Category: dance

Clement Crisp writes that Chinese ballet has come a long way from “The Red Detachment of Women.” “Chinese ballet has latterly come a long way, and what we saw was a fascinating step on the road to a more modern image. I have long believed that out of China will come an influential identity for classic ballet, born of the dancers’ beautiful physiques and dedication, and of the traditions of Chinese theatre.”

Robert Gottlieb is impressed with the quality of male dancers at American Ballet Theatre. “The ranks of dazzling boys just keep swelling. Has there ever been an American company this strong in the male division? I think I’ve suggested it before: How about trading a couple of these guys for a world-class ballerina…”

A major sponsor of the American Ballet Theater has pulled its financial support, and transferred its fiscal loyalties to New York City Ballet, saying that mismanagement at ABT forced the move. The Movado Watch Company has sponsored ABT productions for nearly two decades, to the tune of more than $400,000 per year, but the company’s chairman said in a letter that he was taken aback by the ABT management’s unwillingness to listen to criticism from its board. The sponsorship loss is being seen as a potentially crippling blow to ABT, which has struggled mightily in recent years.

Boston Ballet, which has been struggling both artistically and financially in recent years, got a major boost this week, when it was revealed that a so-far-unnamed donor had left the company a $3 million bequest. The gift will double the size of Boston Ballet’s endowment, and the company hopes that it will encourage other donors to be similarly generous.

After 15 years, Molly Lynch quit as director of Southern California’s Ballet Pacifica in October. There have been rumors she was pressured to leave by the company’s board. “No one should overlook, however, that Lynch has laid down a terrific foundation on which to grow a bigger and artistically distinguished company, and it would be a waste of criminal proportions to throw it all away.”

Palestinian supporters say they are planning to disrupt an appearance in Scotland by an Israeli dance company. “Last year, around 700 of us made sure Israel’s under 21 football team lost their game against Scotland. I think disrupting a ballet will be a piece of cake.”

How is it that Merce Cunningham still seems new while he’s in his 80s? “None of it’s particularly deep, though I suppose you could call it a paradox,” he says of the irony of his age combined with his still cutting-edge endeavors. “I just think of it as trying to continue. I use chance always in the pieces. I think it opens up new possibilities. You come up with something you don’t know you have.”

George Piper Dances (or the Ballet Boyz, as they are also known) have “an unexpected taste for austere, ostensibly cerebral choreography”. But here are a couple of things to know, writes, Tobi Tobias, “if you believe the folks who say that GPD represents the future of classical ballet, an art they claim is dying on its feet: (1) Classical ballet is a technique that can serve anywhere. (2) Classical ballet is also an art form that, like opera, is most itself when it can operate with a goodly number of performers in a sizeable house.”

When Wang Center director Josiah Spaulding announced he was kicking out Boston Ballet and its annual “Nutcracker” performances in favor of a traveling Radio City Rockettes tour, he provoked a storm of questions. But he refuses to talk to anyone further about the decision, especially the press. He “was happy to be front and center in the press during the Wang Center’s glory days when he spearheaded an enormous revival of the Theatre District, that, quite simply, made Boston a more vibrant more exciting place to live. Now he’s made a decision that causes consternation and anger about his eviction of an event that’s owned as much by the people of New England as it is by the Boston Ballet or the Wang Center.”

Is London-based “interdisciplinary artist” Maria Maria Ribot, a.k.a. La Ribot a performance artist or a dancer? It’s hard to tell, so dance critic Sara Wolf and performance artist Ron Athey battle over choosing a definition.