John Cranko News

On the heels of a critically acclaimed tour to London, Boston Ballet returns home to kick off the 50th season with Night of Stars on Boston Common, a massive free performance for the greater Boston community. Admirals Bank is the Presenting Sponsor for this sensational one-night-only event taking place on Saturday, September 21 at 7:00pm.

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, the innovative contemporary dance company from the American West led by Artistic Director Tom Mossbrucker and Executive Director Jean-Philippe Malaty, returns to the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Street, for one performance only Saturday, October 5 at 7:30 pm.

From September 19-29, 2013, Houston Ballet presents Ronald Hynd's comic and enchanting The Merry Widow. Adapted from Franz Lehar's beloved operetta, the internationally-admired British choreographer Ronald Hynd adds a new layer of lavish spectacle and choreography to the original story of The Merry Widow to create an irresistibly charming and intoxicating tale of high jinks, finance, romance, and intrigue. The production features magnificent scenery and costumes by Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno. The company will give seven performances at Wortham Theater Center in downtown Houston. Tickets start at $19, and may be purchased at www.houstonballet.org or by calling 713 227 ARTS (2787).

From September 19-29, 2013, Houston Ballet presents Ronald Hynd's comic and enchanting The Merry Widow.Adapted from Franz Lehar's beloved operetta, the internationally-admired British choreographer Ronald Hynd adds a new layer of lavish spectacle and choreography to the original story of The Merry Widow to create an irresistibly charming and intoxicating tale of high jinks, finance, romance, and intrigue. The production features magnificent scenery and costumes by Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno. The company will give seven performances at Wortham Theater Center in downtown Houston. Tickets start at $19, and may be purchased at www.houstonballet.org or by calling 713 227 ARTS (2787).

Curtains up! AIR TWYLA propels Pacific Northwest Ballet into its new season with a trio of works by its first artist-in-residence, renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp. The program includes the world premiere of Waiting at the Station with a commissioned score by New Orleans music legend Allen Toussaint. Sharing the program with Waiting at the Station are the Scottish-inspired Brief Fling (a PNB premiere) and Tharp's homage to Ol' Blue Eyes and ballroom dance, the unforgettable Nine Sinatra Songs. AIR TWYLA runs for only seven performances, September 27 – October 6 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $28 and may be purchased by calling 206.441.2424, online at pnb.org, or in person at the PNB Box Office at 301 Mercer Street. AIR TWYLA is made possible through the generous support of presenting sponsor The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Smuin Ballet will kick off its 20th Anniversary Season in San Francisco this October with its XXtremesFall Program, featuring a lineup of stunning works that showcase the range and versatility of the lauded Smuin dancers. In XXtremes, Northern California audiences get their first look at Ji?i Kylian's acclaimed Return to a Strange Land, set to four heart-rending pieces for solo piano by Czech composer Leoš Jana?ek. Smuin also brings back by popular demand the enchanting ballet Dear Miss Cline, a buoyant and colorful romp set to the music of Patsy Cline by Choreographer in Residence Amy Seiwert, and Carmina Burana, one of Michael Smuin's most lauded works, set to Carl Orff's 1937 dramatic cantata of the same title. The XXtremes Fall Program plays October 4-12 at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. Single tickets ($25-$72) and 20th Anniversary Season subscriptions ($120-$174) are available at www.smuinballet.org or by calling (415) 912-1899.

On a rainy August day I curled up on the couch with BBC's recently released and re-mastered television broadcast of John Cranko's The Lady and the Fool and Pineapple Poll. Accustomed to contemporary ballet sensibilities, I was a bit skeptical of the black and white recording of these two 1959 performances, yet, as the comic ballets unfolded on my television screen, I slowly fell in love with the character dance and theatricality that are highly reminiscent of an old fashioned musical comedy.

Company C Contemporary Ballet founder and Artistic Director Charles Anderson has announced details of the Company's 2014 season of two programs plus a benefit gala in San Francisco and Walnut Creek with performances January 30 through May 11, 2014, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and ODC Theater in San Francisco and the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. The 12th season will feature a wide range of the kinds of ballets that have set the barre high for this 14-member Bay Area Company, which will return to New York for its third season there at the Joyce Theater August 9 and 10. Theatricality, precision technique, bravura performance, wit and a flair for the off-beat and innovative will be embodied in world premieres by Anderson, Susan Jaffe, Maurice Causey and Charles Moulton, as well as in the return of repertory favorites by Anderson, Patrick Corbin, Alexandre Proia, Charles Moulton and Yuri Zhukov. The complete 2014 season schedule may be found below. For more details about Company C and the 2014 season, visitwww.companycballet.org.

Devon Carney, Associate Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Ballet, and Yves de Bouteiller, former principal dancer of the Milwaukee Ballet and Ballet du Nord, will be on the faculty for the Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet's Summer Intensive beginning today, July 22, and running through July 26 in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Smuin Ballet will kick off its 20th Anniversary Season October 4-12 at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts with its XXtremes Fall Program. The lineup features Northern California's first look at Jiri Kylian's acclaimed Return to a Strange Land, set to four heart-rending pieces for solo piano by Czech composer Leoš Janacek. Set on six dancers, the piece combines elegant classical ballet and swiftly-changing geometric poses in a meditation on loss, healing, and hope, created as a tribute to Kylian's mentor John Cranko. Smuin also brings back by popular demand the enchanting ballet Dear Miss Cline, a buoyant and colorful romp set to the music of Patsy Cline by Choreographer in Residence Amy Seiwert. Featuring ten Nashville tunes including 'Walkin' After Midnight,' 'Come On In,' 'Triangle,' 'There He Goes,' 'Pick Me Up On Your Way Down,' and more, this high spirited and sentimental hit charms audiences with a rollicking trip through Cline's country canon. The program will also include one of Michael Smuin's most lauded works, Carmina Burana. Set to Carl Orff's 1937 dramatic cantata of the same title, this iconic work from Smuin Ballet's founder sets the heart soaring with a boisterous production that celebrates life, lust, and joy - and mourns the cruelty of fate.

David MacGillivray, DOM AP, (www.davidmacg.com), spent more than 20 years as a ballet dancer and Broadway performer. He appeared with the National Ballet of Canada and in the original production of Susan Stroman's Contact, performing with the musical throughout its entire three year run.

Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch has announced the company's 2013-2014 season. Eight new works enter Houston Ballet's repertoire, including world premieres by James Kudelka, Garrett Smith and Melissa Hough in September 2013; the North American premiere of David Bintley's Aladdin in February 2014; company premieres of Jiri Kylian's Sechs Tanze, Christopher Bruce's Intimate Pages and Stanton Welch's Of Blessed Memory as well as a world premiere A Young Person's Guide to Orchestra by Mr. Welch in March 2014.

The Bolshoi's production of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet is, in the words of Rodgers and Hammerstein, 'A Puzzlement.' Big, sprawling, clashing swords, crying on the floor, it just fails to come to life.

John Cranko's Onegin was recently presented by American Ballet Theatre. As I expected, the reviews weren't great. It seems Cranko never commands much respect over here. The reviews all describe the work in the same way: empty, boring, sleep-inducing. But I don't agree. Sure, the ballet could be shortened, but aren't there many ballets like that. One thing it does offer: wonderful acting parts for dancers.

Boston Ballet brings the spring season to a triumphant close with George Balanchine's jubilant classic, Coppélia. Brimming with delightful characters and intricate choreography, Coppélia is a captivating full-length story ballet that will charm both young and old. The production runs from May 16-26, 2013 at The Boston Opera House.

CEO of the Cape Town International Ballet Competition (CTIBC), Dirk Badenhorst, has announced that the fourth CTIBC takes place from 17 to 23 February 2014 at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town.

Devon Carney, Associate Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Ballet, and Yves de Bouteiller, former principal dancer of the Milwaukee Ballet and Ballet du Nord, will be on the faculty for the Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet's Summer Intensive from July 22-26, 2013 in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen today announced the programming for an exciting 2013-2014 season. The Company will commence its 50 year celebration this July with a tour to London, England where they will perform at the London Coliseum. In a sweeping gesture of gratitude to its home city, Boston Ballet will present the first-ever Night of Stars gala on Boston Common - a free performance for the greater-Boston community. Programming includes an astounding range of works, featuring stunning classics La Bayadere and Cinderella, two cutting-edge repertory programs containing American and world premieres, and Balanchine's masterpiece, Jewels. Bringing the season to a triumphant close, Boston Ballet will tour to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and end with performances at the Koch Theater in New York City's Lincoln Center.

The Juilliard School has announced that from April 28th to May 4th, 2013 its Dance Division will be taking part in the second Assemblee Internationale (AI13), to be held in Toronto, Canada. Hosted by Canada's National Ballet School (NBS), the AI13 will bring together students and artistic staff from eighteen international professional ballet schools for seven days of intensive classes, performances, forums, and professional development.