Current Ballet.co Magazine
March 2006

We have the next Ballet.co Magazine coming together and you can see it grow through the next month until it is released at the end of April.

Next Ballet.co Magazine
April 2006 - go see a work in progress

Previous Ballet.co magazine - February 2006

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Quick Links for this magazine
Interviews, Features, In the Galleries, Reviews, Postings Reviews, External Reviews, Photographic Copyright and Credits

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Moira Shearer
1926 – 2006
By Jeffery Taylor


Anatole Grigoriev
1949-2006
An appreciation by Natasha Dissanayake

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Interviews




Svetlana Lunkina
Natasha Dissanayake talks to the well known Bolshoi Principal about dance and life... "The most important thing for me is my family, children and the joy of life. And life in general"




Dan Geller & Dayna Goldfine
'The Couple Who Fell in Love with Ballet Russe Veterans'. Renee Renouf interviews the Ballets Russes film makers

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Features


‘Ballets Russes’ film
Jane Simpson reviews a new classic which is about to go on general release in the UK

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In the Galleries

Currently our Images Gallery contains approximately 2000 images.


John Ross Photographs
Albums added in March 2006...


Royal Ballet - Polyphonia Triple Bill - March 2006


Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo - London


Vincent Dance Theatre - Broken Chords - London


Yamato Drummers - London


Royal Ballet - Romeo & Juliet - London

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Diaries and weblogs


Jatkko Lehmus weblog... the Scottish Ballet dancer who tells it like no other. This months title is 'A Pound Of Cow And Lesbians In Leopard Coats'... More power to him we say
(weblog home)



Ballet Central weblog
Each year we follow some final-year Central School of Ballet students through their final training, UK tour and hunt for jobs. The 2006 diarists - Julia Davies, Katherine Hollinson and Robert Phillips introduce themselves...
(Weblog Home)



Carole Edrich Weblog...
Carole writes about dance and flamenco but it's also all linked in with a passion for extreme sports, risk and general sensation seeking... ths time its 'Barefoot in Buenos Aires'. (Weblog home)

Other regular weblog writers
(but not writing this month):
Christopher Hampson
Peter Quanz
Jessica Wright D.A.N.C.E. Weblog

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Reviews

USA Reviews

San Francisco Ballet

'Afternoon of a Faun' bill: Renee Renouf

"...Jerome Robbins reveals his amazing knowledge of group dynamics. His collective works are never just about a corps de ballet and the principal dancers; they demonstrate an innate perception about clusters of people and their behavior filtered through classical form and idiomatic accents, people oriented, diverging from Balanchine's classical mold."


Paul Taylor Dance Company

'Spring Rounds' bill: Renee Renouf

"Taylor has assembled an ensemble willing, able, and consistently inspiring to watch."


Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

'IFE-My Heart' bill: Renee Renouf

"Ife/My Heart, in white, gave us signature movements from Muslim Africa, white ruffled Diaspora and city-sharp America, all ultimately hunkered down to common rhythms; each beguiled us with stylistic differences."


Atlanta Ballet

'Sinfonia Giocosa' bill: Eric Taub

" Sinfonietta: "Hampson's made a dazzling, faceted jewel for twelve of Atlanta Ballet's dancers, and Bruce French's costumes black unitards with delicate lighter tracings for the men; similarly adorned leotards, sheer black tights and shoes for the women, topped with enormous, shining, crystal-studded chokers and earrings echo the wry balance between frippery and formality in Hampson's choreography, which morphs happily between diamond and rhinestone."


Ballet Argentino

'Boccatango': Renee Renouf

"Bocca may have stopped dancing Romeo, but his form shows no diminishing; the skill is so deceptive; utterly certain, each phrase is finished with momentary stillness, building unforgettable impressions."


California Ballet Company

'Midsummer Night's Dream': Anjuli Bai

"This three act ballet came from a hand that was determined that no one in the audience would think that the production shirked on providing a full evening of dance - earning every penny of the ticket price. This "Dream" was not at all the distillation provided by an Ashton or a Balanchine - this was a full throated enterprise. But a full throat can also mean time too long spent at the repast."


ODC Dance

'Lip Service' bill: Renee Renouf

"ODC's choreography is not easily translated to other groups; it is crafted on the eleven company bodies present at any one time."


RDDI-SFBA Dance Lab

'Dance Lab 2006': Renee Renouf

"This all stands for Regional Dance Development Initiative/San Francisco Bay Area. Developed through funding of the National Dance Project/ New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), and presented in collaboration with ODC Theater, the invited showcase for eleven dancers of non- Western traditional forms was exciting and ground-breaking."


Robert Moses Kin

'Other Gods' bill: Renee Renouf

"The dancers demonstrated an increasing schooling in classical ballet technique, permitting Moses' highly individual movement style to be seen at its best."


Danish Reviews

Royal Danish Ballet

'Manon': Janet McNulty

"One of the most noticeable features of the company's dancing is the lovely soft leaps of all the men – you could not hear them landing at all. The “three gentlemen” on both evenings were a joy to behold."


Peter Schaufuss Ballet

'Satisfaction': Jeffery Taylor

"Twenty four Rolling Stones sex, drugs and rock'n'roll hits provide Schaufuss and his stunning dancers an ear splitting, stamping, clapping and sing-a-long riot that paints a permanent smile on the audience's face."


Italian Reviews

La Scala Ballet

'La strada' bill: Susy

" Le jeune: "On Saturday we saw Roberto Bolle. He was dancing it for the second time but it seemed he has done it for ages. His partner was again Darcey Bussell and together they were absolutely mesmerizing..."


Hong Kong Reviews

Hong Kong Ballet

'Suzie Wong': Natasha Rogai

"Suzie Wong is Stephen Jefferies' last original work for Hong Kong Ballet as its Artistic Director, and it is good to see his tenure end on a high note."


Eva Yerbabuena

'Eva': Natasha Rogai

" In a word, she is magnificent. If you get the chance, see her."


UK Reviews

Royal Ballet

'Romeo and Juliet': Jane Simpson

"My only reservation on this occasion was that, although her first act Juliet and her third act Juliet were both richly characterised, the change from one to the other didn't entirely convince."

'Romeo and Juliet': Simonetta Dixon

"It is always a joy to be there at the beginning of a very talented artist's career, and to then have the privilege of being able to follow that career as it gathers momentum, experience and prowess. This is what I feel about Lauren Cuthbertson, having seen her Juliet for the third time last night."

'Romeo and Juliet': Louise Bennett

"Tamara Rojo's Juliet is a firm favourite with audiences, and rightly so. In Macmillan's masterpiece, she embodies the dramatic virtuosity of Lynn Seymour and Margot Fonteyn while effortlessly showing off her high extensions and exquisitely arched feet."

'Castle Nowhere triple bill': Lynette Halewood

" Castle Nowhere: "As one of the flagship new commissions of the season this particular work was always going to be the subject of stern scrutiny. It's a pity it turned out to be so slight and small scale."

'Castle Nowhere triple bill': Graham Watts

"I agree that 'Castle Nowhere' was underwhelming and too insignificant for the main stage, a fact emphasised by its setting in the middle of two works that used the space so much more intelligently."

'Afternoon of a Faun': John Mallinson

"It would be easy to dismiss this ten minute piece as just another boy-girl brief encounter. That it is still in performance after 50 years suggests it is much more than that. To quote Arlene Croce again, "Robbins' infatuation with dancers has always been a great strength". In Faun he has used it to look at a little episode in the studio and to find enough poetry, beauty and mystery there to ensure the ballet's continuing fascination and survival."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section

Bolshoi Ballet

'Spartacus': Charlotte Kasner

"The Company threw themselves into the performance with a gusto matched only by that of the orchestra under the baton of Pavel Klinichev, and faultless it was too."


Birmingham Royal Ballet

'Sleeping Beauty': Janet McNulty

"I saw three Auroras and three Florimunds and all were excellent..."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section

English National Ballet

'Perpetuum Mobile' bill: Ian Palmer

" Mobile: "...ever-inventive choreographic motifs, quick, bright steps with an Ashtonian flavour (imagine Ashton served with paprika) and a beautiful pas de deux..."

'Perpetuum Mobile' bill: Mandy Kent

"English National Ballet are in top form.I enjoyed their recent performances of Sleeping Beauty and Giselle so I was anticipating an excellent evening at Richmond. The mixed bill is a delightful and well thought out programme..."


Northern Ballet Theatre

'I Got Rhythm': Janet McNulty

"This is a real feel-good ballet and I came out of the auditorium on a high after both performances."


Scottish Ballet

'Episodes triple bill': Jane Simpson

"What an astonishing evening! Scottish Ballet's triple bill, which on paper looked as if it might be rather hard work - a bit dry perhaps - turned out to be the most stimulating and enjoyable programme I've seen in ages."

'Cinderella and Triple Bill': Jeffery Taylor

"Scottish Ballet is a modern, well established and artistically rounded dance company we can all be proud of."

'Cinderella': Lynette Halewood

"Though Page has made a work which is lively, colourful and has its crowd pleasing moments, he chooses to end on a rather bleak note."

'Cinderella': Louise Bennett

"The production is so very mixed that it is difficult to draw a conclusive opinion from it. An enjoyable evening: not so suitable for the sensitive due to its sometimes shockingly dark comedy. There is some top notch dancing, but by the same token, some of it is very disappointing."


Richard Alston

'Volumina' bill: Lynette Halewood

"Richard Alston is a dance maker with a deep love of music, and talks and writes about it with real passion and feeling. What this translates to on stage though is unpredictable."

'Such Longing' bill: Norman Reynolds

"I go to Contemporary Dance performances with an open mind, never quite knowing whether I will enjoy them. On this occasion I felt that this was the very best. It was not a question of 'let's do something different for the sake of it', but the choreography was a mature, highly developed language, full of meaning and beautiful in itself."


Henri Oguike Dance Company

'How I Look' bill: Louise Bennett

"The dancers are all extremely impressive, with amazing muscle tone and remarkable energy. But they are somehow let down by Oguike, who seems content to reproduce his unquestionably successful signature style of choreography, whatever the task before him."


Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (TROCKS)

'Les Sylphides' bill: Ian Palmer

"This is not just a fabulous evening of Travesti, but a stupendous evening of Classical dance and a stunning evening of theatre. We are amused, we are amazed and I am wondering – whatever did happen to Granny's jewellery box?"


Phoenix Dance Theatre

'Nopalitos' bill: Jeffery Taylor

"Phoenix will be near you soon, don't miss them."

'Nopalitos' bill: Graham Watts

"Perhaps the most significant element of 'Stories in Red' was not the big budget, spectacular Sadler's Wells co-commissions in the works by Pita and de Frutos, interesting though these were in their own way, but the almost immediate integration of work by Lost Dog into the Phoenix repertoire..."

'Nopalitos' bill: John Mallinson

"The programme is extremely well staged and well performed by the eight dancers. Very well worth seeing."

'Snow White in Black' bill: Ian Palmer

"I found the most satisfactory dance piece to be Darshan Singh Bhuller's Laal (Hindi for red apparently) a solo in which Kimball Wong darts in and out of a shaft of light, flickering like a fly in the air."


Russian State Ballet of Siberia

'Romeo and Juliet': Richard Amey

"We could have asked little more of the principals, Anna Aulle as Juliet and Alexander Butrimovich as Romeo, in their responsive evocation of young awakening passion."


Shobana Jeyasingh

'Exit No Exit' bill: AlexP

"...tonight's programme was the best I've seen of them for a long time - in fact, since I first saw them in the early 90's..."


Tavaziva Dance Company

'Soul Inspired': Louise Bennett

"This is a well balanced programme devised and performed by extremely talented people. The choreographer and dancers show energy, fervour, and the ability to develop while staying artistically and creatively true."


Union Dance

'Sensing Change': Ann Williams

"Overall, an enjoyable evening in a beautiful theatre, and worth it if only for the joyous energy and commitment of Union Dancers' performers."


Vincent Dance Theatre

'Broken Chords': Ann Williams

"Broken Chords' is hilarious and sad all at once... awitty, occasionally moving and thoroughly entertaining fusion of dance and theatre."


Yamato Drummers

'Kami-Nari (Thunder)': John Mallinson

"This is a spectacular and joyous event, and the high spirits of the performers are difficult to resist. Perfect for the winter blues."


Japan Reviews

K Ballet

'The Sleeping Beauty': Satoko Kamatani

"There were five former principals of the Royal Ballet this night, Sir Anthony Dowell,Viviana Durante,Tetsuya Kumakawa, Stuart Cassidy and Errol Pickford. So gorgeous and bonds of Royal family, I was happy as one of the audience to see such a fantastic show and fate of encounter."

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Postings Reviews section
Kirov Ballet 'Ondine' bill: Kevin Ng
Stuttgart Ballet 'Affi': Angela
Royal Ballet 'Romeo and Juliet': Bruce Marriott
Royal Ballet 'Romeo and Juliet': Anneliese Handley
Royal Ballet 'Romeo and Juliet': Paul N
Royal Ballet 'First Drafts': DaveM
Birmingham Royal Ballet 'The Seasons' bill: Janet McNulty
Birmingham Royal Ballet 'Carmina Burana' bill: na na

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External Review Links
Each day Ballet.co scour the world for Review links (and news and interviews ones too) and put them in our database along with our own reviews. You can see the last few days' links on the:
TodaysLinks page

In the period from 1 Mar to 31 March (last update of this page) we have 327 links for you.

Alternatively try searching for exactly what you are after with our: Reviews Advanced Search page

All our links list dancer details, a full list of pieces performed and a brief quote that gives the flavour of the review. Sadly not all papers maintain their links and so we cannot absolutely guarantee any particular URL. Enjoy, and if you think we have missed a review do send us a link.

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Photographic Copyright and Credits

All photographs are copyright and cannot be taken and/or used elsewhere. Click on an image to be taken to the associated page where appropriate credits are stated.

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