reviews
Singapore Dance Theatre : 'Masterpiece in Motion'
by Stephanie Burridge
August 24, 2012 -- Esplanade Theater, Singapore
Singapore Dance Theatre’s 'Masterpiece in Motion' season at the Esplanade Theatre, August 24, featuring international choreographers was a stunning triple bill. World Premiere of Chant by Val Caniparolli is just a wonderful work- primal and instinctive; the company really nailed the intricacies of Balanchine's Divertimento No.5 and the Age of Innocence by Edwaard Liang was poetic, passionate and sexy.
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Birmingham Royal Ballet: 'Far From the Madding Crowd'
by David Mead
June 20 & 23, 2012 -- Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham, UK
Quite why audiences have never really bought into David Bintley’s “Far From the Madding Crowd” has always been a bit of a mystery. Thomas Hardy certainly has something of a reputation for being a difficult author to read, something I would contest, but his 19th-century turbulent tale of love, obsession, deceit and tragedy is perfect ballet material. Better still, it is so English.
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Opera North - 'Carousel'
by Stuart Sweeney
August 23, 2012 -- Barbican, London, UK
“Carousel” is one of my favourite musicals, ranking alongside “Oklahoma”, with superb songs and having more dramatic weight than many, although raising concerns that are discussed later. Opera North's production is full of vitality and visual interest to set alongside the wonders of the score.
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'The Brown Bomber: A Dance Suite in Three Scenes'
by Thea Nerissa Barnes
July 15, 2012 -- Southbank, London, UK
It's the Olympics in London and practitioners in dance are doing their part to spur on and invigorate the interest and excitement that accompanies this event. Inspiration permeates the air as athletes strive to do their best while supporters cheer them on.
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Maris Liepa Gala
by Charlotte Kasner
July 29, 2012 -- London Coliseum, London, UK
This, the second Liepa gala that London has seen recently, started each act with wonderful fragments of films, rather crudely assembled but fascinating nonetheless. The opening montage reminded us that he was also a fine classical dancer who tackled all of the major danseur noble roles.
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Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company - 'Story/Time'
by Carmel Morgan
July 31, 2012 -- Filene Center, Wolf Trap National Park, Vienna, Virginia
I try to go once a year in the summer to see dance at Wolf Trap, the nation’s only national park for the performing arts, which is located outside of Washington, DC. The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company prompted me to make this year’s trip to Filene Center, Wolf Trap’s popular outdoor ampitheater.
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Paris Opera Ballet : 'Giselle'
by Colleen Boresta
July 14(m), 2012 -- David Koch Theater, New York, NY
I am very impressed by POB’s “Giselle”, but it does not move me. I feel as detached from the 19th century world of Giselle and Albrecht as the leading dancers Isabelle Ciaravola and Karl Paquette seem to be. Isabella Ciaravola is a beautiful looking Giselle, but her footwork is not as precise as it should be.
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Paris Opera Ballet: 'Giselle'
by Carmel Morgan
July 5, 2012 -- JFK Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC
They presented “Giselle,” a romantic classical ballet favorite. Instead of intense bursts of fire and light, the performance generated a sustained and assured soothing cool. Thanks to the Paris Opera Ballet, the audience received a much needed dose of refreshment to take minds off the record-breaking heat wave that the city was experiencing.
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American Ballet Theatre: 'Le Corsaire'
by Colleen Boresta
July 7, 2012 -- Metropolitan Opera House, New York NY
There was ballet magic at the Metropolitan Opera House on July 7, 2012 (the matinee). American Ballet Theatre is presenting their rollicking version of “Le Corsaire”, staged by Anna Marie Holmes after Marius Petipa and Konstantin Sergeyev.
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American Ballet Theatre: 'Swan Lake'
by Colleen Boresta
June 27 (m), 2012 -- Metropolitan Opera House, New York NY
I have seen “Swan Lake” live close to 40 times in my 30 plus years of attending the ballet. My non-balletomane friends are amazed at this fact. How can I see the same work over and over? Isn’t it always the same? Don’t I get bored hearing Tchaikovsky’s music so many times? The answer to all these questions is no.
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New English Ballet Theatre: Synergies
by Charlotte Kasner
July 4, 2012 -- Peacock Theatre, London, UK
It is not often that one can welcome a brand new ballet company to London, let alone a home-grown one. It’s an ambitious company too: self-consciously modelled on Diaghilev, although Vaganova-based rather than continuing the Cecchetti legacy. They also used live music for all but one of the nine works presented this evening.
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American Ballet Theatre: Mixed Bill & La Bayadere
by David Mead
July 12-13, 2012 -- National Theatre, Taipei
As is their want on tour, ABT’s version of “Apollo” in Taipei came minus both the birth scene, for which hurrah. I’m at one with Mr. B’s later view that the ballet looks much better without it. Some versions omit this but retain the concluding ascent to Mount Parnassus. Here, both were left out, the latter replaced by a reprise upstage of the sunburst, an ending I find less satisfactory.
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Schaufuss Ballet: Tchaikovsky Triology
by Charlotte Kasner
July 24-25, 2012 -- London Coliseum, London, UK
"Swan Lake" is a pretty robust creation and has survived much mauling over the last century and a half...But if Petipa and Ivanov suddenly materialised in the London Coliseum they would conclude from this production that we are living in some sort of balletic Dark Ages.
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Birmingham Royal Ballet : Summer Celebration
by David Mead
June 27, 2012 -- Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham, UK
Broadway choreographer Joe Layton’s 1971 ballet “The Grand Tour” is about the antics of various Hollywood stars, other celebrities and an American spinster and a couple of Italian stowaways aboard a 1920s cruise ship. The costumes and art deco promenade deck set were most lively. The ballet, though, quickly became rather becalmed.
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American Ballet Theatre: 'Swan Lake'
by Jerry Hochman
June 27 and 30, 2012 -- Metropolitan Opera House, New York, NY
When all is said and done, the success of any performance of “Swan Lake,” or any other ballet for that matter, boils down to the quality of the performances. Certainly the choreography provides the essential framework, and this version, choreographed by American Ballet Theater’s Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie (‘after’ Petipa and Ivanov), is what this viewer considers to be Mr. McKenzie’s best work.
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American Ballet Theatre: 'Firebird'
by Jerry Hochman
June 12 and 22, 2012 -- Metropolitan Opera House, New York, NY
I expect a lot from Alexei Ratmansky. While I have not always gushed over his ballets, I have found all that I’ve seen to be intelligently crafted works of art that are also interesting to watch unfold, and that frequently tend to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone at the same time.
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Matthew Bourne's Early Adventures
by Stuart Sweeney
May 21, 2012 -- Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, UK
This triple bill forms part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Matthew Bourne's company, originally Adventures in Motion Pictures and later New Adventures. Formed in 1987 with students fresh out of London's Laban Centre, these AMP works cover a period from 1988 to 1991. It is astonishing that in this early period Bourne's flair for comic dance using distinctive movement was so well developed.
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American Ballet Theatre: 'Onegin'
by Jerry Hochman
June 9, 2012 (matinee & evening) -- Metropolitan Opera House, New York, NY
When John Cranko died suddenly on June 26, 1973 while on a flight from New York to Stuttgart, at age 45, it was generally accepted at the time that ballet had lost one of its most accomplished contemporary choreographers... In this viewer’s opinion, in no ballet is the loss so clearly demonstrated as in “Onegin,” which returned to the ABT repertoire last week, in a run that ended Saturday night.
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Verve 12
by David Mead
June 1, 2012 -- The Place, London, UK
In recent years the programmes presented by Verve, the graduate performance company of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, have tended to outshine those of similar groups. The dancers of Verve 12 are certainly talented and athletic. They not only bring power and energy to their performance but can dance as one when they have to.
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