World Arts Today

Posted by Linda Huang on Jun 14, 2013

Heroes, villains and maidens

New changes in American Ballet Theatre’s production of Le Corsaire – eye-catching, sparkling attire and handsome backdrops – look great but didn’t go quite far enough to update. The production needed more than a visual upgrade in its June 7 performance at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Le Corsaire, although a narrative ballet, is often valued for its technical fireworks. The...

Posted by Linda Huang on Jun 7, 2013

Russian aesthetic under Ratmansky’s eye

The unprecedented amount of creative freedom American Ballet Theatre has given its super popular choreographer Alexi Ratmansky was on display in a trilogy of new works. Ratmansky, ABT’s resident choreographer since 2009, created the program, Shostakovich Trilogy, for their spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York City. Symphony #9, which debuted in October 2012 during...

Posted by Linda Huang on Jun 4, 2013

Finding dance that speaks

Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, dancer Jere Hunt set his sights on New York while still in middle school. His pre-teen self couldn’t have predicted the turns that would lie ahead in his performance career. Now in his third year with the New York-based modern dance company, RIOULT, Hunt has literally come a long way. As a high school freshman, Hunt performed in musical theater shows but didn’t have...

Posted by Linda Huang on May 26, 2013

Russians dominate NYCB program

Russian musical composers took center stage at New York City Ballet’s May 21 program at the David Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York. Three of the four works featured were choreographed to music by Russians, acknowledging the origins of the company’s founder, George Balanchine. The first ballet Balanchine choreographed on American soil, Serenade (1935), is a welcomed beginning to any evening. ...

Posted by Linda Huang on May 22, 2013

Hubbard Street Dance celebrates 35 years

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago started humbling enough in 1978, when founder Lou Conte and his four dancers performed primarily jazz works at senior citizen centers in Chicago. Today, the company is celebrating its 35th anniversary and presented two programs at the Joyce Theater in New York May 14-27, featuring a half dozen works from choreographers around the globe. On opening night, the first program...

Posted by Shelley Padilla on May 6, 2013

Playing to its Southern Roots

After a 20-year hiatus, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returned to Dallas with signature works showing the strength of this dynamic company built by a native son. Ailey, who died in 1989, hailed from Rogers, Texas, a small town 150 miles south of Dallas. In the years that his company blossomed into a world-class modern American dance export, he also left a legacy at many regional companies such as the...

Posted by Karen McDonough on Apr 24, 2013

Cuban gems sparkle at YAGP gala

Cuban prima ballerina Viengsay Valdés has performed many times in New York City, but her recent Lincoln Center appearance had her ecstatic. “I’m so happy to be here,” she said backstage at the Youth America Grand Prix all-star gala. “It’s an honor for me to participate.” Her dance partner, Cuban sensation Osiel Gouneo, a 22-year-old fast-rising star at the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, was equally...

Posted by Karen McDonough on Apr 23, 2013

Dancers from U.S., Brazil and Japan top YAGP winners

More than 1,000 teen dancers from 28 countries competed in the New York City finals of the Youth America Grand Prix, the largest ballet competition for scholarships in the world. Students from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and Russia were among the top winners last week. Most notable was the strong showing of talent from Asia and Brazil where ballet has become more popular in...