George Balanchine

Dance Theatre of Harlem 2023

April 24, 2023

A short documentary film about the fabulous actress, composer, pianist and wife of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Hazel Scott, preceded the new ballet, "Sounds of Hazel," choreographed by Tiffany Rea-Fisher. The film revealed Rea-Fisher’s inspiration to put her feelings about Scott into ballet form. The resulting work, though uneven, gave the DTH dancers many opportunities to show their zest, sensuality and grace while still not particularly illuminating the astonishing life of Scott whose career was sidelined by the McCarthy Blacklisting forces. The score, featuring only two Scott performances plus a pro-America speech she made, divides the work into seven sections designated by geographical locations: Trinidad, Harlem, Paris. The score was arranged and partially composed by Erica “Twelve45” Blunt. Although well-meaning, "Sounds of Hazel" is not well choreographed, uneasily combining sassy hip swings with ballet to evoke Trinidad and jazzy movements adorning ballet steps to bring Paris alive. Had Scott’s name not been in the title, there would be no way to infer that Sounds of Hazel was about her. [more]

I Married an Angel

March 28, 2019

A lot has been made of the parallels between the original 1938 production of "I Married an Angel" for which George Balanchine choreographed the dances for his soon-to-be wife, the glamorous Norwegian ballerina Vera Zorina and the New York City Center Encores! production for which its choreographer/director Joshua Bergasse staged the dances for his wife, the New York City Ballet star Sara Mearns. This is great publicity and drew the public, including myself, to this staging of one of Rodgers and Hart’s more charming musicals known mostly through a Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy film. The original choreography is evidenced only via some silent film snippets taken of the original production. [more]

The Boys from Syracuse

February 18, 2018

The cast seems to have been mostly chosen for their comic skills rather than their singing skills. Nevertheless, Josh Waldren and Matthew Fairless as the visiting travelers turn “Dear Old Syracuse” into a delightful soft shoe number complete with straw hats and canes, and Walden has a lovely duet with Darrell Morris, Jr. as Luciana to “This Can’t Be Love (Because I Feel So Well).” Shapiro's Luce and Ian Fairlee as Dromio of Ephesus have a big success with the witty, “He and She,” a comic specialty number. However, much of the show has been eroticized and there is a “wink wink” feeling to the overall approach. [more]

Jewels (Lincoln Center Festival)

July 25, 2017

The three-part ballet is considered Balanchine’s tribute to the three major artistic influences in his professional life: the French school, the Russian school and, of course, his own American style of classical ballet as taught in his School of American Ballet in Lincoln Center. Therefore, it was not just logical, but inspired, that the Paris Opera troupe would dance the dreamy “Emeralds” to Gabriel Fauré, the New York City Ballet, the fresh and jazzy “Rubies” to Igor Stravinsky, and the Russian troupe the very classical “Diamonds” to Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. [more]

Miami City Ballet

April 20, 2016

I cannot remember the last time a ballet company so completely blew me away as the Miami City Ballet did during its recent, depressingly short season at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center. The explosive metaphor is entirely apt. This is a stylish classical ballet troupe that is definitely a company whether they are dancing works by Alexei Ratmansky, Twyla Tharp or George Balanchine. They exude a lushness of style that allows them all to be individuals, yet cohere into an exciting artistic unit. [more]

Pacific Northwest Ballet

February 29, 2016

The second Balanchine masterpiece was “Prodigal Son,” the final work that the great impresario Serge Diaghilev commissioned. Prokofiev’s moody, rough-hewn score and colorful, scenery and costumes by Georges Rouault which evoke a fanciful, ancient biblical era give Balanchine’s story heft. The clever scenery includes wildly colorful backdrops and features a large wooden structure that ingeniously becomes a pathway away from the Prodigal’s home, a dining table, a stage and even a poignant place of crucifixion as the Prodigal writhes against it. [more]

Balanchine’s Harlequinade: Commedia dell’arte Explored

September 27, 2015

Dance historian Doug Fullington of the Pacific Northwest Ballet was the expert who, using slides and excerpts from both the Balanchine and Petipa versions, showed how each choreographer envisioned the interactions of such Commedia stalwart characters as Harlequin, Colombine, Pierrot, Pierrette, the Doctor and Pantalone, each with their own idiosyncratic personality quirks and historically recognizable costumes. Commedia dell’Arte has had enormous influence on painters (Watteau, Picasso), theater and even films (Chaplin, the Marx Brothers) with its pratfalls and slapstick and colorful personalities. [more]

The School of American Ballet 2015 Workshop Performances

June 4, 2015

The annual School of American Ballet Workshop performances are more than occasions for fundraising. They are a chance to see the next generation of classical ballet dancers in what we hope will soon be their native habitat, the stage. The programs are optimism incarnate, an opportunity to believe in the future of dance. [more]

Christopher Wheeldon in Conversation with Rita Moreno: From Ballet to Broadway

April 30, 2015

On April 27, Symphony Space and Words on Dance presented “Christopher Wheeldon in Conversation with Rita Moreno: From Ballet to Broadway,” a delightful romp through the dancing career of one of Broadway’s brightest choreographers. The lecture was moderated and led by Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy winning actor-singer-dancer Rita Moreno. Moreno’s conversation with Wheeldon was prompted by a series of film clips featuring him as a young dancer as well as brief segments of his past choreographic work with the New York City Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, the Royal Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the Wheeldon Company, and his most current work in the new Broadway production of "An American In Paris" where he serves as both director and choreographer. It is the fusion of his classical European ballet training, his love for American music, American dance stars, and American dance that Wheeldon has established himself as a leading force in the world of dance. [more]