Kiss the sky. New Zealand Dance Company
…relationship with the audience, a parallel rather than juxtaposed music accompaniment. All of this combines to suggest a grounded timelessness rather than the specifics of individual lives here and now. There is much high speed and there is sculptured stillness, but little of measured adagio in between. This creates effective references to a mix of robotic and mechanical moves in contrast with people’s states of being. It invites us to view our h…
Borrowed Light. Jacob’s Pillow Virtual Festival 2020
…atured image: Maria Nurmela and Tero Saarinen in a moment from Borrowed Light. Tero Saarinen Company and Boston Camerata, 2012. Photo: © Christopher Duggan NOTE: The title Borrowed Light comes from ‘the architectural practice, common for the Shakers, of building windows into interior rooms, thus maximising dayllght and productivity.’…
Basking in reflected glory. Edith Campbell
…to be able to post Edith’s reflections on this site. And as more and more comments come in about the book I can’t help feeling that we need another book! Read Edith’s story below. Michelle Potter, 27 September 2020 Kristian Fredrikson, Designer—by Michelle Potter Basking in reflected glory! Reflections on reading this book by Edith Campbell, Wellington Who does not get a kick out of being in some way, however small, connected with a special…
Subtle Dances. BalletCollective Aotearoa with New Zealand Trio
…the boys and girls and boys come out to play. It is saucy, spicy, dark and compelling. Complex courtships, allusion alternating with illusion, remind us of nature’s best dancers. It invites searing performances from all the cast, and confirms this BalletCollective Aotearea as a troupe of striking dance talent, in fabulous collaboration with the phenomenal musicians of the New Zealand Trio. As soon as the box office opens for their next season we w…
Ballet Rambert in Australasia 1947–1949
…Unfortunately, the information for the New Zealand leg of the tour is not complete. I didn’t investigate that side of the company’s activities in great detail because Maggie Scott didn’t go to New Zealand. She was lying in bed in a plaster cast in St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. So, the New Zealand leg of the tour needs a bit more research. Perhaps the most surprising part of the tour is a visit to Broken Hill, a three-night stand made in Januar…
The Royal Danish Ballet, 3rd Bournonville Festival [2005]
…e the feeling of the live performance? Many costume exhibitions don’t even come close to being theatrical but Tulle and Tricot was a wonderful exhibition that engaged the viewer in so many ways. Costumes were hung so that they swayed gently in the breeze. Video footage showed them in motion in the ballets for which they were made. The space was lit beautifully. The captions were inviting. It was a real coup and deserves many bouquets. And back to…
Dance diary. February 2021
…t this link, and watch a lovely 30 minute tribute, filmed in 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrU2-tJKi44 Kristian Fredrikson. Designer. More reviews and comments Another review, this time from Lee Christofis, appeared in the March issue of Limelight Magazine. It is a rather special review as Christofis knows something of the backstory behind the National Library’s Papers of Kristian Fredrikson, as his opening paragraph reveals. The online ve…
BalletX Beyond. Four new dance films
…t was not clear to me how the rest related to that pertinent, contemporary comment. The Under Way needs a lot of work I think. This is the first time I have had the pleasure of seeing anything by BalletX. It is a strong company and every one of the dancers has something special to offer. Stanley Glover is spectacular and I especially admired the work of Andrea Yorita for the expressiveness that she offered in every role, and for the way her moveme…
Strength and Grace. Royal New Zealand Ballet
…(That raised laughs among the audience but would have seemed anything but comic 125 years ago). Of the three composers used, the richest and most eloquent dance music of the whole evening was the Folie d’Espagne of Marin Marais, in a recording by Jordi Savall (the highlight performer of Wellington’s Arts Festival earlier this year). That drew a strong response from the cast of eight women, with particularly galvanised and striking performances fr…
New Zealand School of Dance Graduation Season, 2019
…oriano. Everything about this phenomenally gifted dancer, a second year student, combines precision with poetry, and is a joy to witness. His dancing is redolent of his tutor Qi Huan, who has rehearsed him in this work. For many years Huan was the leading dancer in Royal New Zealand Ballet, where his peerless command of technique gave him the expressive freedom that dance at its soaring best can offer. Before him, Ou Lu, before him Martin James, b…