Category: dance

Since longtime Colorado Ballet artistic director Martin Fredmann was forced out last fall, the company has seen a number of changes on both sides of the curtain. But even if the changes eventually lead to a stronger dance troupe, there’s no question that a number of talented people have lost their jobs, and the wounds are still fresh. And some observers are wondering if the new regime in charge of Colorado Ballet is really as that interested in dance as they are in a balanced budget.

Toronto’s National Ballet of Canada moves in to its new home at the Four Seasons. “Even for those accustomed to good seats at the ballet, the dancers’ personalities are suddenly more evident in the Four Seasons.”

“As the Royal Ballet marks its 75th anniversary, do we find the troupe in good health, paying due homage to its signature creations while striding confidently into the future? Well, not exactly, based on this initial view…”

It’s been ten years since the Joffrey Ballet moved to Chicago, and the company’s in fine shape. “The gala was already a confirmed sellout, with more than 1,100 guests and an estimated $1.6 million raised for the Joffrey. But it also was a grand reunion of 130 dancers who had, at one time or another, been part of the Joffrey company, and who still, after all these years, ‘looked mahvelous’.”

London’s Royal Ballet tries to revive a glorious past with “Sleeping Beauty.” “Nostalgia is the key word, and American audiences are probably fortunate to have less of it, in regard to this production, than English ballet lovers. The English have fussed over this ballet, and this production, for 60 years now. Would it hamper the company if it were addicted to the popular, big-production story ballets? Can the company grow if it is constantly looking back to a rose-tinted vision of the past?”

Julio Bocca Spend 20 years with American Ballet Theatre. “it is easy to remember that Mr. Bocca was a winner from the start. As a 20-year-old in his New York debut, he looked like Boris Becker, then a tennis star at his peak, and danced like a champion. Not everyone today has an image of Mr. Becker. But at 39, Mr. Bocca remains consistent and leaves a legacy for all dancers: bravura in the service of art.”

A new Washington DC hotel sends its staff on training – with ballet dancers. “At the Hotel Palomar, book the “ballet suite” with its barre and wall of mirrors and you’ll become a patron of the arts: An (undisclosed) portion of the room fee will be donated to the Washington Ballet.”

An increasing number of young American dancers are heading to Europe to seek work. Some hope to build a career that will someday lead to professional prospects back home; others don’t expect ever to return. “While many American dance companies scramble to stay afloat, Europe is stocked with stable and respected companies buoyed by state funds. And a generation of Americans has successfully come of age there… There is a sense, at Juilliard and elsewhere, that the era of great American dance has passed. Europe, in contrast, seems a fertile ground for new work, especially in contemporary ballet.”

Peter Boal has brought new excitement to Pacific Northwest Ballet in his first season. “What changed? Because something has, markedly. One feels it entering McCaw Hall for a program, feels it waiting in line for tickets, feels it in oneself: a feeling of anticipation, even excitement, about what one’s about to see. There have long been fine dancers, good dances, and satisfying programs at PNB. Maybe the best way to sum up the difference this year is that the steak, always wholesome and well prepared, regained its sizzle. And from the first bite, one realized that wasn’t all. The steak was juicy, strong flavored, and almost daringly rare.”

So why isn’t the Royal Ballet’s Carlos Acosta a popular hero? “Why isn’t he a celebrity on the scale of Nureyev? He is incontrovertibly one of the great artistic phenomenona of our time. It’s hard to imagine anyone else, in any artform, who could combine such of virtuosity, wit, charm, grace and interpretative skill.”