Category: dance

“Dancing is made to appear as something not just of repetition and display but of internal contrasts and musical intricacy. Thanks to the teaching of Jock Soto (himself an extraordinarily able partner from his earliest days with City Ballet in the 1980s), both girls and boys are learning aspects of partnering that their predecessors learned only in their professional careers.”

“Christopher House appears willing to relinquish control over the nine dancers (and two interns) in Toronto Dance Theatre in return for artistic growth. Last fall, he delivered them into the hands of New York post-modernist maven Deborah Hay, who introduced them to a new way of creating dance. Now, split into two groups, the dancers are working with Christoph Winkler and Felix Marchand, two choreographers from Berlin, to stretch their creative boundaries further still.”

“England’s Royal Ballet will make its first visit to Cuba in July with performances that include a homage to Cuban ballet legend Alicia Alonso, ballet executives said on Wednesday. The Cuba visit came about in part because the Royal Ballet’s principal guest dancer, Carlos Acosta, is a Cuban and was anxious to perform in his home country….”

“We’re in a recession that may prove a depression. One way for ballet to survive is to keep shoveling out ever more fouetté turns and grandes pirouettes and multiple entrechat-six and circuits of turns or jumps on the assumption that audiences can’t get enough of them. Another is for those in charge to help audiences become more intelligently interested.”

The Orange County Performing Arts Center’s “Gala Dance Spectacular” tomorrow night is “centered on the world premiere of ‘Fallen Angel,’ a new work by Boris Eifman,” but the starry evening isn’t intended as a fundraiser. “The idea behind this program … is to make an investment in OCPAC’s reputation as a presenter of international dance and center for the development of new work.”

“Praised as a major innovator in the field of dance, Taiwanese choreographer Lin Hwai-min was presented with a Movimentos lifetime achievement award Tuesday. Lin, founder and artistic director of the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, is only the second choreographer to receive the honor … The jury ranked Lin’s contributions to the creativity of dance on the same level as those of George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, [and] William Forsythe.”

The government of Vietnam “wants to ban dancing at karaoke bars in what reports have said is a bid to limit drug use.” Clubgoers and staffers say the rule would be unworkable, and it would get in the way of relaxation.

“Mr. Baryshnikov is fond of the old-man quips these days. But his performances are hardly portraits of a diminished star. Rather they are portraits of the dancer as mature artist, one with remarkable physical clarity. And, he still has the best hands in the business.”

“William and Mary officials received word Friday that the university — known for its history and academics — had broken the Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously doing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance in one location.”

“The production that starts performances May19 at the Canon Theatre is being billed as its “farewell tour” and it’s wending its way through every city the show has ever played in Europe and North America, just to say goodbye. But is this a genuine last kick at the can?”