Category: dance

A pair of architectural renderings of the new $53m headquarters proposed for Houston Ballet has turned up on the Web. But the two drawings don’t look quite like the same building. Meanwhile, the company, when asked about the discrepancy, gave a terse statement hinting that there might not be any new building at all.

“Miami City Ballet will forgo live orchestra and perform to recorded music for the second half of its 2008-09 season to save money. Blaming the economy, ballet officials said Tuesday they cut the orchestra because of declining ticket sales and donor contributions. Live music for a full season would cost $480,000, but only $188,280 had been raised as of Thursday.”

“It has always bugged me and continues to irritate me that Labour MPs and ministers tend to steer clear of advertising allegiances to any artform that could be construed ‘elitist’ or ‘effete'” — a far cry from Conservative Party leader David Cameron’s recently voiced enthusiasm for ballet.

“You can only marvel at how Tharp, ever the choreographer, has arranged it so you’re playing the audience to her star turn. Tumbling around barefoot on the floor in her jeans, singing out eight-count measures as she narrates her moves, she’s a consummate showoff. Now, at 67, as much as in her dancing years.”

“They used to laugh at us when we talked about an imaginary gig where Led Zeppelin’s bassist jammed with Sonic Youth in a work composed by Takehisa Kosugi for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Oh how they laughed at our ludicrous dream. But now our far-fetched fantasy has been realised.”

“London’s Royal Ballet is looking beyond just ticket sales for revenue by teaming up with Italian dance and fitness clothes maker Freddy. In a partnership that could help the world-famous dance company ride out the recession, which is expected to hit demand for its shows, Freddy has designed a collection of clothes specifically for the dancers and another to go on general sale.”

“An anonymous benefactor has chipped in C$42,000 to give 1,000 children a rare holiday treat while saving Ballet BC from imminent financial collapse.” The donor bought and donated 1,000 tickets for the company’s annual Nutcracker presentation (performed by the Moscow Classical Ballet); the income should ensure that the Vancouver company can rehire its dancers for the spring 2009 season.

The Vancouver company made headlines last week when it laid off its entire staff in response to a severe cash crunch. Since the news broke, Ballet BC’s situation has improved as thousands of people have bought tickets to its annual (imported) Nutcracker, the indispensable cash cow for virtually every North American ballet company.

After four years with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (and a total of nine years in professional ballet), dancer Christopher Bandy is making the transition to a whole new technique and aesthetic as a member of the modern company Dance Alloy. He feels lazy as a choreographer asks him not to jump so high, but he’s enjoying the relative lack of aches and pains: “Modern dance is a blessing on the hips.”

“The reopening of Russia’s famed Bolshoi Theatre has been pushed back to 2011 due to delays in a costly renovation project, a spokeswoman for Russia’s culture ministry said Monday. … Located near Red Square, the theatre closed in 2005 for a 700-million-dollar renovation project that was originally expected to be finished this year, but the end date was later pushed back to 2009.”