IT’S HARD TO RECALL the last time I heard someone say Balanchine’s name aloud. Since his death in 1983, more and more ballet companies around the world have fueled their repertories with his visionary neo-classical dances, yet it feels like his legacy could be much stronger. If he’d had kids, for example, there’d be someone around to bear (or … [Read more...]
The Society of the Spectacle
Does one really need to see Swiss filmmaker Jean-Stéphane Bron’s “The Paris Opera?” It's opening in L.A. at the Laemmle theaters this weekend. You can already imagine it, right: Venerable themes of youth and beauty and lonely artistic labor, as expressed by the bulging calf muscle and pointed toes of the student at the ballet barre? Or the … [Read more...]
The Red Shoes Are Not Tired
Matthew Bourne's "The Red Shoes" On September 15, the big-ticket fall dance season in Los Angeles begins with the U.S. premiere of Sir Matthew Bourne's award-winning 2016 ballet version of ‘The Red Shoes,’ appearing for a robust two-week run at the Music Center (Sept. 15-Oct.1). As with other recent Bourne visits, the luxe scenic production … [Read more...]
Phantasmic Freaks and Geeks in ABT’s Scrumptious “Whipped Cream”
No one in their right mind thinks the ballet stage needs any more dancing sweets, yet there was something irresistible about the announcement that American Ballet Theatre Artist-in-Residence Alexei Ratmansky planned to resurrect Richard Strauss’ 1924 two-act ballet “Schlagobers” (Whipped Cream) with sets and costumes by the inimitable Mark Ryden. … [Read more...]
Dance in L.A. Museums Unleashes the Spirits
If you haven't seen dance at a museum lately, some good news. Gone are the days when dancers were brought in like bulky decor to inhabit dead gallery space. Synchronicity abounds, tickets are still low cost (often free) and the payoff can be huge. In fact, some of the best dance I've ever seen has been in galleries. In the last few years, … [Read more...]
Premium Snow: Are the Luxe New West Coast Nutcrackers Worth the Bucks ?
Two highly anticipated, top-draw Nutcracker productions that premiered on the West Coast last season -- Peter Boal’s new setting of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” at Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, and Alexei Ratmansky’s 2010 “The Nutcracker” for American Ballet Theatre, now relocated to Costa Mesa -- had somewhat soft landings their … [Read more...]
To Live and Dance in New York
"Girl Through Glass," Sari Wilson's debut novel about the 1970s New York ballet world, focuses on the imprint of George Balanchine on the young dancers in the city. Yet the novel's tone and shape reveals both the casual nastiness & darker underbelly of the ballet aesthetic that Antony Tudor has come to represent. Such a pleasure to review the … [Read more...]
Maillot’s Botchy Look at American Dance in “Choré”
Though inspired by and decorated with 20th century American dance styles, Jean-Christophe Maillot's 2013 “Choré” for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, which had its U.S. premiere at Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa on Friday, shows integrity only to Maillot’s own sleek neo-classical choreographic voice. This is not a problem unto itself – Maillot … [Read more...]
On the First Day of Christmas, ABT Brought Costa Mesa a Lovely “Nutcracker”
Kevin McKenzie, Gillian Murphy and others discussed Alexei Ratmansky's "The Nutcracker" with me for California's Coast magazine this month. The heralded production left the Brooklyn Academy of Music to establish a new home in Costa Mesa beginning December 10th. OC's Ballet Moment: ABT's ‘Nutcracker' finds a home in Costa Mesa On a Saturday … [Read more...]
Refusal to Swoon: Ratmansky’s Stalinist-era “Cinderella” Debuts in LA
Mariinsky Ballet and Orchestra Los Angeles Music Center Oct. 8-11, 2015 musiccenter.org/Cinderella No pumpkin, no fairy godmother, no big dress, no vengeful besting on the dance floor, no heraldic marriage ceremony. If a lacey, pale-blue firehose of royal transformation is not the essence of the Cinderella story, then what is? Opening Los … [Read more...]