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writers on dancing

Volume 5, Number 16 - April 23, 2007

this week's reviews

Reviving "Beauty":
Gelsey Kirkland at Works & Process

by Dale Brauner

London Letter
Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal and English National Ballets
announce their seasons

by John Percival

More Angst from Eifman
by Susan Reiter

Letters and Commentary

San Francisco Letter 26
San Francisco Ballet: Programs 6 and 7

by Rita Felciano

Letter from London
Henri Oguike Dance Company, Richard Alston Dance Company

by John Percival

Letter from Copenhagen
Nikolaj Hübbe to take over his parent company

by Eva Kistrup

San Francisco Letter 25
by Rita Felciano

Letter from Copenhagen
"American Mixture" program at the Royal Danish Ballet

by Eva Kistrup

San Francisco Letter No. 24:
San Francisco Ballet's Programs 4 and 5

by Rita Felciano

London Letter
Fabulous Beast and Australian Dance Theatre

from John Percival

San Francisco Letter 23
William Forsythe, Sydney Dance Company, Stephen Petronio

by Rita Felciano

San Francisco Letter 22
Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group
Black Choreographers Festival: Here and Now 2007

by Rita Felciano

San Francisco Letter 21
San Francisco Ballet, Programs I and II

by Rita Felciano

did you miss any of these?

John Jasperse at DTW
by Susan Reiter

Pitching Hay
by Ann Murphy

In Munich, a reconstructed "Le Corsaire" and a visit from the Kirov
by Marc Haegeman

Jess Curtis/Gravity: "Under the Radar"
by Paul Parish

Ballet Memphis Does New York
by Susan Reiter

San Francisco Letter 25
by Rita Felciano

Letter from Copenhagen
Nikolaj Hübbe to take over his parent company

by Eva Kistrup

Yerevan and Vienna: Viewings
by George Jackson

Contrasts at the Washington Ballet
by Naima Prevots

Eliza Miller's "O Death"
by Susan Reiter

Special spaces
by George Jackson

Sweet Edward
Matthew Bourne's "Edward Scissorhands"

by Lisa Rinehart

Noh-Now in New York
Takeshi Kawamura’s Aoi/Komachi

by Tom Phillips

 

 



Reviving "Beauty":
Gelsey Kirkland at Works & Process

by Dale Brauner

The Works & Process series event, “American Ballet Theatre — The Sleeping Beauty” was intended to provide a sneak preview of the company’s new production of the Marius Petipa classic (which will be unveiled fully during during the company's upcoming spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House) but the great curiosity was Gelsey Kirkland. The superstar ballerina is assisting Kevin McKenzie in staging “The Sleeping Beauty”, but with the ABT artistic director unable to attend the Guggenheim Museum lecture due to illness, the prodigal daughter took center stage — to prolonged applause at her introduction.   READ MORE


London Letter
Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal and English National Ballets
announce their seasons

by John Percival

Our three major English ballet companies have announced their plans for the 1977-78 season. At Covent Garden, the Royal Ballet's biggest new production will be Balanchine's “Jewels”. The company has previously given the Stravinsky section, “Rubies”, but “Emeralds” (to Fauré music) and “Diamonds” (Tchaikovsky) are new to this repertoire. There are to be creations by recently appointed resident choreographer Wayne McGregor (a short piece for a gala), Christopher Wheeldon and, heaven help us, Kim Brandstrup, the Danish-born choreographer whose ballets I have always found monumentally boring. None of these has yet announced what music he will use. Whether it is a good idea to revive, after several years, MacMillan's “Different Drummer”, remains to be seen; based on Georg Buechner's play “Woyzeck”, the ballet is rightly described in its advance publicity as “this bleak tale”. Another disputable choice for revival is “Tales of Beatrix Potter” — not really a ballet by Ashton but Anthony Dowell's production based on Ashton's dances for a film. Artistic director Monica Mason explained however that “I like it; that's why we are doing it”. Jerome Robbins's “Dances at a Gathering” and “Afternoon of a Faun” return to the RB's programmes to mark the tenth anniversary of their choreographer's death. READ MORE


More Empty Angst from Eifman
by Susan Reiter

Would Boris Eifman be more suited to choreographing for Broadway or Cirque du Soleil? These options occurred as nearly uninterrupted 45 minutes of busy, angst-ridden excerpts from his longer works spilled across the stage at the Eifman Ballet's opening night gala. In-your-face, often robotic ensemble numbers alternated with the nearly contortionist, angst-ridden partnering that is his trademark. This confusing and disjointed display made up the second half of this atypical Eifman evening seemed to test the patience of even his diehard fans. Applause was hesitant until the final bows, when the man himself made his inevitable grand entrance from upstage center and seemed to command an intense audience reaction as he strode downstage. READ MORE

 

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