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"Christmas Ballet"
Smuin Contemporary Ballet
Yerba Buena Center of the Arts
San Francisco, CA
December 21, 2019

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano 2019

Next year the late Michael Smuin’s 1995 holiday ballet, “Christmas Ballet” will hit its quarter -century mark. Divided into two sections, 'Classical Christmas', performed primarily in white and toe shoes, and 'Cool Christmas,' with lots of red and as much pop as you like, has grown on me. Maybe, despite myself. There is something to be said for a show that has survived for as long as this one. The primary reason for “Christmas’” popularity belongs to Artistic Director Celia Fushille. She has grown this sixteen-member ensemble into a disciplined, excellently performing troupe. At the beginning of this last incarnation of “Christmas”, she asked for first time-audience members, which showed a lot of hands, but also from those who had been there the in the beginning, not a few, yours truly included.

Max van der Sterre in 'Blue Christmas'. Photo: Chris Hardy

Miami City Ballet Opens with Holiday Classic

"George Balanchine's The Nutcracker"
Miami City Ballet
Adrienne Arsht Center
Miami, Florida
December 13 to 15, 2019

by Sean Erwin
copyright © 2019 by Sean Erwin

Miami City Ballet opened with George Balanchine’s Nutcracker at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, December 13th to 15th with strong attendance at the Friday opener and a packed Sunday matinee.  Both castings turned in strong performances.

Some North American ballet companies make news with intentions to remake Nutcracker productions to reflect their city’s racial and ethnic mix. MCB has already accomplished a great deal here, a fact Isabel Toledo infused into her costumes.   In 2017 celebrated woman’s designer Isabel Toledo and her husband, artist and illustrator, Ruben Toledo revamped the costumes and design elements of MCB’s Nutcracker.  Mrs. Toledo died in August but she left behind a production that bubbles with embossed fabrics, surprising cuts of coat and dress and happy juxtapositions of texture.

Miami City Ballet School students in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®. Photo © Alexander Iziliaev.  

Nutcracker at 65

"George Balanchine's The Nutcracker"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
December 17, 2019

by Carol Pardo
copyright © 2019 by Carol Pardo

"George Balanchine's The Nutcracker", as it's now called, turned sixty-five this year, old enough to be eligible for Medicare and half-price rides on the New York City subway. Whatever else might have changed over the decades, the ballet has always been anchored by Tchaikovsky's score, from its first delicate notes, glittering like ice on snow and transporting us to a cozy vision of Biedermeier Nuremburg, to its final fanfare as the hero and heroine are born aloft in a sleigh drawn by reindeer to an unknown destination, and Balanchine's response to that score, not just the steps, but the theme and tone as well.

Teresa Reichlen and company in "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. Photo credit: Paul Kolnik

An ever green Evergreen

"Nutcracker"
San Francisco Ballet
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco, CA.
December 11, 2019

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano 2019

The same old, yet forever new. Great art doesn’t tire you. But how many works, as awkwardly structured  as the “Nutcracker,” is can make that claim? Yet this year, I cannot remember having been so grateful to Messrs. Tchaikovsky, Ivanov, Petipa and Helgi Tomasson. The latter’s 2004 “Nutcracker” was as close to immaculately performed as I can remember. Maybe, it helped that this year is the 75^th anniversary of America’s first full-length performance of “Nutcracker” at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House. One of its attractions had come from the number of bright red costumes, made from discarded theater curtains. It was the war after all.

Yuan Yuan Tan and Carlo di Lanno in Helgi Tomasson' "Nutcracker" Photo: Erik Tomasson

 

A Matched Pair

“New Work for Goldberg Variations”
Pam Tanowitz & Simone Dinnerstein
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
December 10, 2019

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2019 by Martha Sherman

Choreographer Pam Tanowitz is a serious headliner in the world of contemporary dance, but in "New Work for Goldberg Variations," her stunning collaboration with pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Tanowitz put the award-winning pianist at the center. Dinnerstein sat at a grand piano in the middle of the stage, and, from the first image, the dance revolved around the music. The first light to break the stage blackout illuminated only Dinnerstein’s fingers, dancing along the piano keys in a soft opening variation; next the light caught Dinnerstein’s profile. The rest of the stage lights came up oh so slowly, to illuminate the profiles of still dancers, who were facing the pianist, listening as raptly the audience. That first emerging stage light was tinted a pale orange; it was a collaborative sunrise.

Christine Flores, Melissa Toogood and Simone Dinnerstein (at piano) in "New Work for Goldberg Variations." Photo ©Erin Baiano.

"Giselle" Restored to Life

“Giselle”
Bolshoi Ballet
November 21, 22, 2019

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2019 by Alexandra Tomalonis

It’s not usual to think of lying lovers, betrayal, madness and death as fodder for holiday fare, but Alexei Ratmansky’s reconstruction of “Giselle” has as many surprises pouring out of it as a Christmas Wonderball, so it is the best holiday present imaginable. Ratmansky has consulted, it seems, every word written about and photograph taken of the major productions of this great Romantic ballet, digested them, then walked out of the study into the studio having blended all the information into a seamless whole. (Read Marina Harss’s excellent review here for details of the sources.)

Moonlighting

“The Day”

Wendy Whelan and Maya Beiser in

choreography by Lucinda Childs to

music and poetry by David Lang,

Eisenhower Theater,

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,

Washington, DC

December 6, 2019

 

by George Jackson

copyright 2019 by George Jackson

 

At the start of the 20th Century, Diaghilev’s ballet dancers such as Pavlova, Nijinsky, Karsavina, Bolm et al. did “moderne” numbers on their comcert programs. Nijinsky, of course, has been considered an innovative modern dance choreographer as well as a classic-romantic performer. If ballet and modern dance are analogized to poetry and prose, then the reverse examples - modern dancers doing ballet - aren’t as frequent. They haven’t the requisite bodies nor techniques. Yet there is the instance of Merce Cunningham’s partner, Carolyn Brown, daring to dance in Fokine’s  “Les Sylphides” and doing so quite credibly.

 

Maya Beiser and Wendy Whelan in "The Day." Photo by Hayim Heron and Courtesy of Jacob's Pillow.

Piano Pieces

"Etudes", "Piano Concerto #1", "Petite Mort"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
November 15, 2019

by Denise Sum
copyright © 2019 by Denise Sum

The National Ballet of Canada latest triple bill brought a balanced mix of pure classical ballet technique and more contem- porary movement. Between Harald Lander's "Etudes", Alexei Ratmansky's "Piano Concerto #1", and Jiří Kylián's "Petite Mort", the program played to the strengths of the company's corps de ballet and highlighted many principal dancers and soloists. Together, these works made for an exciting and fulfilling evening of dance. 

Artists of the Ballet in "Etudes". Photo by Karolina Kuras. 

 

Twenty Years and Counting

Herman Cornejo: Celebrating 20 Years
Act II pas de deux from "Giselle", Second solo from "Apollo", "Sinatra Suite"
Studio 5
New York City Center
New York, New York
December 2, 2019

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

Alastair Macaulay's too brief stint as Studio 55 programmer ended with a salute to ABT dancer Herman Cornejo's twenty year career with the company.  Cornejo himself selected the repertoire and the dancers (Skylar Brandt in "Giselle" and Luciana Paris in "Sinatra Suite"), which with characteristic modesty highlighted partnering and subtlety rather than bravura. The evening opened with the pas de deux from Act II of "Giselle", which with its complicated balances is a tour de force for the ballerina, while the man concentrates on making her float effortlessly.  Cornejo is an experienced Albrecht and Brandt will be making her debut in February; the excerpt was magical.  He closed with Twyla Tharp's "Sinatra Suite", a partnering extravaganza with ends with a contemplative solo to "One for My Baby".  These sandwiched the second solo from "Apollo", with its awkward energy and gripping images.  In between the dances Macaulay talked with some of his colleagues: Kevin McKenzie, ABT's Artistic Director; Damian Woetzel, former director of the Vail Dance Festival where Cornejo frequently performed; and Twyla Tharp, who has choreographed several works on Cornejo.  Cornejo also wanted, Macaulay said, David LaMarche, a conductor with ABT who accompanied the dances, to take part, since they were both celebrating twenty years with ABT.

Herman Cornejo in "Apollo" photo © Erin Baiano.

Tech-Savvy “Nutcracker” Delights

“The Nutcracker”
Atlanta Ballet
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
November 27, 2019
 
by Ashley McKean
copyright © 2019 by Ashley McKean

Washington balletgoers took part in something special last week when the Atlanta Ballet — a regional troupe never before seen at the Kennedy Center — unveiled a new “Nutcracker” that made an old story glisten with intrigue and wonder. The stunning $3.7 million production, conceived by Artistic Director Gennadi Nedvigin and choreographed by Yuri Possokhov, marries timeless tradition with 21^st century visual effects: multi-dimensional videography by Finn Ross, imaginative scenery by Tony-nominated designer Tom Pye, and striking lighting by David Finn. Amidst the glittering special effects, it was Airi Igarashi’s soulful dancing (as Marie) and Possokhov’s ever-clear storytelling that drew me in, bringing real-life meaning and emotion to the classic fairytale. Inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman’s original story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” Possokhov’s version of the ballet gives central importance to the relationship between Marie and the Nutcracker Prince, playing with time and space to develop a coming-of-age story full of love, hope and boundless imagination.

Nikolas Gaifullin as Drosselmeier in "The Nutcracker." Photo © Gene Schiavone