Category: dance

“One hundred years ago, Vaslav Nijinsky performed [Fokine’s] Danse Siamoise with the Ballets Russes at the Paris Opera. … Little is known of the original choreography for the Danse Siamoise, but, using old photographs and paintings, the Thai choreographer and dancer Pichet Klunchun has now created Nijinsky Siam, a 55-minute stage ‘dialogue’ with Nijinsky, where Mr. Klunchun explores the Russian dancer’s understanding of Thai classical dance and responds to it.”

21-year-old Ivan Vasiliev, known for dazzlingly high and complex leaps as well as good looks and stage presence, could become the next big international ballet star during the company’s July visit to London.

“John had given … the approval to show the ballet” – called Love Lies Bleeding – “in Alberta only. Once it was staged in Calgary and Edmonton, John would weigh in on whether the production was good enough to tour elsewhere. The stakes were high: At $1.1-million [Cdn], the ballet’s budget had doubled from its original estimate.”

“Those attending Jérôme Bel’s The Show Must Go On are expected to join in the fun, and help the choreographer strip the dance down to its ‘zero point’ … ‘What should take 10 seconds, the normal ‘house lights off’ and ‘stage lights on’ before dancing begins, takes eight minutes,’ Bel explains.”

Almost half of the competition’s 34 finalists are from Asian countries, reflecting an increase in ballet activity there. “Among the Asian finalists are 16 dancers from the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan.”

Said the cartoonist of his Pilobolus collaboration: “The reason this [piece] is called ‘Still Moving’ is ’cause there was a point about two days in when I was so unhappy, and [choreographer] Michael [Tracy]’s saying, ‘What can we do to make this a better experience for you?’ ‘I really don’t know, but my main problem is that these [expletive] dancers keep moving.'”

“Although I listened to classic ballet scores from an early age, my cultural education was largely ballet-free, and the few dance performances that I did see caused discomfort: the movements of the dancers seemed at odds with the rhythm and the structure of the music. Ignorant of the distinct vocabulary of dance, I expected music to dictate the terms of the engagement.”

“The primary take-away is that whether you’re talking Memphis or Tulsa, Seattle or Charlotte, there’s an impressively high level of skill among the nation’s ballet dancers. The companies are also overwhelmingly white and dotted with Europeans — as they have always been. Diversity in ballet remains a serious problem for the small companies as well as the large, on the coasts as well as in the heartland.”

“Though turnover is high, Billys are made, not born, and while every case is different, the time it takes from first audition to opening night is usually two and a half years. To help the most promising talents prepare for the make-or-break callbacks as much as a year down the road, the production provides advanced coaching in ballet, tap and acrobatics, all part of a program known as Billy Camp.”

“Among the initiatives that the ballet has undertaken [under its new executive director]: forgoing costly, full-company tours unless they are underwritten; experimenting with a dramatically smaller ensemble touring group; and creating and opening a spring festival, ‘Architecture of Dance’.”