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Miami at the Pillow

“Diversion of Angels,” “Geta,” “Antique Epigraphs,” “Serenade”
Miami City Ballet
Ted Shawn Theater, Jacob’s Pillow
Beckett, MA
August 24 - 28, 2022

by Gay Morris
copyright © 2022 by Gay Morris

Since its founding in 1985, Miami City Ballet has had close connections with New York City Ballet and George Balanchine. The company’s technique and style are modeled on Balanchine’s teachings, while its first artistic director, Edward Villella, and its current one, Lourdes Lopez, were principal dancers with the New York company when Balanchine headed it. Those links were much on display in Miami City Ballet performances at Jacob’s Pillow last week. The company brought a program that included works by Martha Graham, Jerome Robbins and Margarita Armas.

Welcome Back

"Birthday Offering", "Shades of Spring", "Varii Capricci"
Sarasota Ballet
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
August 16, 2022

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2022 by Mary Cargill

After a two-year interruption the Sarasota Ballet finally made it back to the Joyce Theater for its third August visit.  Many of the dancers are new to the company and many old favorites have retired, but the company looked polished and cohesive. The Director, the former Royal Ballet dancer Iain Webb, has built an impressive repertoire, with many works by Sir Frederick Ashton whose deceptively difficult ballets have helped develop the company's detailed, elegant, and unmannered style. The Joyce program had two Ashton works, the 1956 "Birthday Offering" and the 1983 novelty "Varii Capricci", as well as the world premiere of Jessica Lang's "Shades of Spring."

Sarasota Ballet in "Birthday Offering" photo © Frank Atura

New Directions

“Dichotomous Being: An Evening of Taylor Stanley”
Henry J. Leir Stage
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, Massachusetts
Saturday, July 30, 2022

by Gay Morris
copyright ©2022 by Gay Morris

Taylor Stanley projects a sense of mystery that seems an intrinsic part of his personality. It is as if his dancing is a means of self-exploration, a search for answers that may not yet be fully available. A principal with New York City Ballet since 2016, Stanley’s classical technique is pristine but never solely the point. His dancing, like his race and gender (he is bi-racial and refers to himself as “they”), is not singular but plural, a point made in his concert, “Dichotomous Being: An Evening of Taylor Stanley,” presented last week in performances at the Henry J. Leir outdoor stage at Jacob’s Pillow.

Taylor Stanley in "Redness," choreographed by Shamel Pitts.  Photo by Danica Paulos.