Tag: Christopher Wheeldon

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ABT Fall Gala

The American Ballet Theatre fall season opened tonight with the Fall Gala performance.

My favorite goes to Christopher Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions. Love the pairing of Skylar Brandt (full of energy, happiness, and power) and Sarah Lane (gentle and graceful). Other memorable moments include Stella Abrera and Thomas Forster‘s duet (beautiful with a dramatic opening when they, dressed in white, stood against a sea of dancers in black) and Misty Copeland and Gray Davis’ second duet.

The world premiere of “The Gift” is stunning too. Happy. Dynamic. Uplifting. Choreographed by Jessica Lang and performed by 40+ dancers dressed in all white from the ABT Apprentices, ABT Studio Company, and the Upper 2 and 1 students at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. I love Jessica’s use of (so many) dancers on stage. There’s both structure and spontaneity. Everything just flows, with beautiful transitions, dramatic build-ups, and the gorgeous lines. Love the wonderful energy and the passion from these young dancers. Bravos to a lovely performance!

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Fall for Dance: Day Three

The New York premiere of German Cornejo’s “Tango Fire” easily takes the cake tonight. Fabulous aerials. Incredible foorwork. Live music. And fabulous aerials. Did I mention fabulous aerials? I was as awed by the ladies flying through the air while executing intricate footwork as I was scared for them. On numerous occasions, as they were lifted and/or spun around, there was no room for error, between the ladies and the floor, the chairs, or other dancers flying through the air at the same time. Of course, they also mark the most stunning moments of the evening.

Pennsylvania Ballet presented “Rush” choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon and a New York premiere, featuring a happier and more light-hearted theme (compared to the ballet from the opening nights).

Cie Art Move Concept had a few crazy sick moves in their performance tonight. Dancers spinning on their head… backflipping on their head… flying through the air, landing on their back, and then rebounding (while still on their back) into another leap. Wow!

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Fall for Dance: Day Two

Seeing Michelle Dorrance with my amazing tap dance teacher Tony Mayes!

Miami City Ballet brought out the best of Christopher Wheeldon’s choreography. Love how the dancers defy gravity in Polyphonia.

Trisha Brown’s two dancers are as incredible as yesterday. It’s amazing how they stay so synchronized and connected despite dancing the majority of the choreography facing away from each other.

Still deeply impressed by the creativity and amount of energy in Vincent Mantsoe’s work!

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Fall for Dance: Day One

Fall for Dance opened tonight at New York City Center with four amazing performances.

Dorrance Dance was stunning. I love how much life, character, and personality Michelle Dorrance gives to tap dance.

The dark horse of the night goes to Vincent Mantsoe in his solo work “Gula” (or “Bird”) where he brought to life the movements (and singing!!!) of a free-spirited animal. The opening fog was really cool, but I wasn’t sure how it was related to the rest of the performance?

Learnt more about (post-)modern dance with Trisha Brown’s “You Can See Us”! I much enjoyed seeing more of how dance was developed in the 20th century.

With incredible precision and techniques, Miami City Ballet opened tonight’s performance with Christopher Wheeldon’s “Polyphonia.”

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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!