Balanchine’s rainbow of “Jewels” met by Mariinsky pristine classicism 1
Oct
27
2019
“Emeralds,” to Faure They may not thrust, propel, and hit marks with the velocity and modern shapeliness of their colleagues in New York City Ballet. Why would they? They are differently trained. Speed was hindered by lugubriousness. Idiosyncratic details went undervalued. Still, it was beautiful to observe the purity of classical technique that Mariinsky Theatre ...
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 ...
Be sublime! instructs ‘Bayadere’ coach Susan Jones
Jun
11
2018
It was nice to hear from Susan Jones, the impassioned ballet mistress of American Ballet Theatre who lately admits to a special assignment indeed. “For weeks we have worked on every detail of La Bayadère Act 2 Shades,” she shares on Facebook, referring to the famous sequence that opens the second act of “La Bayadère,” ...
REVIEW: Kimin Kim brings action-hero explosiveness to Mariinsky Schéhérazade 2
I admit that prior to Sunday night I had never seen a full-length, fully produced staging of Michel Fokine’s Schéhérazade — including lengthy orchestral prelude, sets, costumes, the works. The Mariinsky Ballet and Orchestra delivered their version this weekend at Segerstrom Center for the Arts as part of an all-Fokine program. At Sunday’s performance, the ...
Sit down and clap! 4
Oct
18
2015
Is polite, even fervent, audience applause from a seated position a bygone social custom? This nicety has not completely disappeared; last month at the conclusion of “Raymonda,” at Segerstrom Hall, it was a joy to regard the massive Mariinsky Ballet’s elegant bows in full view. The audience, perhaps still enthralled by the enormity of the ...
Raymonda “likes” Jean de Brienne’s profile picture
In this image from Act I of the Mariinsky Ballet’s “Raymonda,” the heroine’s faraway beau, Jean de Brienne, sends his honey a Medieval version (a kind of tapestry that gets unfurled) of his Facebook profile picture. From her posture, don’t you think she seems to be giving it a “like”? I do.
Mariinsky’s massive, still relevant, “Raymonda” at Segerstrom
Sep
29
2015
A whirlwind weekend included the privilege of watching the great dancers of the Mariinsky Theatre deliver a rarity: the full three-act version of Petipa’s Hungarian-themed, “Raymonda,” which the massive dance troupe exactingly performed, a tad jam-packed, on the Segerstrom Hall stage. It went beyond a complete balletic experience; it felt like a life experience to ...
Why “Raymonda”? Segerstrom’s Judy Morr shares love of this ballet
Sep
13
2015
In advance of the Mariinsky Ballet and Orchestra’s upcoming presentation of the full-evening version of “Raymonda,” dating to the late 19th century, we spoke to Segerstrom Center for the Arts Executive Vice President Judy Morr, who is the longtime dance curator at the Orange County arts complex. Judy, why present this ballet now? “Raymonda” is ...
Mariinsky Ballet: Southern California viewing guide
Aug
18
2015
That life can be difficult is no news. We all have to make tough decisions all the time. The latest? Where to see the great Mariinsky Ballet, also known as the Kirov Ballet, lately reverted to its Imperial Ballet nomenclature, in the ballet-and-orchestra conglomerate’s upcoming visits to Southern California. The Mariinsky ports some of the ...
Miracle on the 405: Mariinsky’s “Swan Lake” @ Segerstrom Center
Oct
7
2012
Yes, a miracle, not on 42nd Street but on the mighty 405 freeway in Costa Mesa, California. There, for a Sunday matinee, all was right with the (dance) world, as the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly the Kirov) offered a sensational journey through beauty and passion, sanity and civilization. Everything that dance can be was on offer ...