We were in the presence of jewels, of incredible riches at the ABT gala last night. Every performance had a grandeur, every dancer was someone you wanted to keep watching. And there was just enough variety to keep you wanting more. It didn’t feel like a grab bag of hits, as it can sometimes feel. […]
American Ballet Theatre’s roster of principal and guest principal dancers is so extensive that its talented soloists don’t always get their chance to shine. On Sunday and Monday evening at 7:30 PM, they step front and center with “American Ballet Theatre—A Cast of Characters,” presented by the Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process program. Viewers can […]
Ann Marie DeAngelo can put on a good show (she produces the Career Transition For Dancers gala every year), but she outdid herself with the Capezio 125th Anniversary Celebration. The narrative about shoes, sprinkled with humor and acrobatics, pulled this show together. Yes, the whole evening was sort of an infomercial, to quote Elizabeth Zimmer. […]
In addition to the opportunities it gives to talented young dancers, Youth America Grand Prix puts on two slam-dunk shows every spring. Time and again, they’ve brought foreign superstars that we’ve only seen on YouTube or DVDs. In the “Stars of Today Meet Stars of Tomorrow” program this Friday, April 27, guest artists include Sergei […]
New York City Center November 8–13, 2011 Performances reviewed: Nov. 8, 9, 12 (matinee) & 13 After skipping a couple of seasons at City Center, ABT returned to the renovated theater, which suited the company’s contemporary repertory season, even if just for one week. The selected works reminded us of the extant riches produced by […]
With the driving Philip Glass music still ringing in my head, I am going to take a stab at why Tharp’s ballet has endured for 25 years. It came out of an era when the belief in “pure movement” was still strong. Many of us at the time embraced Merce Cunningham’s idea that dance could […]
Some people have asked about the talk I gave in Sarasota, where I outlined my seven reasons ballet is NOT dying, in response to ballet-doomsday-sayer Jennifer Homans in her book Apollo’s Angels. (Her book is actually excellent until that last chapter.) So I decided to tweak my notes from my talk at the event for […]
At a showing for arts presenters in the Dance Theatre of Harlem studios last January, Virginia Johnson told the audience, “Excellence is…elusive.” As she was speaking, her slight épaulement, gracious manner, and swiveling hands hinted at her own past excellence as a dancer. The buzz is optimistic now that Virginia Johnson has taken the […]
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