Dance on Camera
by Susan Reiter
As in the past, the range of offerings in the annual Dance on Camera Festival is quite impressive. One program steeps you in the atmosphere of the mid-20th-century Paris Opera Ballet; another takes you on a series of cross-cultural explorations; another offers a straightforward documentation of one of Merce Cunningham’s most serenely gorgeous works. READ MORE
Speeding Beauty
by Gay Morris
Whatever one thinks of Peter Martins’ 1991 production of "The Sleeping Beauty," there is no doubt it is a quintessentially neoclassical interpretation of a classical ballet. To this degree, Martins has been true to the legacy of George Balanchine. He may possibly have out-Balanchined Balanchine. Speed and clarity are the hallmarks here, and the devil take the hindmost. Martins’ two-act version of what is normally a ballet in three acts and a prologue, opened New York City Ballet’s winter repertory season on Wednesday. Despite having seen this "Sleeping Beauty" off and on for more than a decade, it still seems as if Princess Aurora barely has time for a nap, let alone to sleep for a hundred years. READ MORE
Smelling the Roses
by Mary Cargill
More than 100 years after it was first choreographed, "The Sleeping Beauty" remains the ultimate test of a ballet company, not just because the steps are hard or the mime is crucial, but because it demands the ability of a company, from the smallest page to the principals, to create and inhabit a separate believable universe. Peter Martins’ version was produced before the world had a chance to see the revelatory new/old Maryinsky revival, and has remained tied to its 1991 version, with its strengths and weaknesses. But any version, without the moral complexity of the revival, now looks thin and a bit facile — having Lilac destroy Carabosse is a cartoon version of good and evil. The original (or at least the revival) stressed the very human dilemma of justice versus mercy, and an individual’s ability to forgive all of our Carabosse’s. But enough of Petipa remains, even in this speeded up, watered down version, for some rich performances. READ MORE
Art and Actuality
by George Jackson
Martha Wittman looks American Gothic. With her hair swept into a bun, wearing granny glasses and sensible shoes, she sits straight and still as a schoolmarm, attentive to the post-performance discussion until invited to talk. Then, although her words are clear, Wittman also speaks with her hands. They illustrate and amplify her thoughts. Her gestures are powerful when she makes a point, and immaculately controlled. At other moments her hands, as if preparing to launch, press down on her knees. READ MORE