Category: Ballet

Posted on

Le Corsaire

My favorite ballet so far this season at American Ballet Theatre!

Such a dynamic, high-energy, non-stop show from beginning to end. So many incredible moments tonight.

Jeffrey Cirio as Lankendem draws applause from the audience two seconds into his solo for the most amazing and powerful split leap. Cassie Trenary, Catherine Hurlin, and Katherine Williams are absolutely gorgeous as the odalisques. Love the musicality, energy, and playfulness of Craig Salstein and Zhong-Jing Fang‘s duet as Birbanto and the Lead Pirate Woman.

Male dancers have so many fun leap-and-turn combos in this ballet. Love James Whiteside as Conrad and Joo Won Ahn as Ali. Both the theatrical and technical sides of Misty Copeland Misty Copeland shine through as Gulnare. She’s “dramatically” shy tonight unlike Queen of Shemakhan, but oh my look at those turns and lifts!!! Of course, the leading ballerina Hee Seo as Medora is so lovely too. No wonder a whole kingdom plus some more pirates all fall for her.

Posted on

The Golden Cockerel

Vibrant colors and dazzling costumes in The Golden Cockerel by American Ballet Theatre.

A rather distinctive experience at the ballet tonight. Everything about the Golden Cockerel is different. The bold vibrant colors. The dazzling and elaborate costumes. A backdrop that makes the theater feel more like a painting than a stage. Altogether, the dancers look as if they were well-crafted puppets and lovely dolls moving through a painting.

The ballet, a comedy, showcases more dramatic moments, comical interactions, and playful seduction than technically-demanding moves. Misty Copeland is the perfect femme fatale as Queen of Shemakhan. Skylar Brandt is amazing as the Golden Cockerel, who has the most challenging and exhausting choreography. Also, love Craig Salstein as the hilarious melodramatic General Polkan.

Posted on

Giselle

Young love, broken hearts, and forgiveness tonight with Giselle at American Ballet Theatre.

Sarah Lane is gorgeous as Giselle, and perfectly captures the sorrow, the sadness, and the anguish in Giselle before her death. Likewise, Herman Cornejo is amazing with his turns, leaps, and extensions (how does he kick so high?) cultivating in his dramatic death in front of the wilis.

Two random thoughts: Puppies on stage tonight!!! Why is that our best so often comes out only at the final moments, of death or farewell?

Posted on

Here/Now Festival

Spring time romance at New York City Ballet.

Went to today’s matinee to watch “Carousel” again. Such a beautiful and fun choreography by Christopher Wheeldon. The dance (and love story!) is still so mesmerizing and heart warming the second time around. The leaps at the end by Chase Finlay are absolutely amazing. Of course Lauren Lovette is lovely as usual.

(Next goal: See Lauren Lovette’s choreographies)

Finally saw “Year of the Rabbit” after hearing Justin Peck speak about it at the Inside NYCB seminar. Beautiful choreography. Delighted to see Teresa Reichlen, one of my favorite dancers, starring in the piece.

The black horse of the 5-choreography program goes to “The Inferno Machine” by Peter Martins. Bravos to Ashley Laracey and Craig Hall for the eccentric, sinister, at-times jarring, but powerful ballet. Wow!

Posted on

Richmond Ballet

At the ballet with Richmond Ballet at the Joyce Theater plus a post-show chat with the company.

Favorites moment: Maggie Small‘s duet in “Lift the Fallen”. Great job!

Random thought: How small is the dance world? I was chatting with the lady sitting next to me. As it turns out, her niece is a ballet dancer, and I’ve previously photographed her. We then browsed through photos on my phone looking at her niece’s performance.

Posted on

Boléro

Throwback to my photography days. First time seeing and capturing Alexei Ratmansky’s work in 2010.

“Boléro”
Choreographer: Alexei Ratmansky
Dancers: Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company
Photographer: Jason Chuang

Posted on

Here/Now: Ratmansky & Peck

An onstage chat tonight with choreographers, Alexei Ratmansky and Justin Peck, about their creative process paired with excerpts from some of their favorite ballets, as part of the Here/Now Festival.

Am excited to see their work next week at New York City Ballet. Come join me at the ballet!

Posted on

Here/Now Festival: Christopher Wheeldon

Had a wonderful time tonight at New York City Ballet Here/Now Festival featuring works by Christopher Wheeldon. Thrilled to see many of my favorite dancers on stage.

My favorite piece goes to American Rhapsody. Set to the music of George Gershwin, the choreography reminds me of An American in Paris: a love story filled with playful moments, cheerful music, and non-stop movements that make everything feel larger than life.

Unity Phelan was absolutely amazing in the lead role in American Rhapsody. Also loved her duets in Polyphonia especially the 9th piano piece. How is Unity only a soloist?????

Tiler Peck was incredible in Mercurial Manoeuvres with so much control, so much speed, and yet perfect stillness when the music demands it. So beautiful.

Finally saw Lauren Lovette in a lead role after two seasons with NYCB. Loved watching Maria Kowroski again. Bravos to Amar Ramasar and Russell Janzen as well.

Posted on

Ballet Hispánico: Why Dance Matters

History, progress, and why dance matters.

Dance is a reflection of our times. I’m lucky to see two amazing shows in two days, that mark the progress we’ve made in the past 70 years.

Yesterday, I saw a 1940s classic choreography, set in New York and forged at a time when the city needed an escape from the great war. In the dance, sailors on leave looked for beautiful women on the streets, catcalling them, grabbing them by the ass, and snatching their purse for fun. A smash hit in 1944, the work enlivened the city when its inhabitants needed it the most.

However, in between the gorgeous movements and comedic scenes, the story also reflected its own times when men had power, control, and are the only ones with a character and a voice on stage. Women looked pretty in their dresses.

Today, I went to see Ballet Hispánico one more time this season at the Joyce Theater, and re-watched their new work premiered earlier this week. The dance is a coming-of-age story about growing up Latina in Texas, created by a female choreographer, told by a female character, through the movements of a ballerina. The external struggles to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and be more American than the Americans. The internal struggles to beautiful, to be perfect. The character merged, at the end, strong and confident in her own identity.

Coincidentally, I sat next to a 12-year-old pre-professional dancer training at Alvin Ailey. She loved the show. More than just enjoying the performance, she now has an incredible story to guide her (she’s Latina) and a role model she can look up to.

And that’s why dance matters.

Dance has the power to entertain, communicate, connect, empower, and inspire people. Let’s keep dancing. Let’s keep telling the stories that need to be told. Let’s make a difference.