Category: dance

“Far from the dance studio, craftsmen hammer and form ballet shoes with their own rough grace.”

No, not as a skater. (Our Eddie is 78, after all.) Dick Button – no doubt with an assist from Villella’s wife, once a champion skater herself – convinced him to try choreographing serious ice ballets. (And by the way, Villella says, “I will never work for a board again and I will never raise money again. It’s a beautiful freedom.”)

“Some say she’s killing ‘real’ flamenco – but Rocío Molina has no time for conservatism. She’s teaming up with a Korean hip-hop dancer and takes her inspiration from Nietzsche and Brueghel.”

“Wheeldon discovered that the rather seedy world of 19th-century ballet harbored a counterpart to evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. In Degas’s paintings, ‘I kept seeing this mysterious top hatted figure,’ he says, ‘standing in the wings, looking out onstage.'”

“After 30 years with City Ballet, almost to the day, Wendy Whelan dances her final performance Saturday, one that’s sure to be marked by tears, hugs, and countless bouquets. Whelan is such a popular figure with NYCB audiences that the show sold out within minutes.”

“‘Keep your elbows lifted, even when your arms are crossed over your chest – as though you’re in a bar, having a drink.’ So said the Pennsylvania Ballet’s new artistic director as he taught a recent company class in preparation for the dancers’ debut under his leadership this week. His unexpected suggestion, whimsical but clear, is typical of his style. It achieved the intended result.”

“Whenever fashion designers, with their house signatures and acclimation to ego-stroking, are involved in ballet, the question arises of whether the costumes enhance the dance or distract from it.”

“Three years ago, people started saying: ‘I’m interested. Can I fly in to meet you?’ Now they say: ‘I’ve just moved to L.A. Can I audition?'”

“The dancers have transfixed LA locals – and staff at their hotel. One man arriving with room service for Ms Lockett noticed a hanging tutu. ‘He was just fascinated,’ Ms Lockett said. ‘He said, ‘Stop it! You’re a ballerina!’ She tipped him generously for his enthusiasm. ‘We’d had such a lovely chat.'”