Gone fishing

Dance
Natalia Alonso & Gary Jeter II
A lot of chatter, lately, amongst dance geeks on Facebook about the great classical ballet pose the “fishdive” which, according to pundits was not part of the original Petipa choreography (way too athletic and upside down for that era) but seems to have been introduced in the 1946 version of “The Sleeping Beauty.” This notwithstanding, ...

Pure Petipa, courtesy of American Ballet Theatre

Dance
In this great portrait by dance photographer Gene Schiavone, American Ballet Theatre principal dancers Marcelo Gomes (Prince Desire) and Diana Vishneva (Aurora) pose in “The Sleeping Beauty” the full-evening ballet that just had its world premiere at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. ABT resident choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s restaging of original choreography by Marius Petipa may ...

A triumph for ABT, Ratmansky’s “The Sleeping Beauty”

Dance · Fashion · Reviews
American Ballet Theatre celebrated its 75th anniversary last evening at Segerstrom Hall with its sublime new “The Sleeping Beauty” staged by Alexei Ratmansky using original choreography by Marius Petipa interpolated with contributions of his own. The sheer beauty of the production and the revelation of how fresh and compelling the Petipa language positions our national ...

Stellar casting creates “Beauty”ful ABT quandary @ Segerstrom Center

Dance
Southern California, wake up! Stop your behind-the-wheel slumbering … Don’cha know that we’re hosting the dance event of the season? And it’s a real sleeper! That would be “The Sleeping Beauty,” in a prestigious new production presented by American Ballet Theatre. The new “Beauty” will have its festive premiere March 3 at the Segerstrom Center ...

Gomes transcends in Balanchine’s “Apollo” for ABT

Dance
It was not just “awesome,” but indeed a privilege to watch Brazilian-born Marcelo Gomes, a great personal favorite, stretch his lovely long limbs as the Greek god, Apollo, in George Balanchine’s plotless ballet dating from 1928. In the dance the young man encounters and frolics with three muses, Calliope, the muse of poetry, Polyhymnia, the ...

Natasha & her men 1

Dance
Natalia Makarova, the divine, visiting Costa Mesa, California, from New York City, saunters backstage at “Kings of the Dance,” and announces “Well, I want to meet the Kings of the Dance.”  The great exiled Russian ballerina faces off with five of the top guys in global ballet world. Marcelo Gomes immediately retorts “Well, you’re the ...

All hail the “Kings”!

Dance
Courtesy of my Facebook Friend, Marcelo Gomes, here’s Gene Schiavone’s marvelous portrait of the dancing dudes, their Royal Heinesses, er… Highnesses, THE KINGS OF THE DANCE. You gotta love these kingly kreatures … Impresario Sergei Danilian clearly does, as he’s producing ballet’s premier testosterone showcase for a fourth time.I’ll be there, opening night in Costa ...

Still the swingingest thing: West Side Story’s George Chakiris

Dance · Film
A lot of ladies — and quite a few gents including American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Marcelo Gomes and the just-retired Jose Manuel Carreno — gawked as West Side Story star George Chakiris entered the Founder’s Room of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center. It was the opening night reception following ...