Dance diary. December 2021
…sing in Australia. The contact box message came from a member of the Hindu community in Australia and was similar in content to the comments that were circulating elsewhere in the world. In part the message I received said, ‘Hindus are urging “The Australian Ballet” to discard “La Bayadère” performance from its “Summertime Ballet Gala”; scheduled for February 17-19, 2022 in Melbourne; which they feel seriously trivializes Eastern religious and oth…
Polovtsian Dances by the Dandré-Levitoff Russian Ballet
…are both publicity shots taken either in Cape Town, or earlier before the company’s arrival in South Africa? Given that the South African advertisement shot is slightly different, the alternative of course is that the company did give back to Poignant a print of his image with their signatures on the back as a memento of the occasion, and that the dancers were each given a copy as well (or bought one)? If this is the case, Northcote’s archive, wh…
New Breed (2015). Sydney Dance Company
…rongly Western. But, I still wonder… Follow this link to the DanceTabs review. Featured image: Janessa Dufty in Daniel Riley’s Reign. Sydney Dance Company 2015. Photo: © Peter Greig Michelle Potter, 13 December 2015…
Inside There Falls. Mira Calix and Sydney Dance Company
…ion between London-based artist and musician, Mira Calix, and Sydney Dance Company, has been posted on DanceTabs at this link. In addition to the photographs published with the article, most of which were kindly supplied by the Sydney Festival, below are some I took during my visit to the installation — and yes, for once photography was allowed! They show the two dancers I saw, Sam Young-Wright and Laura Wood. Michelle Potter, 19 January 2015 Feat…
Valentina Blinova. An unexpected find
…fond of. Then to bed. This is Blinova’s daily routine, the only variation being Sunday which is spent in the open air—in the hills or the bush or on the beach. And now you know why the members of the Russian Ballet have those slim figures. How Christmas is spent Valentina Blinova Valentina Blinova was born in St Petersburg where she spent her girlhood—at Christmas time her thoughts go back to those days—a gorgeous Christmas tree loaded with candle…
Dance diary. December 2012
…ill be performing in Paris in February in Jiri Kylian’s Kaguyahime. With a company of over 150 dancers, the Paris Opera Ballet has the luxury of being able to tour while maintaining a regular program in Paris at the same time. Kaguyahime, a spectacular piece of theatre, will be O’Neill’s first experience dancing a contemporary work since she has been in Paris. Michelle Ryan: new artistic director at Restless Dance Theatre Early in December Michell…
Chi Udaka. Lingalayam and TaikOz
…losing the show with a gathering together of the cast in a kind of closing communion, accompanied by singing from vocalist Aruna Parthiban. Between these opening and closing moments the dancing and music were exceptional. The dancers, stunningly dressed in saris designed by Anandavalli, moved with close attention to the detailed movements of bodies, hands and feet of the classical Indian styles, and with extraordinary lyricism between individual m…
Terra Firma. Quantum Leap
…youth group from Newcastle directed by McCarthy. The most obvious feature coming through the work, at least for me, was that personal relationships are sometimes difficult, which was clear not so much through choreography but through facial expressions. Scene from Shifting Ground. Photo: © Lorna Sim The evening closed with Tides of Time by Synergy Styles (Stephen and Lilah Gow), which set out to examine ‘temporal orientation’ and the ideas of tim…
Dandré-Levitoff Russian Ballet. Repertoire and performance schedule for 1934–1935 tour
…details are given. Pietermaritzburg 24-26 June; Pretoria 27-30 June No evidence has yet emerged of performances in these two cities. That the company stayed for several days in each city suggests, however, that at least one program may have been scheduled in each city. Johannesburg: His Majesty‘s Theatre Program 1 (2-7 July) La Fille mal gardée, Swan Lake (Act II), Polovtsian Dances, Divertissements Program 2 (9-14 July) Visions, Carnaval, Divert…
More thoughts on Nutcracker: The Story of Clara
…ns of Nutcracker (going right back to 1892), Professor Rodney Stenning Edgecombe writes: ‘When foundations are sandy, it’s better to re-lay them in concrete. And that is indeed what the brilliant Graeme Murphy has done in his version of the ballet, which, having subtitled The Story of Clara, he conceives it, as Bournonville did his ballets, as ‘frames around the biographical and travel pictures which constitute [an] actual theatre life’. He then p…