Category: dance

“Coco is the work of [Nevada Ballet Theatre’s] artistic director James Canfield. The ’40s-set program came to fruition as part of a three-piece series he put together several years ago that told the stories of strong women who were just as influential dead as they were alive. Anaïs Nin, Edie Sedgwick and Coco Chanel.”

“Tribune reporter Christopher Borrelli, a devotee of cinema and other pop arts, is dating a woman who’s a passionate dance fan,” whereas he has a laundry list of questions about the art form. A dance critic answers them with this primer.

“[A]rguably the biggest mistake was bumping up the budget almost $300,000 in the most recent fiscal year after the company had finished the previous one with a loss of almost $1 million.” But “the company was in a state of euphoria over what it was putting onstage, and that this led to its budgeting mistakes.”

The company “has weathered the tough economic climate of the past year with what it called a ‘manageable deficit’ of $423,000 [Cdn].”

Though he has no dance background, Sadler’s Wells commissioned the Turner Prize winner to create a work for its Diaghilev/Ballets Russes centennial. “He starts and ends with the five basic positions of classical ballet. Those are his only steps. The dancers can move forwards, backwards or sideways: no diagonals.”

“City Ballet will use its grant to commission new ballets for a set designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava; the Joyce Theater Foundation will put its money toward residencies to support projects that combine theater and dance.”

“The trailers will highlight forthcoming productions at both the Peacock and the Sadler’s Wells main house, including Jump, Christmas show The Snowman and Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake.“

“Dominique Mercy and Robert Sturm have been named as the pair tapped to take over [Tanztheater Wuppertal,] the German dance company once led by the iconic choreographer Pina Bausch, who died in June.” Both men are longtime company members.

“Two days before the opening of Oregon Ballet Theatre’s 20th anniversary season, the company and its embattled executive director, Jon Ulsh, are parting ways.” Last month, “a letter calling for Ulsh to resign was signed by a large percentage of Oregon Ballet Theatre staffers and delivered to the board of directors.”

“At dawn on Monday a line formed outside a building at Spruce and 15th Streets in Philadelphia. They weren’t waiting to get Springsteen tickets. They were representatives from local dance companies, waiting for a crack at cash subsidies. Funding was handing out money on a first-come, first-served basis.”