Melia Kraus-har - Page 2

Dee Perry's narration required the dancers to move beyond the rhythm of the music (an original score by Jeremy Allen) in relationship to her voice. Wade took his audience into consideration, intending for the reactions of children to fill quiet places in the score. In this work, everyone participated - the audience a necessary collaborator in this read-aloud.

In a first experience observing the company, overall they were most effective as turners rather than jumpers, with masterful articulation of their legs and torsos. Story ballets provide an opportunity to maximize each company member (several taking on multiple roles). With the moderate size of the company, a clear camaraderie propelled the partnering.

Nashville Ballet dancers took to the aisles of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Polk Theater for Lizzie Borden with The Raven, Thursday, October 26th. Principal dancer Christopher Stuart's interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe's seminal work led the evening, sharing an ominous closing motif with Artistic Director Paul Vasterling's rendition of Lizzie Borden's complicated life.

'We're the lucky ones,' said Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) CEO Nicholas Ade as he introduced the company's 60th Anniversary Celebration at the Sunoco Theater in the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg on June 25th, 2016. Ade acknowledged the tremendous accomplishment in sustaining a dance institution at such a high level in tribute to Founding Artistic Director Marcia Dale Weary and the company's national profile.

Corella's recent directive choices brought levity; Laura Bowman took her final bow and the program noted other retirements. Whatever the climate, Corella's choices substantially elevated the company's performance profile especially since their June 2014 performances, and even since the fall 2015 season.

With over fifty presenters, conference attendees engaged in a vibrant discourse on ballet structure, technique(s), and form; race; gender; and, sustainability at New York University's Center for Ballet and the Arts and Barnard College, Columbia University.

American Ballet Theatre's 75th anniversary spring season honored the legacy of the company's seasoned dancers and showcased its younger ranks. Mixed bills displaying a range of classic and neo-classic roles segued into ABT's strongest realm: the story ballet. Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie offered his artists as heroes and heroines. From 'Othello' to 'Giselle' to 'La Bayadere' to Ratmansky's 'The Sleeping Beauty' to Monday, June 15th's 'Romeo and Juliet' at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House, his dancers remained in a stratosphere of romanticism.

Hear the Dance:Russia, covered forty years of Balanchine accompanied by Stravinsky's music from his Apollo, created in 1928 for Diaghilev's Ballet Russes, to 1957's Agon, to two works from 1972, Duo Concertant and Symphony in Three Movements. In Balanchine's temple on Lincoln Center's campus, his choreography plagued the dancers with drops, trips, and slips.

In addition to being an incredible highlight of YAGP's work, what other night can one see the best of the best and the best to be on one stage? From quivering port de bras of an eager eleven year old to the stoic grace of Paloma Herrera, YAGP proudly endorsed its place in supporting generations of premier artists.

Known for his contemporary, abstract choreography, Wheeldon's recent projects ventured towards epic storytelling, as with Cinderella, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and The Winter's Tale. Besides an exuberant audience, what came to mind on Wednesday, April 15th at the Palace Theatre, were current New York City Ballet principal dancer Robert Fairchild's conjuring of Kelly's ghost and Royal Ballet dancer Leanne Cope's delicate emotional tension, yet no-holds barred physicality.

Both Erhlich and Armitage's welcoming remarks suggested ambivalence with the scope of this work; Erhlich even said, "we'll just see", and so the evening began. Combined with movement in a setting designated for tactile education, On the Nature of Things depicted a frenetic doom.

Sunday, January 18th, BAM Howard Gilman Opera House swelled with anticipation for Mariinsky Ballet in Alexei Ratmansky's Cinderella, conducted by Valery Gergiev. In Ratmansky's hands, the tale occurred in the Russia of the 1930's and in the manner of Mikhail Zoshchenko's satirical, to-the-point storytelling.

Shouts and sighs intermittently filled The Peter Jay Sharp Theater on Sunday, December 14th in response to Juilliard Dance Division's New Dances: Edition 2014. Choreographers Austin McCormack and Loni Landon (both Juilliard Alumni), Kate Weare and man about town Larry Keigwin each presented a work on each class of students. The Juilliard family represented alumni, teachers, and choreographers from several decades filled the house.

Anna's Americana by the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble on December 4th provided a glimpse into Anna Sokolow's investigation of the human condition in the intimate space of The Theater at the 14th Street Y. Alan Danielson's Are We There Yet (2000) accompanied three works by Sokolow, Preludes (1984), Homage to Edgar Allan Poe (1993), and Frida (1997). Directed by longtime Sokolow dancer and Bessie recipient Jim May, the program underscored the focus of Sokolow's voice through the decades of her work.

Jessica Lang Dance premiered The Wanderer at BAM Fisher in a wintery diorama that showcased Artistic Director and Choreographer Jessica Lang's comprehensive design. Starting a few minutes late on Friday, December 5th allowed time to observe the stage. Five white trees made of coiled rope hung from the ceiling, four white ledges protruded from one wall, a white ladder dangled in the balcony, and a white marley floor tracked a U-shape filled with black marley. In this minimalist scape, Lang's dancers morphed from beings to elements of nature with Schubert's libretto (The Fair Maid of the Mill).

Mikhailovsky Ballet paid homage to universal struggles for justice in their opening performance of The Flames of Paris at the Koch Theater, Friday, November 15th. Originally created to mark the 15th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, The Flames of Paris as a narrative succeeded because it appealed to the people (any people group experiencing the desperate, unifying force of oppression) while paralleling the arch of a traditional story ballet.

No ghouls or ghosts in Program C at John Ryan Theater in the annual Wave Rising Series, although the three piece program had its share of tricks, treats, and characters. Deviated Theatre's The Short Forever presented aerialists in its dance opera; The People Movers Not So Shiny bicycle jaunt dwelt on the meaning of success; and White Wave Young Soon Kim Dance Company's Eternal NOW excerpts put the dancers through a virtuosic obstacle course.

At long last, Benjamin Millipied's L.A. Dance Project premiered in New York City (his home among other creative homes) at BAM. The success of the October 17th program seemed to surprise the dancers themselves--sheepishly continuing to bow upon the audience's insistence.

Tuesday, October 14th, marked the midway point of New York City Center's Fall for Dance and represented companies from three continents: South Africa's Vuyani Dance Theatre in a spiritual meditation, Sara Mearns and Company in full Broadway fanfare, Trisha Brown Dance Company's reconstruction of Son of Gone Fishin', and, National Ballet of China in a 16th century tale.

New York City Center's October 10th Fall for Dance program smartly suited up with Lucinda Childs' Concerto and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (which indirectly featured Sara Mearns of New York City Ballet) in Ohad Naharin's Minus 16. Sandwiched between those uplifting works were William Forsythe's U.S. premiere of Neue Suite by Semperoper Ballett Dresden and a hip hop duet with Sebastien Ramirez and Honji Wang. Traditionally, the span of each Fall for Dance program granted City Center an edge in the battle for audiences in dance's busiest season. This night was no different.