Boston Ballet’s new second soloist has grace and power. Ashley Ellis moves with womanly grace. In one piece she seems to float through classical steps; in another she punches out jazzy movement with flair. Her pristine technique permits her great range, yet behind the grace lies a power that can ignite her presence […]
Line, lightness, and libido come together in the dancing of Jose Manuel Carreño. I don’t necessarily mean his libido, but ours. It’s not only his relaxed, virile, presence that’s seductive, but also the way his pelvis, sometimes at the end of a pirouette, gently lilts forward. Last night at his ABT farewell performance, I didn’t […]
O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art As glorious to this night, being o’er my head, As is a winged messenger of heaven… So says Romeo when gazing at the sight of Juliet standing on her balcony. Love is personified by Shakespeare’s star-cross’d lovers in a way that has translated sublimely into […]
Retirement On April 18, Kumiko Tsuji’s farewell performance of Swan Lake brought the audience to its feet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre artistic director Terrence Orr to his knees. A flawless Odette, she was delicate but strong, fiercely protecting her captor while yearning for love and salvation. Tsuji’s supple body, articulate legs, and convincing mime […]
People love to discover new talent, but mature talent is exciting too. However, it’s often said that just when a dancer reaches her peak of artistry, her body starts to give way. Here we profile three great ballerinas who have been around the block and are still in top form, physically and artistically: Leanne Benjamin […]
Ode to Lincoln Following Serenade/The Proposition, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company premieres Fondly Do We Hope… Fervently Do We Pray, the second of three pieces that explore the legacy of Abraham Lincoln in his bicentennial year (“Dance Matters,” Feb.). Set to text from Lincoln’s speeches and writings and a re-imagining of Mendelssohn’s St. […]
Spoleto Festival (Festival dei 2Mondi) Teatro Nuovo and Teatro Romano Spoleto, Italy July 3–6, 2009 Reviewed by Wendy Perron Edwaard Liang, Teresa Reichlen, Adrian Danchig-Waring, and Maria Kowroski in the first half of Wheeldon’s After the Rain. Photo by Bill Cooper, Courtesy Spoleto. Alessandra Ferri, new director of dance of the interdisciplinary Spoleto […]
Ride the Momentum Four of the Twin Cities’ experimental dance artists come together for two weekends at The Southern Theater’s series, Momentum: New Dance Works. The choreographers all reveal glimpses into human behavior in one way or another. Vanessa Voskuil’s en masse explores gestural movements; Sachiko Nishiuchi’s piece, The Apple Tree, offers a […]
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