ALL DAY AT ABT: ALL AMERICAN AND ALL ASHTON PROGRAMS

Last Saturday I had my first crazy ABT day where I spent the whole day at Lincoln Center, seeing both matinee and evening performances. I’ll do the same tomorrow with two Sleeping Beauties – can’t miss Alina Cojocaru (who I’ve never seen before) guesting from the Royal Ballet in the lead, and then in the evening the spectacular Natalia Osipova. Anyway, last Saturday the matinee was their All-American program; the evening was the All-Ashton. The All-American opened with Twyla Tharp’s Brahms-Hayden Variations, which I’m sorry to say is the first Tharp that’s bored me. I just couldn’t connect to it. It ...

ALL DAY AT ABT: ALL AMERICAN AND ALL ASHTON PROGRAMS

Last Saturday I had my first crazy ABT day where I spent the whole day at Lincoln Center, seeing both matinee and evening performances. I’ll do the same tomorrow with two Sleeping Beauties – can’t miss Alina Cojocaru (who I’ve never seen before) guesting from the Royal Ballet in the lead, and then in the evening the spectacular Natalia Osipova. Anyway, last Saturday the matinee was their All-American program; the evening was the All-Ashton. The All-American opened with Twyla Tharp’s Brahms-Hayden Variations, which I’m sorry to say is the first Tharp that’s bored me. I just couldn’t connect to it. It ...

ABT AT 70 AT THE GUGGENHEIM

Last night American Ballet Theatre put on a little celebration of its 70th anniversary and gave a little preview of its upcoming Met season (which begins next Monday, May 17th) at the Guggenheim, as part of the museum’s Works and Process events. Dancers from each decade of ABT’s existence — Susan Jaffe, Susan Jones, Donald Saddler, Lupe Serrano, and Rachel Moore – spoke briefly about what the company was like back in the day, and then there was (happily) a great deal of dancing. Stella Abrera, Marian Butler, Jared Matthews and Sascha Radetsky performed the Lovers’ Quarrel from Ashton’s The Dream ...

ABT AT 70 AT THE GUGGENHEIM

Last night American Ballet Theatre put on a little celebration of its 70th anniversary and gave a little preview of its upcoming Met season (which begins next Monday, May 17th) at the Guggenheim, as part of the museum’s Works and Process events. Dancers from each decade of ABT’s existence — Susan Jaffe, Susan Jones, Donald Saddler, Lupe Serrano, and Rachel Moore – spoke briefly about what the company was like back in the day, and then there was (happily) a great deal of dancing. Stella Abrera, Marian Butler, Jared Matthews and Sascha Radetsky performed the Lovers’ Quarrel from Ashton’s The Dream ...

NATALIE PORTMAN: “HOMEWRECKER”??

Apparently the New York Post’s Page Six people have found out about Benjamin Millepied’s prior relationship with ABT’s Isabella Boylston (and are finding it newsworthy) because they’re now depicting Natalie Portman as a “homewrecker” who tore the two apart. (Doesn’t that term usually apply to someone who splits a family apart?) They’re saying Millepied and Boylston were together for three years, lived together before Portman moved in on him, and were thinking of marriage. Really? Wasn’t he dating Saskia Beskow until pretty recently? And isn’t Boylston rather young — were they really together for that long? And marriage??? Celeb bloggers ...

NATALIE PORTMAN: “HOMEWRECKER”??

Apparently the New York Post’s Page Six people have found out about Benjamin Millepied’s prior relationship with ABT’s Isabella Boylston (and are finding it newsworthy) because they’re now depicting Natalie Portman as a “homewrecker” who tore the two apart. (Doesn’t that term usually apply to someone who splits a family apart?) They’re saying Millepied and Boylston were together for three years, lived together before Portman moved in on him, and were thinking of marriage. Really? Wasn’t he dating Saskia Beskow until pretty recently? And isn’t Boylston rather young — were they really together for that long? And marriage??? Celeb bloggers ...

PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET MAKES ITS JOYCE DEBUT (and Marco Goecke Steals the Show IMO)

Tuesday night, the Pacific Northwest Ballet opened its 5-day run at the Joyce. This was my first time seeing this company, and it has a reputation as one of the most prestigious in the U.S. Helmed by Peter Boal, a former dancer with New York City Ballet, the company is already familiar to many NYCB fans, but not yet to me. I really wish they could have brought the whole company and danced at City Center, a more suitable stage for ballet. The Joyce is small and known for modern dance and so they could only bring a small portion of ...

PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET MAKES ITS JOYCE DEBUT (and Marco Goecke Steals the Show IMO)

Tuesday night, the Pacific Northwest Ballet opened its 5-day run at the Joyce. This was my first time seeing this company, and it has a reputation as one of the most prestigious in the U.S. Helmed by Peter Boal, a former dancer with New York City Ballet, the company is already familiar to many NYCB fans, but not yet to me. I really wish they could have brought the whole company and danced at City Center, a more suitable stage for ballet. The Joyce is small and known for modern dance and so they could only bring a small portion of ...