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SEPT 2004
in this issue
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interviews
 Here and Happening in Portland - An Interview with Kester Cotton and Kathleen Martuza of Oregon Ballet Theatre
by Francis Timlin
I had learned "Serenade"
. from Elyse Borne as well as from Sandra Jennings, so I was pretty familiar
with the piece. Francia taught very quickly -- five days for the whole
piece. There was a bit of a fear factor there; it took a couple of days
to get everyone calmed down.
read more ...
 An
Interview with Sasha Pepeljajev
by Stuart Sweeney
I
never specifically studied choreography. However, I was always interested
in movement, graphics and ideas of space as well as music, rhythm and
acting.
read more...
company focus
 
Image Gallery
Dance
Umbrella 2004
5th October - 27th November
Click here for full details
Features and Forums |
|
Dancing Queen - Interview with Val
Bourne, Artistic Director of Dance Umbrella for 25 years
By Donald Hutera
"I've had the best possible time." The words bubble up out of Val
Bourne, founder and artistic director of Dance Umbrella, as she
looks back on twenty-five years of the UK’s premier contemporary
dance festival.
read
more ...
 Dance Umbrella Birthday
Gala
by OdileGB -- September 9,
2003
On Sunday the 2003 Dance Umbrella season opened with a Gala to celebrate the Festival's 25th birthday and what a fabulous night of dance it was...
read more...
 Silver Celebration - Dance
Umbrella
by Stuart Sweeney -- October 23, 2003
The Silver Celebration had a muted first half,
but celebrated in style after the interval. First we saw "If Not
Why Not" a film of Akram Khan and the other four dancers of his
Company.
read more...
 Stephen Petronio Company -
'The Island of Misfit Toys', 'Broken Man', City of
Twist'
by Lyndsey Winship --
October 18, 2003
If you want to fill the Queen Elizabeth Hall, bring in the big
names. Choreographer Stephen Petronio guaranteed bums on seats...
read more...
 Rosas - 'Small Hands (Out of the Lie of
No)'
by Cassandra -- October 15, 2003
Choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and
Cynthia Loemij made their entrance by running through the empty
upper levels of the theatre and dashing into the performance
space
read
more...
 Teshigawara / Karas - 'Luminous'
by Cassandra -- October 11,
2003
As the title suggests Saburo Teshigawara's
"Luminous" is concerned with illumination, both visual and
perhaps also inward.
read more...
 Trisha Brown Dance Company - Two Views - 'Set
and Reset', 'Geometry of Quiet', 'Groove and
Countermove'
By Petra Tschiene and Ben Cox
This week"s performances at Sadler"s
Wells mark the 5th appearance of the Trisha Brown Dance Company
as part of Dance Umbrella...
read
more..
 Michael Clark Company - 'Oh My
Goddess'
by Rosella Simonari -- October 4,
2003
A huge sheet-like programme in a fluorescent
orange served as my introduction into Michael Clark's
underworld...
read
more...
 John Jasperse Company - 'Giant
Empty'
by Lyndsey Winship -- October
21, 2003
Plenty of people are baffled by contemporary
dance. They think it's abstruse and arty, all unfathomable
statements, twisted bodies and the odd twisted
mind.
read more...
Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion - 'Both Sitting
Duet'
by Ramsay Burt -- October 15-17, 2003
They sit down and before you realize it they are
already into the movement, reaching down, brushing the floor,
stroking their palms across the denim on their thighs ...
read more...
 Rosas - 'Once'
by Thea Nerissa Barnes --
October 18, 2003
Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker is a person who in the
passage of the dance becomes the body upon which angst and
cherished life experiences are witnessed and lived through.
read more...
 Charles Linehan Company - 'Grand Junction',
'Disintegration Loops'
by Petra Tschiene -- October 13
2003
This year Charles Linehan's contribution to Dance
Umbrella consisted of a double bill, the intense duet "Grand
Junction' and the new "Disintegration Loops.'
read
more...
 Déja Donné - 'In Bella
Copia'
by
Cassandra-- October 9,
2003
Déja Donné's programme notes for "In
Bella Copia" ended with the sentence "We will revolt...and turn
to our nakedness..." I feared the worst and got it.
read more...
 Josef Nadj - 'Le Temps Du Repli'
by Katie Phillips -- October 7,
2003
...it is both stimulating and refreshing to be
challenged by a performance practitioner with renown on the
International Mime scene...
read
more..
 Interview with Russell Maliphant
by Donald Hutera
British choreographer Russell Maliphant has been
preparing for Umbrella 2003 with his usual soft-spoken
dedication.
read more...
 Interview with Charles
Linehan
by Donald Hutera
In a studio Greig Cooke and Andreja Rauch slide,
roll, spin and drop their way through Charles Linehan's duet
'Grand Junction.'
read more...
 Interview with Stephen Petronio
by Donald Hutera
For his ninth Umbrella visit (some of which
happened when he was dancing for Trisha Brown), New York resident
Stephen Petronio is bringing three pieces ....
read more...
Dance Umbrella Birthday Gala
by Lyndsey Winship
As soon as his gangly figure walks onstage, McGregor's distinctive dance language immediately makes sense.
read more...
Breath of Light: Saburo Teshigawara /Karas in
'Luminous'
by Donald Hutera
Liquid yet cutting, the compact, shaven-headed dancer
slips between sculptural stillness and whirlwind speed with
mesmerising skill.
read more...
A Rosas is a Rosas: Anne Teresa De
Keersmaeker
by Donald Hutera
She is totally giving, and at the
same time she is super-aware of her actions in the performing
space. She owns it.
read more...
Both Talking - An Interview with
Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion
by
Donald Hutera
"We wanted to find something that we could place between us that
was neither too much Matteo nor too much me, but which could be
an arbiter of our process."
read
more...
Inside Transitions - An Interview with Richard
Siegal
of Ballett Frankfurt
by Donald Hutera
"[I've] dabbled with choreography as long as I've been
dancing."
read more...
Dance Umbrella 2003
Welcome to the CriticalDance coverage of Dance Umbrella 2003, the UK's leading
modern dance festival in this its 25th Anniversary Year.
read
more ...
Dance Umbrella 2002
Dance Umbrella starts earlier than usual this year, on 10 September, with
the Merce Cunningham Dance Company at the Barbican Theatre.
read
more ...
Dance Umbrella 2001
Dance Umbrella is delighted to launch its first Promenade Performances at
Sadler's Wells as part of this year's festival.
read
more ... |
in our forums
|
|
features
 Leonide
Massine and the 20th Century Ballet
by Leslie Norton: Gone but not forgotten
Book Review by Leland Windreich
In a year that features centennial
celebrations for George Balanchine and Frederick Ashton, Leslie Norton
pays homage to their nearly forgotten peer, Leonide Massine, in a lively
and well-researched study of his life, career and works of choreography.
read more...
Contemporary
Dance in Istanbul, Turkey
by Elif
Isikozlu
Self-defined as a contemporary dance
space, Çati values artistic exploration and research, thriving on a
constant influx and outflux of technical and artistic information.
read more...
|
Herod
Atticus Theater, Athens
12-14 September 2004
Sadler's Wells Theatre, London
20-25 September 2004
Click
here for our August Focus on SFB
 Enjoying the Intellectual Approach: Principal Dancer Muriel Maffre
by Mary Ellen Hunt
"I have a great appreciation for whatever opportunity there
is. I really fall in love with everything I'm given to dance."
read more...
Kristin Long on the growth of San Francisco Ballet
by Azlan Ezaddin
"It's the energy of this company. It's unique. It's unique
and I think it comes from Helgi and him giving the diversity of
the rep because it certainly inspires the dancers."
read more...
 Charmed
and Charming: Soloist Nutnaree Pipithsuksunt
by Mary Ellen Hunt
I feel like I have to prove myself, because people
will look at me like, 'Oh, she went straight from school and now
she's a soloist.'
read
more...
Ruben Martin, Soccer Player
by Azlan Ezaddin
"Ballet?
How can you put us in ballet? How can you do this to us?"
read
more...
Dalene Bramer: Cherishing Life as a Dancer
by Azlan Ezaddin
"I
think we have the best repertoire here. I think we have the most
diverse rep as far as doing lots of classical works and a good
amount of Balanchine."
read
more...
 San
Francisco Ballet's Martyn Garside rises through the ranks
by Mary Ellen Hunt
In a funny way, at eleven, you just think, ‘Oh it's
going to be great, going to London, to boarding school.' I guess
I didn't really realize what I was getting myself into. But I
got a bit homesick...
read more...
Ready for the Road:
Peter Butt, Technical Director of San Francisco Ballet
by Rebecca Hirschman
My grandmother was
a modern dancer in the 1920 's with Denishawn and other companies,
and my mother was a modern dancer in NY in the 60's.
read more ... |
| 
Ballet West - 'The Leaves Are Fading', 'Lilac Garden', 'Offenbach in the Underworld': Tudor Triple  Feature
by
Kate Snedeker
August 27, 28, 30, 2004 -- Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh
Christiana
Bennett was a delicate and fragile Caroline, her dancing bringing
out the emotion of Ernest Chausson's music without wavering
from the restrained choreography. Her face may have barely registered
emotion, but her body told a very different story.
read more...
 Ballet
West - 'The Leaves Are Fading', 'Lilac Garden', 'Offenbach in
the Underworld': Waves of Emotion
by Kate
Snedeker
August 29, 2004 -- Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh
Dancing
to Dvorak's tender music, Kristin Hakala and Christopher Ruud
brought a pleasing youthfulness to the main pas de deux, but
looked just a little bit hesitant with some of the trickier
partnering sequences.
read more...
|
editors' picks
Los Angeles
·
'Movin'
Out'
September 14 - October 17, 2004 - Pantages
Theatre, Hollywood
Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's musical about Vietnam era life set to over
two dozen pop songs by Joel.
· New York City Ballet Southern California
Tour - Mixed Repertory.
September 29 - October 3, Segerstrom Hall, Orange
County Performing Arts Center.
October 6 - 10, Dorothy Chandler Music Pavilion, Los
Angeles County Music Center.
New York
· Dancenow/NY
- Tenth Anniversary
September 8-18, 2004, Various locations around New York
Dancenow/NY's festival continues with Dance Theatre of Harlem at Marcus
Garvey Park, as well as Joyce SOHO and other locations.
· MOMIX - Passion
Oct 2-3, 2004, Queens
Theatre in the Park, Queens
MOMIX sets Peter Gabriel's music from "Passion" afire.
San Francisco Bay Area
· Lyon
Opera Ballet - 'Second Detail,' 'Critical Mass,' 'Symphony of Psalms'
September 25, 2004, Mondavi
Center, UC Davis
One night only, the Lyon Opera Ballet performs works by Russell Maliphant,
William Forsythe and Jiri Kylian.
· National
Ballet of Canada - 'Four Seasons,' 'There,Below,' 'Apollo'
September 30 - October 3, 2004, Cal
Performances, Berkeley
James Kudelka brings Canada's flagship ballet company to the Bay Area
for the first time in 30 years.
Philadelphia
· Shen
Wei Dance
September 16-18, 2004, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia
Shen Wei brings his blend of dance, Chinese opera, theater, painting,
and sculpture to the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center.
· Martha
Graham Dance Company
October 7-9, 2004, Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center, Philadelphia
The contemporary dance company performs some of its classic repertoire, including "Appalachian Spring."
London
· The
Place Prize
8-25 September, 2004, Robin Howard Theatre, The Place, London
The Place Prize is a choreography competition that involves commissioning
twenty UK choreographers. From these, five finalists will be selected
and, following further performances, an overall winner.
· San
Francisco Ballet
20 - 25 September, 2004, Sadler's Wells, London
San Francisco Ballet continues to push boundaries with cutting-edge
new works, while remaining committed to excellence in the classical
tradition.
The full Company of 69 dancers returns to Sadler's Wells with three
programmes.
Rome
· Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company
- "Another evening"
September 16 - 18 - Auditorium Parco della Musica
· Sidi Larbi Cherkauoui / Les Ballet C.
de la B. - "Tempus fugit"
October 7 - 10 - Teatro Argentina
·
Akram Khan / Riccardo Nova / Hanif Kureishi -
"Ma"
October 14 - 17 - Teatro Argentina
The first 3 visiting companies of the 2004
edition of Romaeuropa festival, a festival of contemporary art,
music, theatre and dance. All the performances are Italian premieres.
· Julio
Bocca & Ballet Argentino - "Machbeth,""The river,"
"Night Case"
September 21 - 26 - Teatro
Sistina
Supestar Bocca and his company are back in Italy with a neoclassical
program
· Bejart
Ballet Lausanne - "Firebird," "Casino des Esprits,"
"Brel et Barbara"
October 12 - 16 - Teatro Olimpico
Accademia
Filarmonica Romana's music and dance season opens this year with
a first class dance company.
| Coming
up...
· Dance Umbrella kicks off
· LINES Ballet's Arturo Fernandez
· Lyon Opera Ballet on tour
· More Bolshoi Ballet reviews
· More reviews
· More interviews
· More features |
|
|
reviews
Adrian Flores Presents
'The Latin Show: The Show Where Everyone Dances': Killing Them Softly
by Toba Singer
August 13, 2004 -- Hoffman Theater, Dean Lesher Regional Center for the
Arts, Walnut Creek, California
... Unfortunately, what he pulled together, in this instance,
missed the mark, and made you feel that you were living through a version
of the film "Nashville," only Latin instead of Country.
read more ...
Kirov
Ballet - 'Manon': Sologub is Manon's Jewel
by Catherine
Pawlick
August 10, 2004 -- Mariinsky Theatre, St. Peterbsburg
That Sologub hasn 't been promoted yet to principal
dancer is an inexplicable phenomenon within the Mariinsky theatre.
read more ...
San Francisco Ballet
- 'Ballo della Regina,' 'Paquita' Pas de Trois, 'The Four Temperaments,'
and 'Rush': Grooving in the  Grove
by Dean Speer
August 8, 2004 -- Stern Grove Festival, San Francisco
The
ballet really awoke for me with Amanda Schull's solo. Corps member Schull
's attack and sense of doing the ballet full-out with bravura was eye-catching.
read more ...
 Universal
Ballet - 'Romeo and Juliet': Engineering Detente
by Jeff Kuo
August 7, 2004 -- Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, California
A world of violence beckons in Oleg Vinogradov 's "Romeo
and Juliet," recently performed by the Universal Ballet of Korea
at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland.
read more
...
Peter Boal and Company
- 'Herman Schmerman,' 'Mopey,' 'Variations, Op. 30,' 'Mesmerics': Twelve
Ton Rose
by S.E. Arnold
August 4, 2004 -- Jacob's Pillow, Massachusetts
Given its somber lighting and its at once self-absorbed
and self-flagellating movement, Goecke's "Mopey "illustrates
the misery of the godforsaken.
read more ...
 Artists
of the Royal Ballet - 'An Evening of British Ballet'
by Cassandra
Jult 28-29, 2004 -- Orchard Theatre, Dartford
The audience
was a satisfying mix of local theatre-goers and London ballet fans lured
to this friendly Kent theatre by the prospect of an imaginative programme
of works organized by former RB principal Bruce Sansom.
read more...
John
Jasperse - 'just two dancers': Back to Brecht
by Rosella Simonari
July 22, 2004 -- Teatro Piccolo Arsenale, Venice
Before the actual beginning, Armitage herself appears
on stage to introduce her piece. "It is always difficult to interpret
a work", she says, "every time something is performed it looks
different."
read more ...
Karole
Armitage - 'Echoes from the Streets': Can't Escape Stereotypes
by Rosella Simonari
July 22, 2004 -- Teatro alle Tese, Venice
Before the actual beginning, Armitage herself appears on
stage to introduce her piece. "It is always difficult to interpret
a work", she says, "every time something is performed it looks
different."
read more
...
 Daimohk
Chechen Children's Dance Ensemble
by Patricia Somerset
July 19, 2004 -- Linbury Studio Theatre, London
Daimohk started this UK tour by winning a first prize at
the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, no mean achievement given the
very high standards required for this competition.
read more ...
 'Crazy
for You': Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
by Stuart Sweeney
July 8, 2004 -- Churchill Theatre, Bromley, England
The story is boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl
back, against a "let's put on a show!" backdrop. The setting
is New York and Deadrock (out West) with some fun from the clash of cultures;
and, of course, the sophisticated New Yorkers are bowled over by the simple
charm of the locals.
read more ...
Dandelion
Dancetheater - Undressed Project: 'illusive,' 'Night Marsh'
by Rebecca Hirschman
July 2, 2004 -- Jon Sims Center for the Arts, San Francisco
... Eric Kupers' three-year "Undressed Project,"
performed by his and Kumiko Guthrie's company, Dandelion Dancetheater,
focuses on the human body.
read more...
Rome Opera
Ballet- 'Giselle': Giselle Reloaded
by Patrizia Vallone
July 2, 2004 -- Teatro Costanzi, Rome
Since Fracci's identification with the character of Giselle
is still total, from her point of view everything that is an obstacle
to her love for Albrecht is something bad.
read more...
|
bolshoi
ballet
on tour
 'The
Pharaoh's Daughter': Fashion Dynasty
by Odile GB
August 6, 2004 -- Royal Opera House, London
... In the end Lacotte redesigned
and recreated the entire work in order to "resurrect not the
letter but the spirit of the age".
read
more...
 'The
Pharaoh's Daughter': Daughter of the Nile
by Cassandra
August 7, 2004 matinee -- Royal Opera House, London
The look is of one of those Egyptian
paintings by Alma Tadema and a heavily populated one at that. If
it 's spectacle you are after, this ballet certainly delivers.
read more...
 'The
Pharaoh's Daughter'
by Patrizia Vallone
August 7, 2004 -- Royal Opera House, London
Watching "Pharaoh's Daughter",
I am wondering how much of Petipa is left and how much of Lacotte
is in there.
read more...
 'Spartacus':
Cast of Thousands
by Odile GB
July 30, 2004 -- Royal Opera House, London
Grigorovich's strong choreography
combined with Khachaturian's powerful score simply cannot fail to
engage, and having never seen the ballet before it certainly kept
me on the edge of my seat.
read more...
 'Spartacus':
Full Throttle
by Lyndsey Winship
July 30, 2004 -- Royal Opera House, London
Yuri Klevtsov dance Spartacus on
Friday and he makes a convincing, if humble hero. Earnest and honourable,
we always know that he's going to do the right thing.
read more...
 'Spartacus'
by Patrizia Vallone
July 31, 2004 -- Royal Opera House, London
I used to think of "Spartacus"
as the trademark of Bolshoi style, as over the top, loud, show-offish
and also a bit vulgar.
read more...
 'Spartacus'
by Cassandra
July 31, 2004 -- Royal Opera House, London
There aren 't that many ballets around
that concern themselves with real events, even if those events are
so many centuries past and shrouded by history that you might be
forgiven for thinking them myth or fiction, like King Arthur.
read more...
|
Letter from the Editors
Back from camp, school is just around the corner, and the long days
of summer are almost gone. Everybody wants to know what you did during
the summer. But there's no rest for the wicked -- the Kirov's Sologub
shined in St. Petersburg, Adrian Flores killed 'em in Walnut Creek, and
the Pharaoh's daughter wow'ed London with her many splendoured outfits.
There's also no rest for Ballet-Dance Magazine's cadre of reviewers.
You can read about the Bolshoi in London, Ballet West at the Edinburgh
International Festival, Karole Armitage in Venice, and much more.
There is our Company Focus on Dance Umbrella and we bring you preview
interviews with members of San Francisco Ballet about to embark on their
3rd tour to London.
As always, we love to hear what you think. Please post your comments
in our
Magazine Feedback Discussion Topic in the CriticalDance forum. And,
if you want the magazine delivered right to your inbox, subscribe!
The
Editors of Ballet-Dance Monthly
P.S.
If you're enjoying this issue of Ballet-Dance Monthly, please forward
it to a friend!
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