latest Ballet.co reviews reviews by Anjuli Bai

Nuts and Bolts

The four "W's" are basic information. You can include this information either by listing in an introductory heading or within the text of the review:

Who: It is always good practice to credit the company, composer, choreographer, dancers, conductor, lighting, sets and costume designers every time. Some ballets of the same name, such as "Romeo and Juliet," have had different composers/choreographers, etc. so give them credit every time. Varying your sentence structure makes it more readable. Here's three different ways to say the same thing:

"Sweatlana Bigfoota's Odile was ….." or "Odile, danced by Sweatlana Bigfoota, was….;" or "Odile (Sweatlana Bigfoota) was…."

What: The name/s of the ballet/dance. If it was a full-length ballet, say so. If it was repertory (mixed bill) make sure that your reader is clear which of the items on the program you are writing about. Not every item has to be covered with the same degree of detail.

Where: The location of the performance. Write it out - don't assume everyone knows where "West End" or "East Bay" is. People around the world will be reading what you write.

When: The date. If there were two performances that day, matinee and evening, give the time.

Things to Think About

Examine your mind carefully. See if you have a previous viewpoint and/or bias that will affect your review even before you see the performance. Be honest with yourself, and the reader will sense this honesty. Use the chronology of the program as a way to keep organized. Go act by act, or piece by piece through the program. That will keep your reader with you. Ask yourself, "Am I taking the reader with me?"

Write the review as if you are describing a photograph in your mind. As you watch the ballet adjust your view periodically. Occasionally, sit back and try to see the performance as a whole. Ask yourself: "Is it balanced in format? In concept? In design?" Then look at it from the middle distance: background action, a particular partnership, the corps de ballet. And then a closer view: small gestures, facial expression, connection between individual dancers as well as the audience.

The review is a snapshot in time. Seeing one performance is not enough to make a blanket assessment. If you have only seen a dancer once, base your critique on that particular event.

As you mention and assess each segment of the production, tell why you have reached your assessment. For instance, when you write about the sets and costumes, tell how they impacted the ballet. Try to go further than: "the sets were appropriate" - explain why they were appropriate. Conversely if you thought that the sets were not good, say so, and then say why: cut the stage space, cut the sight lines, overwhelmed the dancers, etc.

Uh oh…You Didn't Like It

It's okay to say you didn't like something. It's all in how it is said. One could say: "The costumes for the village festival were dull and the color of dirt." Or, one could say: "The costumes were not as colorful as one might rightfully expect for a village festival."

Likewise passing judgement on a dancer is a matter of being sensitive without obscuring your viewpoint. A poor performance might be stated thus: "This dancer is a principal of a great company, but tonight's performance was a bit less than I would have expected." In this way, you are acknowledging that the dancer, being a principal of a great company must have talent, but on this particular night was less than optimal.

Polishing the Piece

Generally speaking, it's best for a piece of writing to "stew." Write it, and lay it aside for a while before returning to it. However, in writing reviews, because it is time sensitive, this is not possible. You can do several things to help. Do a computer spellcheck (I write my reviews in WORD and then paste to the online posting box). ALWAYS read it over, spellcheck misses a lot of things. It is important to get the names, dates, and attributions correct.

ALWAYS read your work aloud. Listen to your voice and you will hear redundancies in phrases and words. At times it can't be helped, but often another word can be used to break up the monotony of using the same words. We all fall in love with particular phrases that seem funny or clever or, well, just wonderful! However, if they don't really fit, cut 'em out. Falling in love with one's own work is a common pitfall.

There are some words that creep in that can be cut. Watch for words such as: "very" as in "she was very beautiful." "She was beautiful" really does make the point. The word "there" has a habit of creeping in such as: "she sat there by the fireplace," when "she sat by the fireplace," would do just as well.

A review doesn't have to be perfect to be interesting, and it doesn't have to be eternal to be immortal. Remember that you are among friends, sharing something you love.