by Emilia & Linda on February 18, 2011
“Move over, Natalie Portman: You may be favored for the Oscar in Black Swan, but there’s a real-life, flesh-and-blood ballerina generating heat as the swan queen!” says Jocelyn Novek, one of the writers quoted by Milan-based arts blogger Graham Spicer in a roundup of praise for the remarkable Odette/Odile of Sara Mearns. NYCB’s Mearns is [...]
Tagged as:
ABT,
American Ballet Theatre,
Birmingham Royal Ballet,
Black Swan,
BRB,
Bridgett Zehr,
Diana Vishneva,
Gillian Murphy,
Gudrun Bojesen,
Hamburg Ballett,
Hélène Bouchet,
Heather Ogden,
Helgi Tomasson,
Illusions like Swan Lake,
John Neumeier,
Kaori Nakamura,
Marianela Nuñez,
Mariinsky,
Nao Sakuma,
Natalie Portman,
NBC,
Nina Sayers,
NYCB,
Odette,
Odette/Odile,
Odile,
Pacific Northwest Ballet,
PNB,
Polina Semionova,
Rachel Rawlins,
RDB,
Royal Ballet,
Royal Danish Ballet,
San Francisco Ballet,
Sara Mearns,
Siegfried,
Silvia Azzoni,
Staatsballett Berlin,
Susanne Grinder,
Swan Queen,
Tamara Rojo,
Ulyana Lopatkina,
Viktoria Tereshkina,
White Swan,
Xiao Nan Yu,
Yuan Yuan Tan,
Zenaida Yanowsky
by Linda on December 2, 2010
David Bintley‘s new Cinderella for Birmingham Royal Ballet opens with a funeral: Cinderella’s mother has just died and we get a glimpse at the woman who is to become her stepmother. As she consoles Cinderella’s father her two daughters gaze at our young heroine. Fast forward many years and we see an older Cinderella now curled [...]
Tagged as:
Andrea Treddinick,
Ashton,
Birmingham Royal Ballet,
BRB,
Christmas,
Cinderella,
David Bintley,
Fairy,
full-length,
John Macfarlane,
Marion Tait,
Matthew Lawrence,
Nao Sakuma,
Prince,
Prokofiev,
Season 2010-2011,
Stepmother,
Stepsisters
by Emilia on August 2, 2010
Linda’s recent visit to The Tokyo Ballet left us very curious to find out more about touring ballet companies and the specific challenges they face. Touring companies have to adapt to change constantly. The whole troupe is involved, starting with the technical staff – who need to design tour-friendly productions and adjust them to suit [...]
Tagged as:
Birmingham Royal Ballet,
BRB,
Céline Gittens,
Cinderella,
David Bintley,
Jacqueline Mistry,
Jerwood Centre,
London Coliseum,
Marion Tait,
Momoko Hirata,
Paul Grace,
Paul Grist,
Pearl Chesterman,
Peter Wright,
Rob Lindsay,
Sadler's Wells,
Simon Harper,
The Two Pigeons,
Touring Company
by Emilia on December 1, 2009
With its year in, year out clockwork precision, The Nutcracker is a balletic dish to be sampled sparingly. Too many Spanish chocolates, Sugar Plums and Candy Canes and up go your cholesterol levels. Too few and you might be the only one missing out on the best of the season’s treats. For that reason you’d [...]
Tagged as:
Ambra Vallo,
Anniek Soobroy,
Bill Cooper,
Birmingham Royal Ballet,
BRB,
Christmas,
Divertissements,
E.T.A Hoffmann,
Jenna Roberts,
John Macfarlane,
Joseph Caley,
Lev Ivanov,
Momoko Hirata,
Petipa,
Roy Smiljanic,
Sir Peter Wright,
Snow Fairy,
Snowflakes,
Sugar Plum Fairy,
Tchaikovsky,
The Nutcracker
by Emilia on November 24, 2009
Is this ballet for you? Go if: you want to treat your kids, godchildren, nieces and nephews or even perhaps the kid in you. Skip if: Bah humbug! Dream Cast Sugar Plum Fairy: any ballerina who can do proper gargouillades Background The Nutcracker is a major example of a balletic twist of fate. The very [...]
Tagged as:
ABT,
Alastair Marriott,
Alexandre Dumas,
Alina Cojocaru,
Balanchine,
Baryshnikov,
Bill Cooper,
Birmingham Royal Ballet,
Casse Noisette,
Celesta,
Clara,
Drosselmeyer,
E.T.A Hoffmann,
Elizabeth Harrod,
Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann,
full-length,
Gargouillades,
Ivan Vsevolozhsky,
Jamie Bond,
Johan Persson,
Lev Ivanov,
Light & Fluffy,
Mariinsky,
Marius Petipa,
Mark Morris,
Matthew Bourne,
Nicholas Sergeyev,
Nureyev,
NYCB,
POB,
Prince Koklush,
Roberta Marquez,
Royal Ballet,
Rudolf Nureyev,
San Francisco Ballet,
Sir Peter Wright,
Sugar Plum Fairy,
Tchaikovsky,
The Nutcracker,
Valeri Hristov,
Vic-Wells Ballet
by Emilia on November 15, 2009
For a while we have been meaning to write something here about “ballet myth busters”, to address certain preconceptions about this art form often seen as inaccessible, stuffy and niche. David Bintley’s Cyrano might be just what we needed to illustrate how ballet can be demystified. Created two years ago for Birmingham Royal Ballet, it [...]
Tagged as:
Birmingham Royal Ballet,
BRB,
Chi Cao,
Christian,
Corella Ballet,
Cyrano,
Cyrano de Bergerac,
David Bintley,
Edmond Rostand,
Elisha Willis,
full-length,
Iain Mackay,
Marion Tait,
Robert Parker,
Roxane
