If you’ve been hibernating in a cave, here’s some good news: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is celebrating its 50th anniversary. (Don’t ask about the bad news. Just go back in the cave, fast.) You can only tip your hat to the juggernaut they’ve become, what with street namings, Barbie dolls, guesting on Dancing with the Stars, world tour dates, Oprah headlining their gala, and more. After all, at heart, Ailey’s style has wide appeal, but with its pedigreed modern dance roots, it is hardly akin to the slick stuff often seen on So You Think You Can Dance.
At a recent performance, I was pleased to see the crowd, but somewhat dismayed when they erupted in applause at every split, leap, or turn of moderate difficulty. Accomplishments should be acknowledged, but it felt somewhat self-congratulatory. Back and forth I go, simultaneously gleeful at the company’s popularity for the sake of dance and the fantastic company, and a bit chagrined at the abject commercialism. But you can’t argue with success. read more
In the wake of bragging about how New York’s native ballet scene has been greatly enriched by the regular presence of Christopher Wheeldon’s Morphoses and Alexei Ratmansky signing with ABT, I’m now going to sing the praises of visiting company San Francisco Ballet. This troupe, which makes too few trips to New York, is at City Center through Oct 18. Increasingly, the company is becoming a paradigm – commissioning vital new work, mounting classics, and developing excellent technical standards and charismatic artists.
SFB brings three programs that show the breadth of its repertory and the depth of the company’s technique. Helgi Tomasson, the artistic director now in his 20th year, contributes a few works in his post-Balanchine style, lyrical, athletic, with some familiar motifs (flexed wrists, off-kilter stances). read more
New York City is a tour date for many of the world’s leading ballet companies, if only once every decade (ahem, Kirov). But stick around long enough and there’s a pretty good chance you’ll catch lots of them. But the city’s native ballet scene has brightened in recent years. Twyla Tharp has created new work (such as Rabbit and Rogue for ABT) to be seen along with older repertory by a variety of companies; Karole Armitage has returned from Europe to create some serious work with her dynamic company; and rising choreographers have received support and exposure from both New York City Ballet’s Diamond Project, ABT, and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet.
But the biggest news in the last two years has been the founding of Christopher Wheeldon’s company Morphoses, and the recent appointment of Alexei Ratmansky as resident choreographer at ABT. Morphoses recently had its second annual season at City Center. read more
Fall for Dance is a wildly successful annual festival at New York City Center featuring $10 tickets and an amazing range of dance companies, 28 total. Now in its fifth year, the festival – produced by Ellen Dennis – spanned ten nights, with six different programs. All three programs I saw offered intriguing variety and samples of outstanding companies from around the world.
In a way, the wide range within each program works perfectly for the contemporary short attention span, when whole thoughts have to be reduced to 75-character text messages. It is a bit like channel surfing on TV, going from Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal in a charming work by Aszure Barton, to Oregon Ballet Theatre doing a Chris Wheeldon duet, to a traditional Indian dance by Madhavi Mudgal, an invocation to Shiva. read more
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