Ballet.co Magazine
For April 2008

Previous Ballet.co magazine - March 2007
Next Ballet.co magazine - May 2008

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Quick Links for this magazine
Interviews, Features, In the Galleries, Reviews, Postings Reviews, External Reviews, Photographic Copyright and Credits

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Interviews and Features



Ashley Bouder
NYCB Principal
Eric Taub is deeply impressed '...get past the breathtaking technique of her allegro work, and you'll see an even more breathtaking musicality...'


Laila Diallo
Dancer and Choreographer
On the eve of her latest UK premiere Laila Diallo talks to Graham Watts about working with her old childhood friend, Melanie Demers, and her earlier life at the top in Wayne McGregor's Random Dance...


The Brian McMaster Review - Arts Excellent in the UK - perhaps
Jeffery Taylor on the glimmer of hope for UK arts that is the Brian McMaster review but sees problems from ministerial and bureaucratic interference...



Lydia Lopokova
Bloomsbury Ballerina...
Extracted by Jeffery Taylor from The Bloomsbury Ballerina by Judith Mackrell.

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Diaries and weblogs

NEW  

Dane Hurst weblog...
the Phoenix Dance Theatre dancer and recent National Dance Award winner is our latest webloger...
'Allow me to introduce myself': "What I've learnt in my brief career so far is that dance or more importantly the dance industry is not always as rosy and beautiful as is usually assumed. I've seen dancers used, neglected, abused(creatively that is), sucked dry and spit-out.On the other hand, I have seen the rebirth of personalities within the industry, an awakening of the senses towards the reality of the arts..." (weblog home)


Jarkko Lehmus weblog...
the Scottish Ballet dancer who tells it like no other...
'Use A Condom In July'
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of yet another liver in the life of Mr L. To add to the grief he has been struck off the transplant list due to popping three perfectly healthy, but untrained livers over the past decade. There are only two options left for our Mr L: the first one is to order a fresh organ from Brazil and painstakingly and meticulously hone it's performance to perfection and the second one is to move to Grenada where the liver seems to get itself automatically rewire itself to convert alcohol into solids...." (weblog home)


Madame Galina weblog...
Cancelled shows, a killer peach, Thomas Whitehead and euthanasia - a typical months ramble for a busy Ballerina then...  (Weblog Home)


Ballet Central weblog
Each year we follow some final-year Central School of Ballet students through their final training, UK tour and hunt for jobs. This years blogers are Brenda Lee Grech, Rym Kechacha and Tom Conlan...
More banter about what is happening to the students as they prepare for the start of the Ball Central Tour on the 12 March. Also soem pictures of teh bloogers this year. It's all thrills and spills...(Weblog Home)



Carole Edrich Weblog...
.. wasted time...
(Weblog home)

Weblog writers
Helene Cooper
Tiit Helimets and Molly Smolen
Daniel Jones

Note that Weblogs are updated in real time and may be added to during the life of the magazine.

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In the Galleries

Currently our Images Gallery contains nearly 4200 images.


Carlos Acosta
with Guest Artists from the Royal Ballet
Diana & Actaeon
London, Colliseum



New York City Ballet
West Side Story Suite
London, Colliseum



New York City Ballet
Russian Seasons
London, Colliseum



New York City Ballet
Agon
London, Colliseum



Stuttgart Ballet
Romeo and Juliet
London, Colliseum



Royal Ballet
The Sleeping Beauty
London, Covent Garden



Maria Pages
London, Sadler's Wells



Yamato Drummers of Japan
Shin-on
London, Peacock

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Reviews
Ballet.co reviews entered between 01/03/2008 and 31/03/2008 will be included here...

Russian Reviews

Bolshoi Ballet

'La Sylphide': Ian Palmer

"Where I think Kobborg has been at his most perceptive is in his selection of leading dancers, many of whom have not danced the ballet before. By far the most astonishing debut was that of Viacheslav Lopatin as the first-night James: a performance which must surely catapult him into the front ranks of the company – energetic, stylish solos and clarity of dramatic manner."

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Danish Reviews

Royal Danish Ballet

'Lost on SLOW, La Sylphide' bill: Jane Simpson

Slow: "Overall, I found it hard to determine where the choreography was taking us, but if the journey was pointless at least it took us through some attractive scenery."

'Don Quixote': Jane Simpson

"They're famed, of course, for their relaxed virtuosity in August Bournonville's classics and you might think that would mean they could bound through Don Quixote with equal ease, but in fact the two are a world apart both in style and in feeling."

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USA Reviews

Paul Taylor Dance Company

'De Suenos, De Suenos que se Repiten' bill: Rachel Straus

"Hopefully Taylor, known to revise his dances, will reshape Suenos into something more choreographically inventive. If a dream can be interpreted, certainly this dance can be retooled."


Mark Morris Dance Group

'Dido and Aeneas': Oksana Khadarina

"Brilliant ...this extraordinary production, a unique combination of baroque vocal music and modern dance, vividly underscores Morris' gift for storytelling and his remarkable ability to shape music and words into movements."


San Francisco Ballet

'Giselle': Renee Renouf

"Apart from the pristine classicism that sings in everything Nedvigin and Kochetkova do, there is an inward stillness, a fathomless soulfulness which permeates their characterizations, as if some ultimate intuition descended upon them which has been absorbed, filtered and considered prior to assuming the character..."

'On a Theme of Paganini' bill: Renee Renouf

"Program V did not provoke a personal rave for the mix, but offered marvelous opportunities to admire the skills,grasp and range in the company."


Diana Vishneva

'Diana Vishneva - Beauty in Motion': Eric Taub

"Would that Vishneva's taste were as exquisite as her port de bras. While I've come to enjoy the over-the-top passion of a Faroukh Ruzimatov, it's depressing to see Vishneva cheapen her sublime gift in the service of stylistic nostril-flaring. She's awfully good at delivering cheap thrills, but she can be greater."


Emanuel Gat Dance

'K626': Rachel Straus

"The moment that Emanuel Gat's dancers twisted their arms above their heads like DNA strands coming to life, Mozart's Requiem pierced the Joyce Theater's stage with an emotional power comparable to The All Mighty speaking from heaven. ...Here is a choreography who knows how to bend tradition with craft."


Compania Nacional de Danza

'Rassemblement' bill: Renee Renouf

"Duato is most powerful when working with his own ompany. Compania Nacional de Danza should return every two or three years; others echoed my visceral response."


Pennsylvania Ballet

'Messiah': Lewis Whittington

"Any choreographic misfires hardly matter because so much of this ballet rises and falls on the Messiah himself and the audience couldn't get enough of principal Sergio Torrado in the role. ...Torrado explodes on stage at the Academy in this part. What impresses most is his stoic deportment, he doesn't try to act it, instead he seems to give his entire body over to it."


Boston Ballet

'Romeo and Juliet': Carla DeFord

"With its new production of Romeo and Juliet, Boston Ballet became the only company in the United States to have three John Cranko ballets in its repertoire, along with Onegin and Taming of the Shrew. In a recent performance that featured principal dancers Larissa Ponomarenko, Nelson Madrigal, and Yury Yanowsky in the main roles, the Cranko choreography made an excellent case for itself."


Atlanta Ballet

'Romeo and Juliette': Pamela Gaye

"As a reviewer who has witnessed many productions of this ballet, I found Pink's staging unequaled in its commanding this company to attain dramatic ranges hitherto unseen. Although a small company, the Atlanta Ballet shows in this production that it can render a time-worn classic immediate and unmatched through an unequaled evening's performance."


Kansas City Ballet

'Hey-Hay Going to Kansas City' bill: Rachel Straus

"...KCB is a fine company, with fine dancers, though not ones capable of credibly performing classical roles."


City Ballet of San Diego

'Carmina Burana, La Bayadere Act II' bill: Anjuli Bai

"As I watched City Ballet of San Diego perform Act II of the ballet La Bayadere, (choreography: M. Petipa) it reminded me of the interview with Artistic Director Steven Wistrich in which he told me that for his Bar Mitzvah he was taken to New York City to see his first show on Broadway and fell in love with dance."


Montgomery Ballet

'LOST (A New Tale of Carmen)': Pamela Gaye

"With performers gleaned from such diverse American landscapes as Atlanta, Nashville, New York, and Seattle coupled with an occasional guest artist from Harlem or California, Lazar makes his newest mark in Montgomery with an ensemble that is truly all-American."

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Hong Kong Reviews

Compagnie Marie Chouinard

'Orpheus and Eurydice': Natasha Rogai

"There was a heavy emphasis on sexuality. Men and women were both naked from the waist up throughout apart from gold pasties covering their nipples, while the men stalked about from time to time in platform shoes with six inch heels which were a fetishist's delight."

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UK Reviews

New York City Ballet in London

'Essential Balanchine': Charlotte Kasner

"The Company looked so at home on the Coliseum stage that it is difficult to believe that the majority of the dancers were barely born when the Company were here last. Great promises for the rest of this season..."

'Essential Balanchine': Paul N

"The (Symphony in C) performance was perhaps best personified by Sterling Hyltin who with all manner of joyous and youthful radiance, extensions, poses and leaps, and great timing by partner Antonio Carmena here too, really gave full value to the life and bounce and above all, sheer fun of this movement."

'Jerome Robbins': Bruce Marriott

"...the Robbins work we saw on Thursday was fun, quirky in a clever showman's way, and most of all showed us a company of terrific dancers."

'Jerome Robbins': Paul Arrowsmith

"So not wowed, but I do recognise the precision, crispness of attack and energy in these performances that I saw NYCB had rediscovered when seeing them on their home territory last year."

'Four Voices': Jane Simpson

" Russian Seasons: "Unpretentious and accessible, colourful both literally and emotionally, it reveals the dancers as real people who can touch our hearts with both joy and sadness. ...It's the best piece I've seen from Ratmansky and a worthy addition to this company's great repertoire."

'Ballet and Boadway': Jeffery Taylor

"The finale (of West Side Story Suite) was 'Somewhere There's a Place For Us', with the whole body of dancers addressing the audience. After such a breathtaking evening of talent, energy and stamina, it was a poignant moment to pay tribute to exemplary exponents of the art whose presence on stage is so heartbreakingly transient."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section


Stuttgart Ballet

'Romeo and Juliet': Bruce Marriott

"...I love Cranko's lightness of touch and it speaks to me of young lovers convincingly, just as much as the heavier version we know so well. If you too were Romeo'd out then I implore you to see this version and be rejuvenated too (...or at least see where some of MacMillan's inspiration came from)."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section


Royal Ballet

'Electric Counterpoint' bill: Jeffery Taylor

"If ever a director put together a programme to showcase her dancers' depth of talent, this is it. RB boss Monica Mason's cup is overflowing with excellence, admittedly most of it foreign, but when delivering the goods like this, who cares?"

'Electric Counterpoint' bill: Paul N

"Really enjoyed this programme and got loads out of it – despite some misgivings I have about the start however."

'The Sleeping Beauty': Bruce Marriott

"But Rojo's performance made me glad to be alive and the final closing pose does bring a lump to the throat at the magnificence of the art. Now if we can just get it all down to 3 acts and 2 hours we'd be really motoring."

'Sylvia': Paul N

"I finally caught up with Sylvia live and enjoyed both performances yesterday - 24 March 2008. ...Seeing these different casts back-to-back on the same day was certainly enlightening and made for some interesting comparisons."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section


Birmingham Royal Ballet

'All That Jazz': Ian Palmer

"A shame, however, that these two splendid works must be coupled with Bintley's 2004 Orpheus Suite, which is all posturing melodrama to a frightful score by Colin Towns."

'Swan Lake': Bruce Marriott

"Wonderfully, nearly everybody 'went for it' rather than diligently looking for steps perfection. My notes on Singleton in short form: Soft and fluid movement, high jumps, silent and nearly effortless, gracious, engaging, supportive."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section


Akram Khan and the National Ballet of China

'Bahok': Ian Palmer

"Khan should focus on the vitality of his choreography, which in bahok is great and reveals glimpses of mastery."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section


ZooNation

'Into the Hoods': Graham Watts

"If you could bottle the energy that effervesces from a performance of 'Into the Hoods' and sell it around the world it would change Climate Change."


Bounce

'Insane In The Brain': Jeffery Taylor

"It is repetitive, inflexible but most worrying of all, the number of hip hop steps are severely limited. But the genuine thrill of the Bounce dancers in this ambitious remake of the hit book and film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, is immediately and totally infectious."


Matthew Bourne

'Nutcracker!': Ian Palmer

"This was an evening of Bourne at his best; Bourne as it should be."


Rambert Dance Company

'Swansong' bill: Richard Amey

"Of their last four annual visits to Brighton, this Rambert programme contained the most breadth and brought the greatest satisfaction. Had the audience not been as young and inexperienced, I believe this revival performance of leading modern choreographer Christopher Bruce's classic, Swansong, would have drawn a standing ovation."


Probe

'Magpie': Graham Watts

"I can easily see why Grove and Clinkard make such a likeable duo amongst their peers; like every great performance partnership they are much more than the sum of their parts, somehow bringing something extra into the dimension that exists between them..."


Moscow Ballet La Classique

'Swan Lake': Gareth K Vile

"As long as it is not compared to a major company's programme, their Swan Lake is quick-fire fun and a realisation of dance's fairy-tale fantasies."


Natasha Gilmore Dance

'The Blank Album': Gareth K Vile

"Like the rock music that inspired The Blank Album, Gilmore Production's ensemble piece has a brash, youthful energy and flashes of raw sensuality. ...Unfortunately, the attempt to merge live music and dance isn't always successful and few of the characters develop deep or vivid personalities."


Ballet Central

'Mixed' bill: Sarah Wilkinson

"...this is a superbly constructed program, offering some delicious gems of new choreography and an exquisite new piano piece by the legendary Phillip Feeney for Sara Matthew's new work. David Nixon's 'Steps to Bach', in particular, is outstanding and an excellent piece to open with. Every step seems fresh, vital and alive."


English Youth Ballet

'Giselle': Simonetta Dixon

"These young dancers had every reason to feel proud of their achievements, as do Janet Lewis and her team. Here's to the next ten years of EYB."

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Postings Reviews section
Royal Ballet 'A Month in the Country': Jane Simpson
Royal Ballet 'A Month in the Country': Michael LL
Royal Ballet 'Electric Counterpoint' bill: Jenny Dunx
Royal Ballet 'The Sleeping Beauty': Michael LL
New York City Ballet 'Essential Balanchine' bill: Ann Williams
New York City Ballet 'Essential Balanchine': Michael LL
New York City Ballet 'Essential Balanchine': Naoko S
New York City Ballet 'Four Voices': Michael LL
New York City Ballet 'Ballet and Boadway': Michael LL
Stuttgart Ballet 'Romeo and Juliet': Ian Macmillan
Stuttgart Ballet 'Romeo and Juliet': Simonetta Dixon
Stuttgart Ballet 'Romeo and Juliet': Bruce Wall
Stuttgart Ballet 'Romeo and Juliet': Michael LL
Akram Khan and the National Ballet of China 'Bahok': Janet McNulty
Birmingham Royal Ballet 'All That Jazz': Janet McNulty
Birmingham Royal Ballet 'All That Jazz': Paul N
Rocio Molina - Belen Maya - Merche Esmeralda 'Mujeres': Carole Edrich - Carole Dumenil - Sarah Nayeri

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External Review Links
Each day Ballet.co scour the world for Review links (and news and interviews ones too) and put them in our database along with our own reviews. You can see the last few days' links on the:
TodaysLinks page

In the period from 1 March to 31 March (last update of this page) we have 394 links for you.

Alternatively try searching for exactly what you are after with our: Reviews Advanced Search page

All our links list dancer details, a full list of pieces performed and a brief quote that gives the flavour of the review. Sadly not all papers maintain their links and so we cannot absolutely guarantee any particular URL. Enjoy, and if you think we have missed a review do send us a link.

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Photographic Copyright and Credits

All photographs are copyright and cannot be taken and/or used elsewhere. Click on an image to be taken to the associated page where appropriate credits are stated.

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