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New York City Ballet
IGOR, GEORGE IN STEP
Stravinsky and Balanchine- An Eternal Partnership: Agon, Symphony in Three Movements, Duo Concertant, Movements for Piano and Orchestra, Monumentum Pro Gesualdo
USA, New York, State Theater
Dancers: Angle, Borree, Evans, H%FCbbe, Whelan
by Clive Barnes
    '..a sumptuous program for anyone without an aversion to late-period Stravinsky..(but) "Agon" sounded underrehearsed and looked underdanced.'
New York Post

New York City Ballet
Whelan's Gossamer Touch
Tradition and Innovation: In Vento, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, Mozartiana
USA, New York, State Theater
Dancers: Askegard, H%FCbbe, Kowroski, Millepied, Peck, Reichlin, Sylve, Ulbricht, Whelan, Liaang
by Joel Lobenthal
    'In (Mozartiana's) opening section, Ms. Whelan's moved her arms with an exquisite slowness.. In her pas de deux with Hübbe, her timing let the role.. seem as though she was improvising the material as she went along.'
New York Sun

Mariinsky Ballet
A beautifully realized 'Romeo'
Romeo and Juliet
USA, Washington DC, Kenendy Center
Dancers: Fadeyev, Kolb, Obraztsova, Novikova, Sveshnikova
by Jean Battey Lewis
    '.. a triumph, thanks to the clarity and freshness of its staging and, especially, the luminous performance of Evgenya Obraztsova as Juliet.'
Washington Times

Richard Alston Dance Company
Alston company's tardy debut in Phila.
Red Run, The Devil in the Detail, Volumina
USA, Philadelphia, Annenberg Center
Dancers: Furness, Goddard, Lawrance, Peedo
by Nancy G Heller
    'some of Alston's quirky, deceptively casual-seeming combinations recalled the work of Twyla Tharp. But the overall effect is his own...'
Philly.com

The following two links cover a single article:
Mark Morris Dance Group
Moving in the Shadows
Love Song Waltzes, The Argument, Italian Concerto
USA, New York, James and Martha Duffy Performance Space
Dancers: Boyd, Darragh, Leventhal, McMurray, Worden, Yard
by Deborah Jowitt
    'Morris's wonderful dancers swoop through his Love Song Waltzes, we're... about as near to heaven as we can get.'
Village Voice

Yoshiko Chuma
Moving in the Shadows
A Page Out of Order- M
USA, New York, Dance Theater Workshop
Dancers: Chuma, Eagly, Reker, Sukarova, Tsukuda, Williams, Yamaguchi
by Deborah Jowitt
    'With offhand athleticism, the performers..keep furniture and props almost constantly moving into new configurations.'
Village Voice

Sarah Lamb
The RB’s Sarah Lamb talks about her mentor, Madame Legat, to the Guardian :
’ I knew she was giving me attention because she found it was worth her time, but it took me a few years to understand that what she was doing was in my best interests.’
http://money.guardian.co.uk/workweekly/story/0,,1994482,00.html

Shakespeare in dance
The Kennedy Center in Washington is to stage a six month celebration of danced versions of Shakespeare’s plays. Jayne Blanchard in the Washington Times reports:
‘..for well over two centuries -- almost since the beginning of ballet as an art form -- choreographers have been drawn to Shakespeare's plays. In the 1780s, "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet" were performed in Venice, "Macbeth" in London. Many versions of "The Tempest" also have been mounted.’
http://www.washtimes.com/entertainment/20070119-094741-9048r.htm

Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet is about to open in ‘Cinderella’ at the Wales Milennium Centre. Ashley Page talks to the Western Mail’s Karen price about the company and the production:
"This is my second full-length ballet and it was the score (by Prokofiev) which really attracted me to it," says Page…It's very close to my heart as a piece of music. There are only two Christmas scores written for ballet - Cinderella and The Nutcracker “
icWales

Preview: New York City Ballet
NYCB are reviving Jerome Robbins’ rarely-performed ‘The Dybbuk’. Apollinaire Scherr sits in on a rehearsal and talks to some of the dancers:
‘In sweatpants and faded T-shirts, with their hair pulled back in ponytails or flopping into their eyes, the New York City Ballet boys gave off a tired-and-goofy vibe…They didn't seem to notice that they were partaking in an historic occasion: the company's first revival of the late Jerome Robbins' eerie, entrancing "Dybbuk" ‘
Newsday

Preview: Pacific Northwest Ballet
A preview of PNB’s 2007-8 season in the Seattle Times:
‘The work of Boal favorites Ulysses Dove and Twyla Tharp will return with, respectively, "Vespers" and "In the Upper Room," and NYCB resident choreographer Christopher Wheeldon ‘returns with "Variations Sérieuses."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2003532530_webpnb19.html

Fire and water ballet…
I suppose it could have been serious, but this story from London’s ‘Metro’ about a particularly stoic audience made me laugh…
Metro

New ballet film planned
The online movie journal Cinematical reports on a planned new film with a ballet theme:
‘Black Swan -- a psychological thriller (will) be penned by John McLaughlin and directed by Aronofsky…. Story focuses on the manipulative relationship between two rival dancers.’
Cinematical

edited to replace faulty link..

Jonathan Still
Still goes to see The Condors at Sadler’s Wells…
‘I'm not exagerrating when I say this was the funniest, strangest, most entertaining, novel dance show I've ever seen. I laughed ‘til I cried almost without a break’
The Condors

Leigh Witchell
The New York critic has joined with his friends to create a ballet, his first in three years. In his blog, Witchell offers an account of the first steps in the venture:
‘It’s interesting to see how motivation inspires and enriches movement – you touch someone’s head differently when you decide that the reason you’re doing it is to check for a bruise or cut. The interesting part is to then translate back this movement to ballet vocabulary. Rising onto pointe will be an important part of how to communicate this little girl is not what she seems – little girls can’t rise onto the tips of their toes.’
First Steps, Again

Doug Fox
Here’s a fascinating resource – Fox’s new multimedia guide to Merce Cunningham with links to articles, videos, interviews and other helpful sources.
Multimedia Guide to Merce Cunningham

Judith Mackrell
How well ought a critic know her subjects? Judith Mackrell wonders…
‘Dance is created live on bodies, it's a communal art form, and no critic can really understand what they are writing about if they simply view it from the safe distance of the stage…A critic needs behind-the-scenes information - and inevitably that comes with some added relationship with the artists themselves.’
Up Close and Personal

Carole Edrich
Ballet.co’s own blogger writes about “spinning” (although I am afraid to say I have not a clue what “spinning” actually is!)
‘I’ve always thought a spin class to be far more dance than sport. While the individual chooses how much they do the leader sets the session's shape, choosing pace, movement and style. This is done by taking the group through different exercise profiles to the rhythm of the music that has been selected in advance.’
spindance

Molly Smolen
Former BRB Principal and now SFB dancer and Ballet.coer blogger, Molly Smolen updates us on her first season at San Francisco.
‘I’m very excited for the Gala because the company has gotten permission for me to dance Ashton’s “Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan”. It’s a piece that I have danced many times over the years, stretching back to my first year with Birmingham Royal Ballet, when Lynn Seymour chose me to learn the role. It is one of my absolute favorite things to perform and I think it is the perfect way for me to introduce myself to the San Francisco audience at the start of the company’s “official” season.’
First Performances

English National Ballet
A fine romance
Giselle
UK, London, Coliseum
Dancers: Edur, Oaks
by David Dougill
    'You thrill (at)the superb artistry of Agnes Oaks and Thomas Edur as the tragic lovers....The old ballet has lost none of its power.'
The Sunday Times

Royal Ballet
La Sylphide goes back to her roots
Napoli Divertissements, La Sylphide
UK, London, Covent Garden
Dancers: Bonelli, Cojocaru, Hatley, MacRae
by Luke Jennings
    ‘As the Sylphide, Cojocaru is miraculous…, her jump airy and weightless....yet another milestone in perhaps the most extraordinary career in ballet today.’
The Observer

Steven McRae
Following his nomination in the Emerging Male Artist category at the Critics Circle National Awards, RB soloist Steven McRae talks (briefly) to the Observer:
. 'I love stepping on the stage. Everything comes alive.'
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1992545,00.html

Picasso and the Theatre
Artdaily reports on the now-closing exhibition in Frankfurt of Picasso’s designs for the theatre, among them his brilliant work for Massine’s ‘Le Tricorne’ (illustrated). The exhibition focuses on his relationship with Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes:
‘.., his collaboration with Jean Cocteau, Léonide Massine, Erik Satie, and Igor Stravinsky povided Picasso with a strong inspiration and challenge. His passion for the motley milieu of the Ballets Russes…has found its expression in numerous outstanding drawings’
http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=18964

Jerome Robbins
Another review of Amanda Vaill’s biography of Jerome Robbins, this time in the Orlando Sun-Sentinel:
‘..the guy who dreamed up West Side Story and even won an Oscar for directing the movie version was the most hated man on Broadway -- or in dance, for that matter.’
Sun-Sentinel

Preview: Complexions Contemporary Ballet
The Kansas City Star previews the new company prior to its opening in the city:
‘The company, which earlier this month played a sold-out week at New York’s Joyce Theater, is unique in the dance world for its dazzling diversity — with dancers of all ethnicities representing a half-dozen countries’
Star

__________________________________________________________________

Resolution! Links:

Gabriella Maiorino
Zoo
UK, London, The Place
by Lucy Ribchester
    'With vivid satire elevating the shock value of its nudity and dark sexuality, Zoo merits a wider audience.'
Place

CDM
XI
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Bushidi
by Lucy Ribchester
    '.. the androgynous sensuality that underlay the piece saved it from an alienating minimalism.'
Place

Tim Blowfield
Unfolding Layers
UK, London, The Place
by Lucy Ribchester
    '...this abstract piece never moved beyond the merely pretty.'
Place

Royal Ballet
My big fat Scottish wedding
La Sylphide, Rhapsody
UK, London, Covent Garden
Dancers: Acosta, Avis, Bemjamin, Bonelli, Cojocaru, Englund, Rojo
by Jenny Gilbert
    '... I swear the entire house stopped breathing on Benjamin's first bourrée-ing entry (in 'Rhapsody').... In the final stretch of her career, this tiny ballerina has become all essence. And that essence is at its tenderest and most intoxicating here.'
Sunday Independent

Holiday on Ice
Ice Dance
Fantasy
UK, Brighton, Brighton Centre
Dancers: Simecek, Sukhanov, Tyllesen, Ulanova, Zaldua
by Donald Hutera
    'Holiday on Ice stalwarts Fiona Zaldua and Dmitry Sukhanov demonstrate a dazzling partnership (in) a wonderfully elaborate Bollywood scene featuring multi-armed deities...'
The Times

Meryl Tankard and Dancers
Drumming up a dreamscape
Kaidan A Ghost Story
Australia, Sydney, Opera House
Dancers: Howard
by Deborah Jones
    ' Kaidan is a heady mix of dance, music, theatre and the visual arts to which one can only surrender....It's intoxicating'
The Australian

Momix
A Virtuosic and Powerful Display of Movement in Light
Lunar Sea
USA, Washington, George Mason University Center
by Pamela Squires
    ' The images in the dance company's mind-blowing work are sure to live on in the memories of viewers.'
Washington Post

Alina Cojocaru
Alina Cojocaru talks to the Independent about the pleasures and pains of dancing the Tchaikovsky roles:
‘I've now danced all of Tchaikovsky's main ballets – Aurora… Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake - and I enjoy them all…I particularly love The Nutcracker. I find the Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux terribly uplifting’.
Independent

Muriel Maffre
In May this year, the San Francisco Ballet principal Muriel Maffre retires after 17 years with the company. The SF Chronicle’sAlan Ulrich talks to her:
‘Maffre's grand physique has served as an inspiration for other women who fret about the obstacles to a career imposed by height. She receives many letters from younger hopefuls, and her reply is steeped in the wisdom of experience: "I tell them…Be honest in your work, be diligent and if you have real talent and a particular kind of sensibility, there will be a place for you."
Chronicle

Preview: Birmingham Royal Ballet
David Bintley talks to the Birminghal Mail about BRB’s forthcoming production of his new ‘Cyrano’:
’David first fell for the story more than 20 years ago when he saw Derek Jacobi play Cyrano in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of the play. "It just knocked me out, it was so wonderful," he says. "I just knew that I wanted to turn it into a ballet.’
Birmingham Mail

Actress into dancer..
Clare Danes, who was so wonderful in Baz Lurhmann’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’, is about to put her childhood dance training into action. She talks to Newsday’s Apollinaire Scherr:
‘After a persuasive turn last year in a barefoot solo choreographed by family friend Tamar Rogoff, the mesmerizing Danes returns for a duet with Rogoff's daughter, dancer Ariel Rogoff Flavin.’
Newsday

Henri Oguike Dance Company
Green is Blue, Little Red, Tiger Dancing, Expression Lines
UK, London, Laban
Dancers: Oguike
by Debra Craine
    Little Red: "This is one of Oguike’s more unexpected pieces, caricatured and melodramatic, a wild work for six red-clad women and the two brave men who stumble into their midst. With a red stripe traversing the stage, it becomes the battle line between male and female."
The Times

Henri Oguike Dance Company
Henri Oguike Dance Company
Little Red, Green is Blue, Tiger Dancing
UK, London, Laban
by Judith Mackrell
    "The difference in Green in Blue, where composer Iain Ballamy and his jazz band play live on stage, is dramatic. As the first two dancers spin out across the floor, one stepping high, one rolling in low moody counterpoint, it looks as if the music is shoving and plucking at their limbs. The excitement is visceral."
The Guardian

Henri Oguike Dance Company
Distracted by the decorative
Green is Blue, Little Red, Tiger Dancing, Expression Lines
UK, London, Laban
Dancers: Oguike
by Sarah Crompton
    "The work (Green is Blue) vividly displays Oguike's musicality and is full of striking, contrasting movements, with loose-limbed undulation giving way to ferocious rhythm. But it feels decorative rather than thoughtful; beautiful but slightly formless."
The Telegraph

Trisha Brown Dance Company
They May Be Automatons, but They Sure Have Heart
I love my robots, Set and Reset, how long does the subject linger on the edge of the volume ...
USA, New Jersey, Alexander Kasser Theater
Dancers: Brown
by Jennifer Dunning
    "In her 70th year, Ms. Brown, the innovative high priestess of postmodernist dance for four decades or so, has created a work of irresistible charm and silliness."
The New York Times

Compagnie Philippe Genty
La Fin des Terres
UK, London, Queen Elizabeth Hall
by Zoe Anderson
    "Genty may go for saccharine mannerisms, but his performers' technique is extraordinary. The central man and woman are played by four people. Sometimes they switch roles mid-scene, yet you only see two people on stage. The woman walks around the man, reappearing with a different face and body."
Independent

Jacky Lansley
View from the Shore, Anamule Dance
UK, Truro, Hall for Cornwall
by Francesca Morrison
    "No one could call this a narrative ballet. Subtle and understated, it slips under the wires of consciousness and flowers when you are least expecting it."
Stage

New York City Ballet
Jerome Robbins: One Toeshoe in Bach, the Other in Kern
2 3 Part Inventions, A Suite of Dances, In Memory of ..., I'm Old Fashioned
USA, New York, State Theater
Dancers: Angle, Askegard, Hytlin, Kowroski, Krohn, Orza, Peck, Ramasar, Ringer, Scheller, Stafford, Whelan, Woetzel
by Roslyn Sulcas
    A Suite of Dances: "The beginning is tentative and inward-looking, as Mr. Woetzel sketches out the steps. By the end, however, he is flirting with the audience, spinning through bravura pirouette sequences and finally cartwheeling into place at the cellist’s feet. Mr. Woetzel often seems hesitant about being a star, but there was no doubt about it here."
New York Times

Shen Wei Dance Arts
Shen Wei troupe evokes nature, sculpture through motion
Rite of Spring, Folding
USA, Seattle, Meany Theater
by Mary Murfin Bayley
    "The dances of Chinese-born choreographer Shen Wei, performed at Meany Theater this weekend, are strange, otherworldly and at times eerily beautiful. Their originality arises as much from what is left out as what is included."
Seattle Times

Mark Morris Dance Group
A Night at Home for Mark Morris
Italian Concerto, The Argument, Sang-Froid, Love Song Waltzes
USA, New York, James and Martha Duffy Performance Space
Dancers: Heginbotham, Morris, Worden
by Joy Goodwin
    "All in all, it was an extremely postmodern take on Bach, with Mr. Morris's bouncy, punchy movements wedged up against the concerto's elegant musical architecture."
New York Sun

San Diego Dance Theater
Intimate Cabaret Dances: Her It Age, Giallo per Quatro, Cheers, Three Quartets
USA, San Diego, Copley Auditorium
Dancers: Lundberg, Weinberg, Alonso, Gerodias, Isaacs-Nollet, Martin-Lamm, Nordin. De Cancel
by Kris Eitland
    "By default, Nordin became the star of “Three Quartets,” because her partner, John Diaz, was out sick. But throughout the revamped piece, Nordin commanded the stage and seemed to relish dancing a solo. On Friday, her eyes flashed and glistened, her elegant arabesques soared, and knowing that she was out there alone made her performance even more impressive."
sandiego.com

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
Slightly off-balance
Pointeoff, It's Not About the Numbers, Sweet Fields
USA, Union, Wilkins Theatre of Kean University
Dancers: Chase, Chittenden, Dehler
by Robert Johnson
    "While remaining abstract, "Sweet Fields" possesses multiple, imaginative dimensions ... Tharp's dances for separate groups of men and women dressed loosely in white seem both child-like and saintly. Repetitive motifs suggest the virtues of manual work, simple pleasures and games."
The Star-Ledger

Martine Pisani
This Emperor Has Clothes (but Says He Doesn’t)
Bande à part
USA, New York, Danspace Project
Dancers: De Palol, Ives, Kooijman, Schram
by Claudia La Rocco
    "There was plenty of nudity: indeed, you could make the case that the performance hinged on it. It’s just that none of it was actual. The work began with Théo Kooijman walking the audience through his conceptual disrobing. “O.K., I got through the first part,” he explained after a pause in which nothing happened, and in which you realized that nothing was going to. The joke, of course, is that you felt his nakedness all the more."
New York Times

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
Seeking an Identity for Cedar Lake
Symptoms of Development, Vastav, Rastay
USA, New York, Cedar Lake
by Joy Goodwin
    "Despite full-out performances by the dancers, the four-year-old company appeared to drift from piece to piece, a troupe in search of an aesthetic identity ... It remains to be seen whether Cedar Lake can thrive on the difficult path it has started down: that of an American contemporary dance company without a signature choreographer."
New York Sun

Stephen Petronio
Self Singer
Bud Suite, BLOOM, The Rite Part
USA, Boston, Institute of Contemporary Art
Dancers: Demianenko, Grenek, Jaffe, Tirabassi, Wells, Badger
by Marcia B Siegel
    "One minute the dancers are leaping or jumping, the next they’re undulating their torsos, throwing themselves to the side, stretching into huge extensions. They can generate big movements from the arm, the neck, the hip, make you notice tiny skips or turns of the head."
The Boston Phoenix

Clare Byrne Dance
Jesus Tastes Like Chicken
Rounds The First Last Dance or The Last First Dance or An Ordination
USA, New York, Dance New Amsterdam
Dancers: Byrne, Estacio, Ferreri, Mandel, Peterson
by Eva Yaa Asantewaa
    "Watching Byrne and her excellent dancers is an experience of visceral empathy that grabs the viewer and won't let go. At first glance, the movements look like familiar contact improvisation but something else is operating here ..."
Gay City News

Resolution! reviews

Just some body
Yesterday
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Pendlebury
by Keith Watson
    "It had a whimsical charm, but fatally overstayed its welcome."
The Place

Wiser Experiment co
Fragements of Minds
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Wiser
by Keith Watson
    "Fragments of Minds was surefooted and sophisticated, and featured some elegantly sculptured dance moves."
The Place

Collectif Utilite Publique
Fizz
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Delahaye, Pettit
by Keith Watson
    "Though they leant too heavily on their intrinsic Eurotrash wackiness, the idiosyncratic duo of Pettit and Anne Delahaye certainly offered one of Resolution’s more off the wall entries."
The Place

Wiser Experiment co
Fragments of Minds
UK, London, The Place
by Prarthana Purkayastha
    "... what could have been a interesting sequence of movement character sketches ... is disappointingly thin, lacking depth and substance."
The Place

Just some body
Yesterday
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Pendlebury
by Prarthana Purkayastha
    "Pendlebury’s slow crawl out of her dress to the innuendo-laden song Sleepy Old Snake is a memorable image, but overall the work is quite flat."
The Place

Collectif Utilite Publique
Fizz
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Delahaye, Pettit
by Prarthana Purkayastha
    "Corrine Rochet’s choreography initially fools you into thinking it'll be a tedious watch, but somehow she manages to hold you for thirty full minutes and leave you thinking about her work long after its over."
The Place

Darcey Bussell talks about her health
'After years of ballet my hips are crumbling'
by Moira Petty
    "My daughters are growing up and I want to be able to spend more time with them. And I'm hoping that by stopping at the age of 37, I can avoid the hip surgery which would have become inevitable if I carried on."
The Daily Mail

Ashley Page's Cinderella
It's a real scary tale
by Gavin Allen
    "The critics in Scotland remarked on how unusual some of it was," he understated. "I can see that it's different for the ballet world but not in the world of modern dance and because I straddle both those worlds it isn't unusual to me."
ic Wales

St Petersburg Ballet Theatre
Gala: Chopiniana, Grand Pas Classique, The Dying Swan, Paquita
UK, Norwich, Theatre Royal
Dancers: Kolesnikova, Levchenko, Sunegin
by Eve Stebbing
    "This sumptuous gala was the opportunity to show off the talents of the stars of SPBT, in particular Irina Kolesnikova: a young prima ballerina who has captured Russia's heart."
Eastern Daily Press

Kirstein's centenary
Spotlight On Lincoln Kirstein
by Kate Taylor
    "This year, Lincoln Kirstein, a man who spent most of his life behind the scenes, will finally get his time in the spotlight."
New York Sun

Grigorovich at 80
Galas Celebrate Ballet Master Yury Grigorovich
from RIA Novosti
    "Compliments were always showered on him at home and abroad. Some epithets were commonplace, such as "great" and "outstanding," others effusive, as "dance fanatic" or "colossus." Maurice Bejart, his colleague of no smaller distinction, described Grigorovich as "an evergreen alpine meadow.""
The Post Chronicle

Joni Mitchell turns to ballet
by Steve Lillebuen
    "The reclusive Joni Mitchell, singer-songwriter, environmentalist, painter and icon for a generation, is dancing up a storm of interest over her latest creation — a ballet set to her own music and artwork."
The Globe and Mail

and again ...
Buzz grows for Joni Mitchell-Alberta Ballet collaboration
    "The company described the work as a semi-abstract narrative ballet dealing with the themes of 'environmental neglect and the warring nature of mankind.'"
CBC Arts

Joffrey wins $50,000 to commission Pedro Ruiz ballet
by Charles Storch
    "A $50,000 prize from the Joyce Foundation is bringing together the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and Luna Negra Dance Theater in a first-time collaboration on the world premiere of a ballet."
Chicago Tribune

Alicia Graf comes home for a class in studio where she began
Dancer returns to teach
by Karen Nitkin
    "Of all the students I've had, this one was given, I believe, a gift from God," said Donna Pidel, who founded Ballet Royale in 1994 and was Graf's dance instructor. "She's definitely the most gifted student I have had."
Baltimore Sun

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
Mountain Fresh
by Gus Soloman
    "A dancer's career is very short, and we think it's a sin to waste dancers' time and talent on bad choreography. So we really think twice about every ballet we take in the rep, because it has to be worth the talent, time, and passion that has to go into it."
Gay City News

The Terry Beeman Dance Company
New moves — with no safety net
by Victoria Looseleaf
    "With his shock of spiky dyed blond hair and intricately patterned tattoos that stretch across his body like a series of Italianate frescoes, Terry Beeman appears to have come a long way from Missouri."
LA Times

Tamar Rogoff's new work Edith & Jenny
A Choreographer Takes Her Daughter to Work, With a Famous Friend
by Rebecca Milzoff
    "Bound by their first costume, frilly white dresses connected by a two-person corset, Ms. Danes and Ms. Flavin whispered to each other before their intro music, “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” then enacted a silly, almost vaudevillian lip-sync routine. They looked like a bizarre two-headed dancer, yet the image was somehow endearing: two best friends performing for their parents, perhaps, not rehearsing for an opening night that was days away. Ms. Rogoff sat, taking notes."
New York Times

Flamenco Festival USA
by Valerie Gladstone
    "From a series of three events that took place in New York, Boston and Washington, Flamenco Festival USA has blossomed into a popular nationwide festival, which now travels to London and Paris as well."
Playbill Arts

Emma Chadwick, ballet dancer
What gets me dancing: Milk DX, by Autechre
by Craig Taylor
    "When I listen to music and can't stop my mind from wandering, then I know it's going to be great."
The Guardian

Mark Morris Dance Group
Is Morris Feeling Boxed In? His Dynamic Company Shines
Italian Concerto, The Argument, Sang-Froid, Love Song Waltzes
USA, New York, Mark Morris Dance Center
Dancers: Morris, Worden
by Robert Gottlieb
    "The choreography he gave himself focused on intelligent detail he could readily handle, but it wasn’t strong enough to distract us from the unusual picture he presents."
New York Observer

New York City Ballet
The Range of a Populist Master
2 3 Part Inventions, A Suite of Dances, In Memory of ..., I'm Old Fashioned
USA, New York, State Theater
Dancers: Angle, Askegard, Hanna, Hytlin, Kowroski, Krohn, Neal, Orza, Peck, Ramasar, Ringer, Scheller, Stafford, Whelan, Woetzel
by Joel Lobenthal
    I'm Old Fashioned: "But even though the ballet dancers' performances are different and considerably more balletic from the onscreen performers, their choreography is enough of an homage to stimulate invidious comparisons."
New York Sun

Yoshiko Chuma
Stirring Many Ingredients Into a Strangely Blended Brew
A Page Out of Order- M
USA, New York, Dance Theater Workshop
Dancers: Chuma, Sukarova, Williams
by Claudia La Rocco
    "Using black-and-white film, text, dance, singing and a marvelous onstage band, for 90 minutes she stirs an uneasy brew of war, identity and dislocation."
New York Times

Condors
Jupiter - Conquest of the Galaxy
UK, London, Lilian Baylis Theatre
by Lyndsey Winship
    "Characterised by an endearing scrappiness, the boys mix puppet shows and homemade films with playground humour, slapstick and a few adult jokes thrown in."
Stage

Vincent Dance Theatre
Broken Chords
UK, Newcastle, Northern Stage
by Christopher Collett
    "It is a challenging piece but its difficult moments are largely offset by vigorous crowd pleasing choreography as well as some exquisite moments of dark comedy."
Stage

Susan Marshall and Company
In brief, 'Cloudless,' moves with force
Cloudless
USA, New York, Dance Theater Workshop
Dancers: Hollinsworth, Miller, Poulson
by Robert Johnson
    "Marshall's attitude of wry bemusement at time's passage and life's disappointments pierces through the melancholy atmosphere like an unexpected ray of sunshine, giving viewers reason to feel grateful. In one of 18 short vignettes, the middle-aged choreographer even offers us a consoling, if vicarious cup of tea."
The Star-Ledger

American Ballet Theatre
Symphony, ballet combine for brilliant performance
The Nutcracker pdd, Swan Lake - Black Swan pdd
USA, Carmel, Sunset Center
Dancers: Alexander, Bragado-Young, Riccetto, Stappas
by Barbara Rose Shuler
    "Max Bragado, conductor of the Monterey Symphony, led the orchestra and four members of New York's famed American Ballet Theater in a triumphant, high-energy concert (which) featured Tchaikovsky ballet movements for the first half of the program and Serge Prokofiev's dramatic fifth symphony after intermission."
Monterey Herald

Resolution! reviews

Beyond Repair Dance
Beyond Repair
UK, London, The Place
by Louise Bennett
    "... the choreography is impressive and physically demanding, to the point of fatigue for some of the dancers."
The Place

Porcupine
Gerdie
UK, London, The Place
by Louise Bennett
    "The bizarre combination of characters and concepts works surprisingly well ..."
The Place

Proyecto Enambar
Flow 3
UK, London, The Place
by Louise Bennett
    "With monotonous music the piece ultimately drags to disappoint after the promising opening."
The Place

Beyond Repair Dance
Beyond Repair
UK, London, The Place
by Josephine Leask
    "... they finish looking like triumphant people who have just come out of a challenging aerobics class."
The Place

Porcupine
Gerdie
UK, London, The Place
by Josephine Leask
    "It’s sweet, it’s short and it’s unusual."
The Place

Proyecto Enambar
Flow 3
UK, London, The Place
by Josephine Leask
    "Too many potentially good ideas are packed into the opening and not followed up."
The Place

Young dancers learn to build their bone health
by Jack Kelly
    "Adolescent ballet dancers are at greater risk for injury because their bones are growing, and bone growth is uneven, Ms. Hartog said. "Just the fact that you are growing puts you at more risk," she said."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Royal Ballet in Bermuda
Royal Ballet here for three performances
by Nancy Acton
    "The programmes will feature some of the company's world-ranking stars, and also see the welcome return of principal dancer Marianela Nuez, first soloist Martin Haravey, and a former principal, Wayne Sleep."
The Royal Gazette

Royal Ballet wins South Bank Show dance award
(This for their Chroma / DGV / Four Temperaments programme.)
BBC News

Scottish Ballet's Cinderella
They mess with their tutus
    "It's not just a beautiful rendition of a story. Certain design ideas are a feast for the eyes and help to enhance characters, while the darkly romantic music sweeps the action along, adding its own aural colours to the already rich visual palate."
Belfast Telegraph

Hubbard Street Dance Seeks Promising Choreographers
    "Hubbard Street 2 (HS2), the second company of the internationally acclaimed Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC), has announced a call for entries to its ninth annual National Choreographic Competition to identify emerging choreographers who will create original works for HS2."
Huliq

Maurice Bejart's 80th birthday - pics
by Darius Kadivar
    "Others present in the city of Lausanne to pay homage to the French-born artist on Saturday included Russian-born ballet star Mikail Barashnykof ..."
Payvand

Today is Maria Tallchief's 82nd birthday
monsters & critics

and finally, on a quiet day, a big piece of non-news

DUCHESS OF YORK TOO BUSY TO DANCE WITH THE STARS
    "Although she'd love to do it, she's just too busy."
contactmusic.com

Edited to correct typo.

Richard Alston Dance Company
Alston revived with verve
Red Run, The Devil in the Detail, Volumina
USA, Irvine, Irvine Barclay Theatre
Dancers: Goddard, Peedo
by Laura Bleiberg
    "Alston works in a movement style crystallized to its essence, and the "language" in each dance was notable for its unfussy purity. Alston sculpts abstraction with purposeful force and integrity."
Orange County Register

Maresa von Stockert - Tilted Productions
Marjorie's World Unhinged
UK, Salford, Lowry
Dancers: Caldow, Constantinides, Reed
by Robert Beale
    "... this marvellous blend of dance and theatre, for seven performers, film and a mechanical furry dog, is closely, hilariously, observed, and touchingly aware of the sorrows of existence."
Manchester Online

Moscow Festival Ballet
Lovely 'Sleeping Beauty' relies on magic of dance
Sleeping Beauty
USA, Madison, Overture Hall
by Karyn Saemann
    "The sets and costumes were breathtaking, ranging from bright hues to woodsy colors to dazzling white for the wedding pas de deux. The music was dreamily familiar. But the movement was the star."
The Capital Times

Resolution! reviews

green bean dance
Two
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Larsen, Smith
by Sanjoy Roy
    "A meaningful, moving performance."
The Place

Petra Soor and Albert Quesada
Douing
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Quesada, Söör
by Sanjoy Roy
    "Döuing feels like a kind of staged screensaver."
The Place

boXd productions
Valentina and the Fish
UK, London, The Place
by Sanjoy Roy
    "‘Nothing. Will. Ever. Happen.’ So states a series of placards in Valentina and the Fish - and true, for an excruciatingly long time eight people simply sit and wait."
The Place

green bean dance
Two
UK, London, The Place
by Amy Johnson
    "... the accomplished performance and feverish energy of this tumultuous work left the audience breathless."
Place

Petra Soor and Albert Quesada
Douing
UK, London, The Place
by Amy Johnson
    "Petra Söör and Albert Quesada presented a beautifully quirky piece to the accompaniment of an addled studio recording of Sympathy for the Devil and the lonely whir of an overhead projector."
Place

boXd productions
Valentina and the Fish
UK, London, The Place
by Amy Johnson
    "The abiding image of Valentina and the Fish is of a man dressed in an enormous, furry shark costume."
Place

Trajal Harrell, choreographer, and his new show
Strike a Pose: A Show Pony Choreographs His Obsession
by Gia Kourlas
    “I’m a show pony,” he explained. “For lack of a better term, there are people, like myself, who are obsessed with being in shows and doing shows. That’s a show pony. I’m being funny, but I’m also quite serious. I like to show off, and I like to be seen.”
New York Times

Interview: Paul Taylor
Emotion in motion
by Joh Fleming
    "A lot of people who end up liking concert dance, I've found over the years, are people you'd never dream would, like truck drivers or construction workers. If you get them in the theater, they'll come back."
St Petersburg Times

Preview: Richard Alston in Stanford
Exuberant bouyancy
by Rita Feliciano
    "My first, almost accidental, encounter with Richard Alston two years ago left me nonplussed."
San Francisco Bay Guardian

Brown, Alston and Petronio in the Bay Area
Dance takes center stage
by Andrew Gilbert
    "The modern dance season opens this weekend with a headlong rush of activity, as three of the world's leading companies present the region with an embarrassment of riches."
Mercury News

Royal Ballet in Bermuda
Ballet stars prepare for smaller stage
    "I'm so thrilled for the dancers, coming here to Bermuda and seeing just a completely different environment. It's a wonderful island with wonderful people. It's exciting for them too."
Bermuda Sun

Ballet receives grant to study field's viability
    "Ballet Memphis has been awarded a $60,000 planning grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. With the funds, the 21-year-old dance company plans to examine some of the challenges facing regional ballet companies in midsize cities"
Memphis Business Journal

Interview: dancers talk about Josef Nadj's Asobu
Dairakudakan dancers play with Josef Nadj
by Nobuko Tanaka
    "What do you think of Nadj? P.N.: I had an image of him as a sensitive and serious artist. But that was completely wrong. He is a quite simple and young-minded person."
Japan Times

Seven simple rules from the students at English National Ballet School to make you slim, sleek and sparkling in time for spring
    "Make some small changes to your posture and lifestyle and you could soon see the changes in time for spring by following seven simple rules from English National Ballet School (ENBS)."
femalefirst.co.uk

Who wore what (there was dancing too)
San Francisco Ballet's fashionable gala opening
by Sylvia Ribin
    "Guest Angelique Griepp wore a de la Renta, a spectacular black and white tiered organza gown embellished with shiny black sequined flowers and vines and polished off with a wide black satin ribbon. 'I almost wore a very plain navy gown, but my girlfriends said no way ...'"
San Francisco Chronicle

State Ballet Theatre of Russia
'Cinderella': Gnomes provide new version of an old tale
Cinderella
USA, Burlington, Flynn Centre for Performing Arts
Dancers: Frolova, Vasiliev
by Tarin Chaplin
    "In what can only be described as a lavish and spotless rendition, choreographer Vladimir Vasilev created yet one more version of the classic fairy tale, Cinderella ..."
Times Argus

Royal Ballet
Programme left me feeling I missed something
Bermuda gala: Tanglewood, Swan Lake, Elite Syncopations, Je ne regrette rien, Diana and Acteon, Concerto, Le Corsaire - and others
Bermuda, Hamilton, City Hall Theatre
by Unnamed
    "... I would have welcomed some comment on the context from which the dances were taken – who, for example, were the three characters in the Act 1 Pas de Trois from ‘Le Corsaire’? Without this knowledge, I was left appreciating the amazing technical skill and power of the dancers, without truly appreciating the emotion of the piece."
Royal Gazette

Yoshiko Chuma
Chuma's Travels
A Page Out of Order- M
USA, New York, Dance Theater Workshop
Dancers: Eagly, Reker, Sukarova, Tsukuda, Williams, Yamaguchi
by Lori Ortiz
    "Chuma puts the elements, which we may have seen before, in choreographic order. She makes exoticism relevant again, the Global Village takes hold. It's good to see that artistic exchange is alive and well, when we need it most."
Gay City News

Imperial Ice Stars
Swan Lake on Ice
UK, Glasgow, Theatre Royal
by Kelly Apter
    "Mercer has opened up the selection box of audience favourites and emptied them all out on to the stage: delicate falling snow, a blazing ring of fire, luminous costumes and dazzling aerial work. If there's a theatrical device designed to make a crowd go "ooh", he's used it. Which is by no means a criticism - the visual effects of Swan Lake on Ice fit the show perfectly."
The Scotsman

Resolution! reviews

Ironinc
Resolution!: Curse of the 2nd album
UK, London, The Place
by Ben Felsenburg
    "I endured to the end only because I was stuck in the middle of a crowded row."
The Place

alwaysneversay
Resolution!: ))open(enclosed))
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Bailey, Bremner
by Ben Felsenburg
    "All too earnest, with little thread or structured pace to invite in the audience ..."
The Place

Persona non grata
Resolution!: Popular Melodies in the Last of Our Mind
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Hotchkiss
by Ben Felsenburg
    "... Hotchkiss carried the performance through with her immensely convincing integrity ..."
The Place

Ironinc
Resolution!: Curse of the 2nd album
UK, London, The Place
by Anthony Psaila
    "Only towards the end, when the characters began to dance, leaping, tumbling and rolling in formation, did we see performers who looked authentic and competent."
Place

alwaysneversay
Resolution!: ))open(enclosed))
UK, London, The Place
by Anthony Psaila
    "alwaysneversay suffered from a dull, narrow range of choreography which was poorly executed and struggled to comply with their own manifesto ..."
Place

Persona non grata
Resolution!: Popular Melodies in the Last of Our Mind
UK, London, The Place
Dancers: Hotchkiss
by Anthony Psaila
    "... in the end Persona Non Grata hung together as an affecting and provocative collaboration."
Place

David Bintley, BRB and Cyrano de Bergerac
Bintley's heroic pitch
by Terry Grimley
    "For me it's got everything. It's not a tragic story because he is heroic all the way through, even at the end. There's so much colour in the bakery scene, the battle, the balcony scene. "
Birmingham Post

Royal Ballet in Florida
Royal Ballet's principals promise regal dance
by Sarah Ingley
    "This is the most prestigious ballet company to ever tour a top-tier ensemble through my hometown, with the Phillips Center tickets priced far more affordable than tourists find at the Royal Opera House."
Gainesville Sun

Vladimir Malakhov's 20th anniversary gala
Image of the day
The Times

Elaine Bauer teaching Swan Lake to Pacific Northwest Ballet principals
Dance coach strives to bring a new level of refinement to PNB's 'Swan Lake'
by R.M. Campbell
    "She has an incredible eye in bringing out our individual strengths not only in terms of technique but also emotionally ..."
Seattle P-I

and finally ...

What men should be wearing (either side of the footlights)
Man In Tights
by Brian Niemietz
Does this herald a new dress code at the Opera House?
    "Fashion-conscious people tend to have good bodies, so the look might not be for everyone," warns (Tom) Gold, who owns about 30 pairs of leggings, which he wears only when dancing. "I'm looking for colors or shapes that complement my lines and make my body look best."
New York Post