Category: dance

Dance has a long history in Hollywood, and dance movies have frequently been huge hits with the public. But the new wave of dance flicks represents a major step backward, both for serious dance and serious moviemaking, says Sarah Kaufman. “When the dancing feels as essential as breathing: that’s the hallmark of the best dance movies… Over the last several decades, Hollywood seems to have lost the ability to capture dance on the big screen with any degree of skill and expressiveness. Perhaps it’s the box office power of celebrity faces over gifted gams. Whatever the reason, it’s bad for dance fans.”

“At 41, [Alessandra] Ferri is celebrating her 20th year as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater. How she has managed to endure the broken rhythm of rehearsal – wait, repeat, discuss – for so many years is a minor miracle, physically speaking… Her limbs are spare and muscled. Everything extra has been stripped away from her birdlike frame, and after 37 years of practice, nothing unnecessary remains. Ms. Ferri has herself noticed the purifying effects time can have on the body.”

John Rockwell has been named as the new chief dance critic of The New York Times, replacing Anna Kisselgoff, who will continue to contribute to the paper. Rockwell is the author of several books, and has been the Times’ jack-of-all-trades over the years, serving as “chief rock critic, classical music critic, European cultural correspondent and Arts & Leisure editor. Most recently, he has been senior cultural correspondent and author of the Reverberations column in the Weekend section.”

With a deficit of $2.3 million, Dance Theatre of Harlem is in trouble, and not for the first time. It has laid off dancers, canceled this season’s performances and lost nearly its entire board. Former board members blame company founder Arthur Mitchell’s incompetence; he blames theirs. At 70, the fiercely devoted Mitchell looks to the past — his and the company’s — to answer questions about the future.

Recent high-profile legal disputes over the ownership of specific dances after the choreographer’s death have many top companies scrambling to insure their hold on the work produced by their employees. At Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet, choreographer Gerald Arpino’s advanced age has caused such concerns, but “Arpino and the troupe’s response is unequivocal: The Joffrey Ballet here has the rights to all Arpino and Joffrey ballets ‘in perpetuity.'” The company is also stressing that, while Arpino is not scheduled to retire anytime soon, there is a succession plan in place.

New York’s new bargain-basement festival, Fall For Dance, wrapped up its first season this past weekend, and the afterglow is something to behold. “Dance presenters, choreographers and artistic directors are full of praise for what they call courageous programming, for the audacity of trying (successfully) to fill a 2,700-seat theater for six nights of dance and for bringing five companies together on stage each night for a $10 ticket.” And yet, some in the business are wondering if the success of the fest might not indicate a very real danger for the dance profession as a whole…

A principal dancer with New York City Ballet has been named as the “lead candidate” to become artistic director of Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Ballet. PNB is stressing that 39-year-old Peter Boal does not have the job yet, and will return to Seattle later this fall for another round of meetings with the company’s board members and dancers. Barring any unforeseen hitches in those interviews, Boal is expected to sign a contract by early 2005.

Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet hasn’t been looking like itself for the last decade or so. “The footwork lacked precision. The jetes drooped like steamed celery. Dancers’ feet bobbled more landings than the Olympic gymnasts this summer. Dancers depicting young lovers looked bored and in need of couple’s counseling.” But now, with a bold new artistic director in place, things are looking up, and a $350 million renovation is pending at the Bolshoi’s home theatre in Moscow. Still, change is a process, and there’s no question that the Bolshoi is still a fair distance from reattaining its former glory.

Wagner’s Ring cycle, as imagined by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, is a challenge in ways that go far beyond the musical complexities of the score. Some scenes, for instance, take place underwater, which many companies are content to leave as an implied setting, but which the Lyric has decided requires its Rhinemaidens to perform while suspended from bungee cords. The resulting midair dance is a wonderful sight to behold, but behind the scenes, it is one of the more complex staging endeavors ever mounted on the operatic stage, requiring not only split-second timing, but serious teamwork.

New York’s new Fall For Dance Festival appears to be a major hit right out of the gate, with packed houses and enthusiastic crowds at most performances. The decision by fest organizers to price tickets at the bargain rate of $10 per show appears to have paid off, as has the the eclectic programming, which features everything from authentic flamenco to breakdancing.