Over three months, I followed pioneer krumpers Lil' C and Miss Prissy (from "Rize") during the gestational year of The Underground, the first-ever krump-based concert-dance company which they're building with street dance artists from Los Angeles and beyond. I saw their concert, talked to them at Miss Prissy's house on South Wilton Place, and … [Read more...]
Doug Varone the Painter-Choreographer
"I'm like a painter," said choreographer Doug Varone during his opening remarks for "Stripped/Dressed," the unique program on choreographic process and performance that he and his company of dancers brought to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Off-Center Festival in Costa Mesa on January 25-26 2013. The phrase sounds a little poetic (wouldn't a … [Read more...]
Wheeldon’s Wonderful ‘Alice’
[slideshow] When British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon left his dance company Morphoses in 2010, I was so worried he might retreat from choreography, exhausted from the battle of keeping a transatlantic dance company funded and strong. How glorious, then, to see the National Ballet of Canada (NBC) bring Wheeldon's robust new creation, a … [Read more...]
The Divine Axis of Akram Khan
The west coast premiere of “Vertical Road” at CAP UCLA’s Royce Hall this week had some vocal public detractors, which surprised me. Khan is one of the most promising and original voices on the dance landscape right now, and the only one who’s creating a completely new dance lexicon. Though its still relatively early in his career, Kahn already … [Read more...]
The Mariinsky Ballet’s “Swan Lake” Satisfies Every Craving
[slideshow] I went for the downy thunderbolt of technique and expression possessed only by Russian ballet artists in Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” and I was not disappointed. The 200-person forcefield of sophistication, generosity and technical excitement that comes at you when St. Petersburg's Mariinksky Ballet and Orchestra (formerly Kirov) brings … [Read more...]
Benjamin Millepied Unveils his Gem-sized L.A. Dance Project
[UPDATE: Less than a year into this project, Millepied announced he was moving to Paris Opera Ballet, where he was offered the artistic director position. Since then, as the company toured the US and Europe, a series of exciting appointments unfolded: in 2014 James Fayette, another former City Ballet principal, became the company manager and in … [Read more...]
Ballet Geneve debuts Benjamin Millepied works
[This article first ran in the L.A. Times.] Touring with contemporary, soft-slippered ballets, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève made its West Coast debut at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday with a trio of eye-catching works set to canonical ballet music choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, now known widely for his work in “Black … [Read more...]
Teams of Indie Artists Respond to “Einstein on the Beach”
[slideshow] Philip Glass’ symphonic music has grown commonplace on ballet programs, yet more often than not contemporary choreographers will concoct dense, breathless and safe movement phrases to accompany Glass’ launching and looping scores. Maybe you’ll see costumes that express ‘creativity,’ but for the most part the dance feels to be trying to … [Read more...]
The Balance of Tension in Ratmansky’s new ABT “Firebird”
Igor Stravinsky’s sensational “Firebird” ballet demands a vivid design, and Simon Pastukh’s scorched, metallic forest (ignited by Wendell Harrington’s projections) along with Galina Solovyeva’s haute-goth costumes delivered a strong pop vision to Alexei Ratmansky’s new ballet for American Ballet Theatre. But on opening weekend at the Segerstrom … [Read more...]
Ratmansky’s “Firebird” for ABT Debuts Tonight in Costa Mesa
I can't wait to see what Alexei Ratmansky does with Stravinsky's "Firebird," premiering tonight during ABT's national tour. I keep thinking of the way Dumbledore's blood-red phoenix bursts into flames -- how fantastic is the mixture of avian hauteur with exploding flame. I'm also thinking of an amazing recreation of "Firebird"'s intensity at the … [Read more...]