Rudik’s ‘Swine Lake’ tunic at auction
For your bidding: An embellished custom-made golden bodice with gold lamé embroidery worn by Rudolf Nureyev during his performance as the handsome prince while dancing with a giant ballerina pig in “Swine Lake” on season two of The Muppet Show. The bodice is generously embellished with silver and gold lamé trim, applique, simulated pearls, chunky ...
‘Apollo’ off course. Wrong. Nyet.
Nov
12
2018
The two photos on this page, of Balanchine’s “Apollo,” are not captures of the ballet’s choreography. No such dance moment occurs in “Apollo.” They are, instead, posed tableaux of two casts of four — marketing photos? Above we see principal dancers of the Mariinsky Ballet, who delivered the work at the recent ‘Balanchine: The City ...
Balanchine goes global in City Center festival
The elegant brochure and historical resonance of Balanchine: The City Center Years generated great promise as a highly anticipated event marking the 75th anniversary of midtown Manhattan’s richly dance-historic theater. The six-performance festival (Oct 31 – Nov 4, 2018), which showcased an array of landmark Balanchine works performed on the stage where nearly all had ...
Donald McKayle memorialized in UC Irvine exhibit
Nov
8
2018
This stunning shot of the young dancer, Donald McKayle, is one of many such portraits on display in an exhibit at the University of California, Irvine, where McKayle was a longtime, distinguished Professor of Dance. McKaye, who signature works, “Games” and “Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder” mark his status as an American dance treasure, was also ...
Stuart Hodes’ ‘balancing act’ with Dances for a Variable Population
Nov
7
2018
It’s all a balancing act according to former Martha Graham dancer Stuart Hodes, who in the video above shares the joy and wisdom of continuing to move, move, move into his senior years. This is the premise behind the wildly popular Dances for a Variable Population led by artistic director Naomi Goldberg Haas, a veritable ...
REVIEW: Heidi Duckler Dance’s fully ‘Loaded’ dock-dance at the Ford
A distant, pulsing whir of ambient music accompanies the sight of a peculiar, tall figure as he rambles toward us. We spy him (or is it a she?) through the half-closed gate (or it a gate ‘half-open’?) at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre’s loading dock. This creature, dressed in unisex coveralls like a hip garbage ...
Merce & Co as beautiful museum pieces @ LACMA
They don’t make ’em like Merce Cunningham (1919 – 2009) anymore. And the dance world is the poorer for it. For those who did not have the distinct honor of face time with the great dancer/choreographer (I studied modern dance with ‘Merce’ as he was ubiquitously known in the dance world, and attended concerts by ...
Misty Copeland, de maximus, in ‘The Nutcracker’
Oct
26
2018
In anticipation of Copeland’s appearance in the soon-opening Disney feature film “The Nutcracker and The Four Realms,” let’s take a gander at this state-of-the-art ballerina, filmed in 2014, in the grand pas of “The Nutcracker.” One hopes that in the movie, Disney has captured her courage, physical exuberance and athleticism, and her musicality. Video gets ...
Los Angeles dance companies to take El Capitan stage in backing Misty Copeland in Disney ‘Nutcracker’
Ready, set, go! As soon as the calendar page turns to November, off with the Halloween costume and on with the Sugar Plum regalia! That’s ‘cuz the newest Disney live-action movie, THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS, will open that night at the wonderful, retro El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. Playing “the Ballerina,” in ...
O, Jackie! Mrs. K-O goes to the ballet
It is the stuff paparazzi’s dreams are made of: Jackie O, balletomane. Here we see Mrs. Bouvier-Kennedy-Onassis, posing, giggling, and shmoozing, on sidewalks, at banquets, and backstage with Rudik and Misha. Jerry Robbins is in there too. They are but a few of samples of the 50 works of the super “Rudolph Nureyev – Mikhail ...