Earlier this month Dutch National Ballet’s Artistic Director Ted Bransen wrote a guest blog for “All About Art” expressing his concerns over the Dutch Council of Culture’s proposed funding cuts to his company. If the proposal goes ahead, says Bransen, DNB will not only have to scale down staging full-length classics, it might also have [...]
Posts tagged as:
Review
If you are lucky, in ballets with characters as complex as Manon and Des Grieux, a particular performance might become – as Bag Lady E calls it – your personal “swell of 1969″: that defining evening at the ballet against which all others will be measured. To create this perfect dance memory many components have [...]
In reviewing Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella, Luke Jennings of the Observer said of the recent string of fairy tale ballets in the UK over the last few months: “in tough economic times, you can sell more tickets if you offer family entertainment”. Yet, he added, “there’s nothing wrong with fairy stories, but if they are [...]
We wonder if ABT had heard our prayers when they decided to program a London season of mixed bills, leaving the full length classics they had brought last time at home. We had been craving variety in the aftermath of too many Cinderellas, Giselles and Swan Lakes at the Royal Ballet, so we grabbed the [...]
Giselle is a ballet that perfectly balances dance and narrative. Audiences are captivated in particular by its timeless second act, a living and breathing example of the Romantic ideal: on one side the revengeful, supernatural Wilis and on the other the ethereal Giselle whose love for Albrecht transcends heartbreak and death. The leading role has [...]
The Sleeping Beauty is a staple of major classical troupes. Despite being an expensive ballet to stage, it is amongst those productions that ensure box office safety and keep dancers well drilled. It demands not only starry leads but a strong supporting cast to carry through endless variations and character roles like Carabosse and the [...]
