American Ballet Theater Announces 2019 Spring Season
by Alan Henry
- Oct 25, 2018
American Ballet Theatre's 2019 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 13 - July 6, will feature a World Premiere work by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky in programs dedicated entirely to his works in honor of the choreographer's 10th year with the Company.
BWW REVIEW: American Ballet Theatre's LE CORSAIRE
by Wesley Doucette
- Jun 19, 2017
Petipa, who of the three choreographers listed in the program has the most influence on American Ballet Theatre's Le Corsaire, knows how to create a dramatic excuse for dance. With a few notable exceptions, 'Giselle' and 'Romeo and Juliet' come instantly to my mind, declarative dance which spends twenty minutes to hammer out an 'I love you' through pirouettes can be draining and leave the audience thinking 'Just spit it out.' Petipa, clearly seeing this dramatic shortcoming, forms his ballets around vast pageants, processionals, and presentations. The Black Swan seduces by exhibition at a banquet, the last glorious act of The Sleeping Beauty is a virtually plotless celebration, and practically the entire Nutcracker is a series of vignettes formed around a presentation. Le Corsaire is no different. The first act features the presentation of several ballerinas. The second act is centered around the principal dancers performing to 'entertain the group'. Then, in act three, a pasha spends a lengthy amount of time in a dream sequence which features, what else, women and flowers. Superficially, this all works wonderfully and the dancers shamelessly take this opportunity to exploit their most acrobatic technique. The piece's issues begin upon the introduction of the words 'slave girls.'
Met Box Office to Open Sunday
by Julie Musbach
- Mar 24, 2017
American Ballet Theatre's 2017 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 15-July 8, will feature the New York Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's Whipped Cream and the Company Premiere of Ratmansky's Souvenir d'un lieu cher. Tickets for ABT's Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House go on sale at the box office on Sunday, March 26 at 12 Noon.
American Ballet Theatre Announces 2016 Fall Season
by Nora Dominick
- Jul 13, 2016
Programming for American Ballet Theatre's 2016 Fall Season, October 19-30, at the David H. Koch Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The season will feature a World Premiere by Jessica Lang, the Company Premiere of Daphnis and Chloe by Benjamin Millepied and revivals of George Balanchine's Prodigal Son and Frederick Ashton's Symphonic Variations.
BWW Review: ABT's 'The Golden Cockerel' Is More of a Grandiose Theatrical Production Than a Ballet
by Sondra Forsyth
- Jun 8, 2016
ABT's Resident Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who created the version of 'The Golden Cockerel' that had its company premiere on June 6th 2016, is quoted in a Playbill article by Caroline Hamilton as saying, 'This production is overwhelmingly theatrical'. Ah, so that explains why there is virtually no dancing in the entire first act and very little in the second act! A little research reveals that Ratmansky reportedly added more dancing after getting less than laudatory reviews in 2012 when his 'Cockerel' opened in Copenhagen. Yet mime still predominates, which is the legacy of the unwieldy and heavy original costume designs by avant-garde artist Natalia Goncharova for the 1914 and 1937 Ballet Russes opera ballet productions of 'Le Coq d'Or' with choreography by Fokine. (In 1914, 'baby ballerina' Tamara Karsavina danced the role of the Queen of Shemakhan with Enrico Cecchetti as the Astrologer. The Cockerel was a stage prop.)
1 … next »
|
|