’s favorite revolution-themed ballet a success in 2014? A faithful reconstruction would hardly seem like the right strategy, yet that is precisely what Mikhail Messerer, Mikhailovsky Ballet’s Ballet Master in Chief, did in staging his revival of Vasily Vaynonen’s classic “Flames of Paris.” The approach turned out to be worth the risk, earning the ballet two

“Giselle”
Mikhailovsky Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York,
November 12, 2014, matinee

The Mikhailovsky Ballet, known in Soviet times as the Maly, is based in St. Petersburg, formerly known as Leningrad, and is a smaller cousin of the Maryinksy, formerly known as the Kirov. With all these name changes, it is probaby no surprise that their "Giselle" eschews named characters, and the active village is inhabited by Gamekeeper, Count, Duke, Mother, etc.  Giselle does keep her