Current Ballet.co Magazine
May 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 June.

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

Previous Ballet.co magazine - April 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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Competition


Win Free Tickets to see Norwegian National Ballet in the UK this June in our easy to enter competition

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Interviews




Miguel Angel Zotto
Miguel Angel Zotto of Tango Por Dos took time from his busy schedule in Italy last month to talk to Carole Edrich about his up and coming London shows...


Madame Galina
aka Iestyn Edwards
Jane Simpson catches up with Madame Galina, one of the greatest of Russian ballerinas and our newest Weblog writer...



Lesley Koenig
SFB General Manager
General Manager's are the often unsung hero's of great companies - Renee Renouf caught up with SFB's unsung hero last summer...

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Diaries and weblogs


Jatkko Lehmus weblog...
the Scottish Ballet dancer who tells it like no other. The first entry this month is called: 'A Shocked Prostitute Bitches About Whores'
+ two other entries:
Praise The Lordi!, The Bells! The Bells!
(weblog home)



Madame Galina...
Madame Galina on the new Sleeping Beauty and touring Afghanistan. Be very worried. (Weblog Home)

Also see Madame Galina interview.



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 are nearing the end of tour and studies - the relief is palpable...
(Weblog Home)

Other regular weblog writers
(but not writing in the last month):
Carole Edrich
Christopher Hampson
Peter Quanz
Jessica Wright

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Features


‘The Royal Ballet: 75 Years’
Zoe Anderson's new book reviewed by Jane Pritchard, Curator of Dance at London's Theatre Museum



Fonteyn and Nureyev DVD
'The Perfect Partnership'
Anjuli Bai looks at the recently reissued documentary from 1991 about the greatest of dance couples


Kirov DVD
'The Stone Flower'
Grigorovich created The Stone Flower for the Kirov in 1957 to Prokoviev’s last ballet score... interesting ingredients but is it a good ballet and DVD - Anne Marriott presses play...

Ballet Chronicles...
Updated earlier this year, Bob Kimber introduces his wonderful resource of a book that covers what the Royal Ballet companies danced and when...


So, You Want to Learn to Dance?
Another in the series from Anjuli Bai:
When to Consider Changing Teachers...



'Dance A Duet'
A call to arms for those who make dance - go live, go one piano, go two pianists and great rep... by Anne Applin & Geoffrey Pratley

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Royal Ballet Interviews

More Ballet Association Guest interviews...
Note that some of these are from last year as the association (and Ballet.co) catch up with themselves.



Federico Bonelli
Royal Ballet Principal



Lauren Cuthbertson
Royal Ballet Soloist


Hikaru Kobayashi
and Kenta Kura
RB First Artists

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In the Galleries

Currently our Images Gallery contains approximately 2200 images.

John Ross Photographs
Albums added in May 2006...


Royal Ballet - Sleeping Beauty
Cojocaru/Kobborg
London, Covent Garden


Royal Ballet - Sleeping Beauty
Marquez/Pennefather
London, Covent Garden


In Good Company
ROH Linbury - May 2006
London, Covent Garden


Rambert - Bloom
Sadler's Wells - May 2006


Tango Por Dos - La Historia
Peacock - May 2006

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Reviews

USA Reviews

American Ballet Theatre

'Le Corsaire': Eric Taub

"American Ballet Theatre has honed its production of Le Corsaire into a reliable applause machine that's also a bit of a guilty pleasure..."

'Sylvia': Anjuli Bai

"'And a fine evening was had by all' very well sums up the performance."

'Sylvia': art076

"The musicality, effortlessness and charm of the Royal Ballet production's dancing was entirely missing - it looked like steps here, and didn't come organically at all. Many of the dancers were stiff in the upper body, and the quick turns and light jumps did not come naturally."


New York City Ballet

'Evenfall' bill: Eric Taub

" Evenfall: "Assuming Wheeldon wasn't reworking Le Spectre de la Rose, what's going on here? I can only think of two depressing possibilities. Either Wheeldon has been watching too many Woody Allen movies, and thought it would be interesting to remake Ballet Imperial as if the lead couple were in the midst of a divorce, or Woetzel is supposed to represent Bartók, and Weese his wife, Ditta, because Bartók died before finishing the concerto, and so, well, you get the idea..."

'Liebeslieder Walzer' bill: Eric Taub

"I'd been looking forward eagerly to New York City Ballet's All-Brahms program last Tuesday, which was also all-Balanchine, and all-sublime..."

'The Unanswered Question' bill: Eric Taub

"New York City Ballet's program devoted entirely to the works of Eliot Feld was, for me, an exercise in nostalgia and regret..."

'A Midsummer Night's Dream': Eric Taub

"As City Ballet continues its rebuilding season, this performance was filled with debuts, mostly auspicious ones. Foremost among these was Andrew Veyette..."

'A Midsummer Night's Dream': Eric Taub

"I'll bid adieu to Midsummer with the obligatory, yet always well-deserved, words of praise for Garielle Whittle's training of the very young students who enliven Balanchine's Dream as dancing bugs and beetles. Yes, kids are cute and charming, but these can really dance..."


San Francisco Ballet

'Farewell Celebration': Renee Renouf

"...Possokhov began to kick the balloons and then embraced both Brandenhoff and Legate as the curtain finally fell on three brilliant careers with San Francisco Ballet."

'Sylvia': Renee Renouf

"With the music still singing in my head, it is Morris' ultimate feel- good ballet with one or two of his usual unusual touches..."


San Francisco Ballet School

'Konservatoriet' bill: Renee Renouf

"To be able to place thirty-one young males on a student ballet stage in San Francisco 74 years after Adolph Bolm started the San Francisco Opera Ballet School is testimony to a benchmark in American taste and awareness. When five such advanced students are Asians it also speaks to yet another testimony in this U.S. Pacific gateway..."


Hubbard Street

'Strokes Through The Tail' bill: Renee Renouf

"Summing up, critic Rita Felciano was quite apt when she described Hubbard Street Dance Theater as a company in search of a choreographer. With such wonderful dancers I hope it finds one."


Margaret Jenkins Dance Company

'A Slipping Glimpse': Renee Renouf

"Because this is Jenkins' best work to date I wanted to shout, “More of this quality, more, more.”"


Danish Reviews

Royal Danish Ballet

'Extravaganza': Gunild Pak Symes

"...the whole evening would have been lost, if not for the exceptional performance of the Royal Danish Ballet dancers in the final work brilliantly crafted by Preljocaj, La Stravaganza, originally created for the New York City Ballet in 1997 and remains more than worthy of critical acclaim today."


Hong Kong Reviews

City Contemporary Dance Company

'Feng Shui': Natasha Rogai

" Feng: "The dancing was excellent, Xing Liang being especially oustanding. I hope this will remain in the repertoire."


UK Reviews

Royal Ballet

'Sleeping Beauty': Jeffery Taylor

"The result is a triumph of good taste, a perfect setting for the best of British dancing with the melting lyrical softness and sharp technique established as Royal Ballet trademarks..."

'Sleeping Beauty': Jane Simpson

"Even the audience had first night nerves on Monday, when the Royal Ballet showed for the first time its latest attempt at getting Sleeping Beauty right; everybody knew that this must be the last opportunity for many years to come, and that good or bad, we'd have to live with it. Sighs of relief at the end: it's not perfect, but the good outweighs the bad and a certain amount of tinkering could tip the balance even further."

'Sleeping Beauty': Wulff

"And so the evening ended to huge applause and it seems that the RB have a success on their hands. But I do wish they'd do something about Act II."

'Sleeping Beauty': Wulff

"I have seen both of this couple's performances and I have to say that Tamara is certainly a lady for turning. Nevertheless, remarkable though this facility may be, it is not always used to the best artistic effect, and this is something that goes for several others of the RB's female dancers..."

'Sleeping Beauty': Ian Palmer

"The orchestra, under Valery Ovsyanikov, played the score as if revealing it for the first time - it was so symphonic, so luscious in texture, but..."

'In Good Company': Bruce Marriott

" Despite: "Another fractured relationship piece but Scarlett lost me for much of it (as he learns his trade), though in the last 2 minutes it really hit its MacMillanesque mark in an explosive pdd and an effective ending."

'In Good Company': na na

"...no matter how many accolades are thrown at Liam Scarlett – these are somewhat inconsequential if he doesn't have guidance."

'Insight Evening': Celine Tan

"...an extremely enjoyable and fruitful evening. as a newcomer myself too, I felt that I gained a lot more indepth knowledge in the works for the Mixed Bill. It was informal and there was a warmth atmosphere."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section

Birmingham Royal Ballet

'Pulcinella' bill: Jeffery Taylor

" Pulcinella: "Nothing disguises Brandstrup's namby pamby whimsy masquerading as sensitive musicality."

'Pulcinella' bill: Bruce Marriott

"Overall an interesting bill and worth seeing for the two older pieces alone. With tweaking the night could be a stunner I suspect."

'Pulcinella' bill: Terry Amos

"Even as a child I hated Punch and Judy so it was never likely that I would be a big fan of Pulcinella. I felt the story, such as it is, was not made very clear but, on the other hand, I did find some of the choreography interesting and enjoyable..."

'Pulcinella' bill: Janet McNulty

"I found this to be an enjoyable and well-balanced programme and very much enjoyed both the performances I saw."

'Pulcinella' bill: na na

"Pulcinella. I'm wondering if anyone remembers James Kudelka's Le Baiser de la Fee back in 1996? Well, in a nutshell it had some nice moments in it, some nice dancing, dark lighting, Stravinsky's score and went on a little bit too long. It also left me feeling a little confused about the storyline. Pulcinella had a similar vibe to it..."

'In Good Company': Bruce Marriott

" Conversations: "A good workshop piece but not one to impress at this level."

'In Good Company': na na

"I wish all of the choreographers would stop being so safe. I felt Holder could have pushed himself further."

'La Fille Mal Gardee': Janet McNulty

"Over the four performances I saw 3 casts and they were all terrific..."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section

Australian Ballet

'In Good Company': Bruce Marriott

"The seriously excellent Unspoken Dialogues featured the veteran Steven Heathcote and Annabel Bronner Reid, dancing to some fractured Schnittke, as the proverbial couple having relationship difficulties."

'In Good Company': na na

"the most accomplished of the works with Stephen Baynes' Unspoken Dialogues. Beautifully danced both Annabel Bronner Reid and Stephen Heathcote, who totally lived every move – truly lovely to watch."


National Ballet of Canada

'In Good Company': Bruce Marriott

" No breaking of new ground but competent and confident modern work that I enjoyed."

'In Good Company': na na

" C.V. "I went to see this show on Sunday (2 nights ago) and am already struggling to remember much about his piece."


English National Ballet

'The Canterville Ghost': Bruce Marriott

"A ghostly romantic comedy rippling with social comment and Englishness - a show that delivers on its promise of being entertainment for the whole family. Congrats, ENB."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section

Rambert Dance Company

'Pond Way' bill: Jeffery Taylor

"The evening then took a near fatal nose dive with Pond Way by American Merce Cunningham, the intelligentsia's guru who for many years has convinced the unwary that there is a university degree in the random, the meaningless and the formless."

'Pond Way' bill: Graham Watts

" Pond Way: "It's pure brilliance in the art of making dance, performed extraordinarily well by a company that clearly reveres the master's work, since Rambert now has eight Cunningham pieces in its repertory."

'Pond Way' bill: John Mallinson

"For the first of their visits to London in 2006 they brought three works. Least effective, but enjoyable, was bloom, a new piece by the theatre and dance choreographer Aletta Collins..."


Northern Ballet Theatre

'Madame Butterfly and I Got Rhythm': Jeffery Taylor

"Nixon's fusion of classical and contemporary dance styles is courageous, intensely stylish and when performed by the exquisite Amemori partnered by a chunk of delighted enthusiasm called David Kierce, very sexy indeed."

'I Got Rhythm': Charlotte Kasner

"The evening was enjoyable but just not to the extent that we have come to expect from this Company."

'Madame Butterfly': Graham Watts

"It is certainly to be kept and cherished but more so for some sparkling dancing jewels, not least of which is a wonderful end solo where the mood swings gloriously from Puccini to the traditional Japanese music that accompanies Butterfly's doleful dance of death."

more reviews in Postings Reviews section

Paco Pena

'A Compas': Jeffery Taylor

"...delivers one of the most sensational nights of dance I have ever encountered."


Tango por dos

'La Historia': Carole Edrich

"Don't get turned off by reviews that sound like adverts, clichés are clichés because sometimes they're true. Go and see it for yourself."


Siobhan Davies Dance Company

'In Plain Clothes': Ian Palmer

"...it is dance which is chameleon-like, open to myriad perceptions."


State Ballet Of Turkey

'35 Degrees East': Ian Palmer

"...welcome indeed to this company for (in spite of reservations there may be about the quality of the repertoire) they bring conviction, charm, raw spirit to the dance, ever-smiling they reach into you like a burst of creative energy."


Henri Oguike Dance Company

'Concerto for Double String Orchestra' bill: Lynette Halewood

"Oguike has gathered a strong and expressive group of dancers who serve his choreography very well. They all come across very clearly as individuals with different and complementary qualities. I look forward to seeing them again."


Les Ballets C de la B

'VSPRS': Charlotte Kasner

"The final half an hour became like a form of torture for the audience and performers and they jerked, twitched, hyperventilated and babbled their way to the merciful release of the curtain."

'VSPRS': Graham Watts

"I can't say that I enjoyed 'VSPRS' because that would be the wrong description but my concentration was rarely distracted in an uniterrupted 100 minutes of performance."


CandoCo

'The Journey' bill: Charlotte Kasner

"This is dangerous dancing; sharp, often startling and always riveting."


Bare Bones

'The 5 Man Show': Mandy Kent

" ...And Then Gone: "Pita certainly reaches the parts that other choreographers fail to reach."


Ballet Central

'Giselle Pas de Six' bill: Bruce Marriott

"The best of the night seem to be claimed by the classicists with sparkling dancing in the Giselle Pas de Six, Le Corsaire Pas de Trois and St Paul's Suite by Michael Corder."


Eddie Ladd

'Sawn-Off Scarface' bill: John Mallinson

"This was an engrossing evening and one hopes that Eddie Ladd will be persuaded to cross the border more often."


Probe

'Soledad' bill: Ann Williams

"The opener to the bill (60 mins without an interval) Rafael Bonachela's 'Soledad' to music by Piazolla and Chavela Vargas, was by far the most outstanding item of the evening - one of the best Bonachela pieces I've seen to date."


TPO

'The Japanese Garden': Charlotte Kasner

"...The rest of the hour was devoted to repeating the return journey while the performers led selected members of the audience in limited hopping on the projection..."


London Childrens Ballet

'The Scarlet Pimpernel': Graham Watts

"David Fielding's choreography was also a triumph, especially in his ability to shape individual characters and relationships through movement and in meeting the essential need (with a young audience) to inject humour..."


Avant Garde Dance

'Breakin' Convention': Louise Bennett

"Lapsing into melancholic, slightly pretentious sections with very little dancing, it somehow became a piece of bad performance art set to music."


Birdgang

'Breakin' Convention': Ian Palmer

"...dance with a Balanchinean sensibility, their movements seeming to be a clear and pure expression of the language of the music..."


Deep Trip

'Breakin' Convention 06': Ian Palmer

"...the thrilling bravura of Old Skool break dancing bursts forth in dazzling displays of solo brilliance..."


Franck II Louise

'Breakin' Convention': Louise Bennett

"...stylish and atmospheric, and exuded professionalism while being effortlessly cool."


Frank Ejara

'Breakin' Convention': Louise Bennett

"Progressing from whooshes and slides to beeps and drums, the sounds were a nice gimmick but became tedious after a while."


Karizma

'Breakin' Convention': Louise Bennett

"The most impressive young UK group was Karizma..."


Phase T

'Breakin' Convention': Louise Bennett

"Stylish and cool, 'Phase T' exhibited amazing partnering and lifts, while also showing some of the best breakdancing of the evening, including incredible elbow spins."


Project Soul

'Breakin' Convention': Louise Bennett

"Unquestionably, the biggest success of the night ... Astonishingly acrobatic and strong, they enticed gasps of amazement from the crowd with every trick."


Storm

'Breakin' Convention': Ian Palmer

"...presents us with movements of mesmerising lyricism, dance which seems to be rooted in the mime traditions of Commedia del'Arte..."


The Bratz

'Breakin' Convention': Ian Palmer

"...special mention must go to ... The Bratz, the very youngest hip hoppers..."


ZooNation Youth

'Breakin' Convention': Ian Palmer

"...special mention must go to Zoonation Youth..."



Postings Reviews section
Royal Ballet 'Sleeping Beauty': Jane Simpson
Royal Ballet 'Sleeping Beauty': Simonetta Dixon
Royal Ballet 'Sleeping Beauty': DaveM
Royal Ballet 'Sleeping Beauty': James
Royal Ballet 'Sleeping Beauty': Michael LL
Royal Ballet 'Sleeping Beauty': Michael LL
Royal Ballet 'Sleeping Beauty': Leonid
Royal Ballet 'La Fille Mal Gardee': John Mallinson
Royal Ballet 'La Fille Mal Gardee': John Mallinson
Royal Ballet 'La Fille Mal Gardee': Ann Williams
Royal Ballet 'La Fille Mal Gardee': Michael LL
Royal Ballet 'La Fille Mal Gardee': Jenny Taylor
Royal Ballet 'La Fille Mal Gardee': Jenny Taylor
Royal Ballet 'In Good Company': Alison Penfold
Birmingham Royal Ballet 'Pulcinella' bill: Trog
Birmingham Royal Ballet 'In Good Company': Alison Penfold
English National Ballet 'The Canterville Ghost': Bluebird
Northern Ballet Theatre 'Madame Butterfly': Janet McNulty

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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 May to 28 May (last update of this page) we have 324 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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