Category: dance

The two stars, “who have electrified the dance world both on-stage and off thanks to a series of scandals, have announced they are to perform together for the first time in the UK, as they make a surprise move into contemporary dance.”

Moira Walley-Beckett: “They [the young dancers in the cast] called me Mama Moira. It was a huge priority for me. Because I’ve been there, and I know what it’s like, and I know that they’re all secretly imploding. For most of them, it was the first time they’d been under these kinds of pressures. … It was really important to me to try to keep them safe in every way that I could.”

“For years, the ballet has been dogged by cash-flow problems and a revolving door of leaders – six in the past six years. [Now-former interim executive director] Cundiff took up the top job in March.” Chief fundraiser Julie Gillespie, who started with the company in July, was also let go. The schedule of annual Nutcracker performances, expanded in September, has been reduced, and the board is considering canceling its contract with the Orlando Philharmonic.

“‘I am not nice,’ [she] said. Seated in her dressing room … Ms. Guillem burst out laughing. ‘That has gotten me into a lot of trouble.'”

“In the first of a new series exploring dancers’ lives, Xander Parish of the Mariinsky Ballet gets into the role of Romeo, explains how to be the perfect partner and considers his hectic schedule.”

“Los Angeles dance artists are fighting an uphill battle with few or no dance critics writing about their work, a very small grant pool, high studio rental fees, a lack of affordable performance venues and presenters who aren’t willing to take a chance on supporting local talent.”

“‘As our Nutcracker becomes more successful and the number of sold-out Nutcracker performances grows, so do the number of ticket resellers,’ Clark said. ‘And they’re selling them at significantly higher prices.'”

“The cast members who play dancers are actually dancers. Ms. Walley-Beckett regards the show, a psychological drama about obsession and worship, as the anti-‘Black Swan,’ the Natalie Portman thriller that was the last ballet drama to achieve mass success; it relies on neither the fantastic nor body doubles.”

“Polunin has achieved everything that Womack dreams of. And for him, that is cause for despair.”

On the stages of American Ballet Theater and New York City Ballet black, Asian, Latino and multiracial dancers are beginning to change the face of ballet where it matters most: Lincoln Center, home base to both companies.