Category: dance

“In theory, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a mixed-race, multicultural dance company. In practice, much of its core repertory trades in a style of black and Latin stereotypes that are old-fashioned and restrictive.”

Christopher Wheeldon is “doing something no one else has done: he’s starting the first transatlantic ballet company. With bases in London and New York, it will allow him to divide his time between his home and his adopted home. Having his cake and eating it is how he describes it.”

“His shows are virtually guaranteed to sell out wherever he plays, but choreographer Matthew Bourne always keeps one seat free for a very important person – himself. … In London, he attends every single performance. On tour, Bourne stays with his company until completely satisfied that everything is in place, then heads back home – only to join them on the road at a new venue the following week.”

“As dancegoing New Yorkers might hope, the living choreographers for whom their city is most renowned — Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris — are all scheduled to present new works in the coming 12 months and to revive beloved works from their past. So far so good. But too little of it will open in New York City. And there is no knowing when or even if some of it will be seen here.”

“As any good choreographer for pop stars would tell you, the Devil is in the details: a funky hip thrust or a confident stroll across the stage.”

“Choreographers associated with the New Dance Group, an activist-minded crucible of modern dance that flourished in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, based works on Woody Guthrie’s songs, the struggles of the Depression and the Spanish Civil War. Now one of those choreographers and the children of two others are embroiled in a very modern court battle over who has the right to perform their dances.”

The New York dance presenter is a one-of-a-kind institution. “In an economically shaky art form, the Joyce is a bastion of growth and stability. Outside New York it has the Good Housekeeping seal.”

Ohio Dance Theatre, the ballet company based in Oberlin, is stepping back from normal operations during the 2007-08 season to reassess and reorganize.

In 2005 the center laid off most of its workers. “Since those dark days at the end of 2005 the bureau has staged a remarkable renaissance. It has raised more than $1 million from foundations, government and private donors and has expanded its staff to nine. A $500,000 endowment has been established to safeguard its future.”

“Nureyev seduced the world not simply through his technique — which, as the documentary’s archival clips show, was not always flawless, even after he was crowned the Kirov’s leading dancer — but because of the danger, risk, animal drive and flamboyant sensuality he brought to the stage. As the film makes clear, those were honest qualities, part innate personality and perhaps partly fueled by political tensions. Drama and turbulence were Nureyev’s constant companions until he died in 1993.”