DANCE THEATER REVIEWS

I have not been to a ballet since I took my daughter to a performance of The Nutcracker some thirty years ago, so it was with some trepidation that I accepted the assignment to review the Festival Ballet's performance of THE WIDOW'S BROOM, based on the story by Chris van Allsburg. I was afraid I wou...

Exploring the connectedness of everything - BACKBONE, presented by Red Sky Performance in association with Canadian Stage, is a stimulating exhibition of dance....

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 A...

What do you do, when you find yourself with a ballet artist who can seemingly levitate at will? A lithe male body that floats and leaps with such an airy insouciance it seems almost unfair he has to come back to earth? Answer: you seek out an equally lithe, supple prima ballerina whose talents match...

The 'new' Cleveland Ballet, under the artistic leadership of Puerto Rico-born Gladisa Guadalupe, a former member of the 'old' Cleveland Ballet, the Dennis Nahat-led company which left CLE for San Jose, California, has been officially named the Resident Ballet Company of Playhouse Square....

The Red Shoes is almost more big-budget Broadway musical than ballet. With a sweeping score, dramatic narrative, and lavish production values, Matthew Bourne's production does nothing by halves....

The evening of Thursday, October 5, 2017 was an All Balanchine program of the New York City Ballet. At the Koch Theater, the repertoire consisted of Square Dance, La Valse, and Cortege Hongrois. These three dances featured just a small range of the choreography that its founder, George Balanchine, c...

Peter Martins' production of the full-length 'Swan Lake' has always been something of a curiosity to me. So many associate the ballet with intense dramatic overtones, or, in New York City Ballet's one act Balanchine version, with poetic musings, that when we see this version we are puzzled. Yes, the...

Houston has had its share of drama in the last few short weeks, and the city's downtown theater venues are reeling from the blow....

Ana s: A Dance Opera is a multimedia collaberation featuring the life story of writer, intellectual, and provocateur, Ana s Nin....

Lady in the StormThis week sees the closing of Kentucky Shakespeare's 57th season of free, continuous, outdoor Shakespeare productions, making it the oldest company of its kind in the country. To mark the second and final Community Partner Week, they are teaming up with the Louisville Ballet, one of...

A few years ago I bought a recording of Schlagobers, which had been written by the venerable Richard Strauss for the Vienna State Opera Ballet in 1924. I had a difficult time listening to the music-it didn't gel, nor did it leave any imprint on my mind. I suppose there was a reason for it not having...

The theme will get under your skin. With some of the most beautiful music ballet has to offer, SWAN LAKE is sure to capture your heart. The National Ballet of Canada is celebrating the 140th anniversary of Tchaikovsky's most iconic ballet with their dark, brooding production designed by Santo Loquas...

No one yells 'Stella!' at the ballet - because they don't have to. John Neumeier's A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, inspired by the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Tennessee Williams, had its National Ballet of Canada premiere on June 3, 2017. The ballet dives deeper into Blanche DuBois' psyche, examining t...

The Nashville Ballet has a special way of producing unique works you've never seen before. EMERGENCE is its yearly production that opens viewers eyes to the creative process, offering an "artistic experiment" unlike any other, and the 2017 production is no exception....

The Houston Ballet brings one of the most theatrical of the Bard's plays to life in a lavish production by choreographer David Bintley. No expense was spared; no stop un-pulled in this story of love, revenge, magic, and complicated skullduggery that this play provides in abundance. Or maybe overabun...

Pride. Greed. Envy. Sloth. Gluttony. Lust. Wrath. Collectively, they are the seven deadly sins - the cardinal sins, the antitheses of the seven virtues. Creatively, they are the inspiration for choreographer Christopher Stuart's most recent work, 7 Deadly Sins featuring music by the Nashville-based ...

Few things are as exhilarating as bodies being flung into the air without crash mats. This is what you expect when you hear the word 'circus', but THE RETURN by Circa is much more than lifts and flips. Presented by Canadian Stage as the last show in their Spotlight Australia series, THE RETURN doesn...

From fascination to fear, Canadian Stage's MEETING and ENDINGS are a rollercoaster ride of insight into the human condition. The two works are part of Canadian Stage's Spotlight Australia, a six-week showcase of cross-disciplinary performance running until May 7 and featuring the works of acclaimed ...

Detroit welcomed Julianne Hough and Derek Hough's Move - Beyond - Live On Tour to the Fox Theatre on April 23rd to a sold out crowd and the superstar dance duo put on quite the show! The Hough siblings and their troupe of dancers performed a non-stop, high-energy dance show with some special surpris...

BWW Review: Shanghai Ballet Bings SWAN LAKE Back to Melbourne at Regent Theatre...

Ballet is always beautiful, but too often it also feels inaccessible and outdated. With Ballet Across America, The Kennedy Center banishes these concerns with a program full of relevance and joy. Misty Copeland has brought together three diverse companies who differ in style but share an impressiv...

Great Ballet from Les Bois Junior Balley...

Having been a fan of Scottish Ballet on previous trips to Scotland, seeing them last about eight years ago, I was curious to know how the company had evolved. Then it seemed to be a company in search of itself, some Balanchine, some Massine, some original works. Nothing memorable; on the other hand,...

If you've ever dreamed of seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda collaborate with Daft Punk, Pointless Theatre's .d0t:: A ROTOPLASTIC BALLET may be the closest you'll get. Heavily inspired by Italian futurist artist Fortunato Depero, the show incorporates masterful puppetry, visuals like a pop-up book brought to...