danceviewtimes

Washington Ballet at Jacob's Pillow

“Petite Mort,” “Seven Sonatas,” “Sombrerisimo”
The Washington Ballet
Jacob’s Pillow
Beckett, MA
August 26, 2017

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2017 by Gay Morris

Former ABT ballerina Julie Kent became artistic director of The Washington Ballet just last summer, with her husband Victor Barbee, another former ABT principal, joining her as associate artistic director. This bodes well for the company, which, despite being in existence for more than seventy years, has never made a major impact on the national dance scene.

Judging from the company’s performance on Saturday at Jacob’s Pillow, Kent and Barbee have brought new discipline and technical refinement to the twenty-five-member group. There is more work to be done, but they have made a good start. Kent will probably also improve the repertory. At least that is a priority she has mentioned in interviews, and there was proof of that in the one work at the Pillow that she has brought into the repertory: Alexei Ratmansky’s “Seven Sonatas.”

Photo: Tamás Krizsa and Francesca Dugarte of The Washington Ballet in "Seven Sonatas" by Alexei Ratmansky. Photo Brooke Trisolini.

 

Trisha Brown Dance Company at Jacob's Pillow

“Opal Loop,” Groove and Countermove,” “L’Amour au théàtre”
Trisha Brown Dance Company
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Beckett, MA
Saturday, August 19, 2018

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2017 Gay Morris

The Trisha Brown Dance Company’s performances at Jacob’s Pillow last weekend were a reminder of just how important a choreo- grapher Brown was and how much of a void her death in March has left in the dance world. Brown was among the great first generation of postmodern choreographers, along with dancers such as Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer and David Gordon. She began her career in rebellion from the theatricalized expressionism of Martha Graham and ended it with a formalized dance that was as complex as it was beautiful.

Photo: Trisha Brown Dance Company in "Opal Loop." Photo by Christopher Duggan.

Ballet Hispánico and denby/Donovan Projects

“El Beso,” “Linea Recta,” “Danzón,
Ballet Hispánico
July 29, 2017

“Elvis Everywhere”
denby/donovan projects
August 12, 2017
Jacob’s Pillow, MA

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2017 by Gay Morris 

Ballet Hispánico, based in New York, draws on a vocabulary of Hispanic dance from a number of countries, as well as from modern dance and ballet. It is that combi- nation of forms that defines its style and makes it unusual among contemporary dance groups. All of its thirteen-members are superbly trained, which makes them a pleasure to watch. 

Photo:   Ballet Hispanico in Gustavo Ramirez Sansano's  "El Beso." Photo by Brooke Triolini.

Bolshoi, Untamed

“The Taming of the Shrew”
The Bolshoi Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
July 28, 2017

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2017 by Marianne Adams

The famed Bolshoi Ballet has given New Yorkers many tastes of its excellent classical repertory during the company’s visits over the years, but has gotten some under- standable criticism for those selections -- the classics are great, but was the company stuck in time and where were the new works? This year’s presentation of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” which was set on the company in 2014 to music by Dmitri Shostakovich, was the troupe’s answer. While I’ve never been part of the camp that criticized Bolshoi for sticking with the old – after all, having a chance to see a gorgeous, expertly danced “Swan Lake” is hardly ever a bad thing – the new ballet did make me wonder why the troupe waited so long to dazzle us with the new, and when could we see more?

Photo of Ekaterina Krysanova and Vladislav Lantratov. Photo © Jack Devant