http://philadelphiadance.org/blog Making dance and dance writing in Philadelphia more accessible to everyone Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:04:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2013/02/09/review-pa-ballets-balanchine-wheeldon-tharp/ http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2013/02/09/review-pa-ballets-balanchine-wheeldon-tharp/#comments Sat, 09 Feb 2013 14:58:00 +0000 Kat Richter http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/?p=9716
Soloist James Ihde and Former Principal Dancer Riolama Lorenzo Photo: Alexander Iziliaev By Kat Richter for The Dance Journal With Nutcracker season finally over, Pennsylvania Ballet welcomed the New Year with an eclectic and ambitious program at the Merriam Theatre on Thursday night: Balanchine, Wheeldon, Tharp—three very different choreographers treated to three very different interpretations [...]]]>
Soloist James Ihde and Former Principal Dancer Riolama Lorenzo Photo: Alexander Iziliaev By Kat Richter for The Dance Journal With Nutcracker season finally over, Pennsylvania Ballet welcomed the New Year with an eclectic and ambitious program at the Merriam Theatre on Thursday night: Balanchine, Wheeldon, Tharp—three very different choreographers treated to three very different interpretations by the company. Considering the company’s connection to Balanchine through its founder, Barbara Weisberger, herself a student of the acclaimed choreographer, it comes as little surprise that pieces like Square Dance work so well on the company.  Balanchine’s precise symmetry was well preserved and as the twelve dancers dressed in pale blue sailed across the stage, they seemed to multiply in number. Principal dancer Amy Aldridge nailed the petit allegro with a series of swiveling, syncopated changements on the tips of her pointe shoes.  Her interactions with the racing Vivaldi/Corelli score were so nuanced and subtle that they were almost perceivable—especially with everything else going on onstage—but the audience, ever appreciative, was generous in its applause. Jermel Johnson’s solo, which did not exist in the 1952 version of Square Dance but was added in the 1976 revival, departed from the work’s earlier exuberance with a series of turns landing in deep, arched back lunges and intricate pirouettes untwisting from even more intricate preparations.  It felt out of place in contrast to the sweet and buoyant couples who do-si-doed around the stage, replacing the square dancer’s traditional skips and hops with pique turns and chasses, but it endowed the work with a greater degree of emotional depth. Twyla Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove, unfortunately, didn’t work quite as well.  To say that Baryshnikov is a hard act to follow is, of course, an understatement.  The 1976 classic is as much about the Russian virtuoso as it about choreographer Twyla Tharp, and although Pennsylvania Ballet’s costumes and staging were true to the original, right down to the signature bowler hats, dancer Zachary Hench lacked the necessary panache to do the lead role justice.  He caught all of the off kilter turns and jumps but there was a certain bravado missing from his nonchalance.  Principal Lauren Fadeley seemed to be the only one who “got” the comedic essence of the work, with some help from Julie Diana. The highlight of the evening was actually Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain, which premiered in 2005 at the New York City Ballet’s annual New Combinations Evening.  Sandwiched between Balanchine and Tharp, Wheeldon’s work was a breath of fresh air danced by three couples in gradient shades of navy and cobalt blues.  Lined up one behind the other, the three female dancers pitched their weight forward with the support of their partners, lifting one leg to the side until it was parallel to the floor.  They froze, but then their legs descended like the hands of a clock, dropping from three o’clock, to six, then up to twelve pushing the ball and socket joints of their hips beyond their limits. The music of Arvo Pärt was the perfect canvas for Wheeldon’s gravity-defying choreography.  The dancers played in and around the silence provided by the ample space between notes; the violins battled with the piano as the dancers skimmed across the stage, supported on their toes or leaping backwards in space. After the first movement, which left the stage empty, Hench returned to the stage with Diana for a tender, slow motion duet.  Stripped of their blue costumes, the husband and wife pair returned in simple practice clothes; he in a pair of pants and she bare-legged in a plain salmon pink leotard, point shoes discarded and hair unpinned from its tight French twist.  They ambled and meandered, leaning from side to side as the duet—ever steady in its adherence to the three/four time signature— became more expansive in its use of space and bodies before ending in a simple kiss. PA Ballet’s Balanchine, Wheeldon, Tharp at the Merriam Theater, Feberuary 7-10 Kat Richter is a freelance writer and teaching artist.  She holds an MA in Dance Anthropology and is also the co-founder of The Lady Hoofers, Philadelphia’s only all-female tap company.  Her work can be found at www.katrichter.com.]]> http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2013/02/09/review-pa-ballets-balanchine-wheeldon-tharp/feed/ 2 http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2013/01/09/pennsylvania-ballet-to-present-balanchine-wheeldon-tharp/ http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2013/01/09/pennsylvania-ballet-to-present-balanchine-wheeldon-tharp/#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:30:26 +0000 Steven Weisz http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/?p=9474
Pennsylvania Ballet Principal Dancer Zachary Hench in Twyla Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev Revel in ballet’s boundless potential as Pennsylvania Ballet presents a trio of diverse works with Balanchine/Wheeldon/Tharp, February 7-10, 2013 at the Merriam Theater. “The three choreographers on this program are nothing short of titans in the dance world,” Artistic [...]]]>
Pennsylvania Ballet Principal Dancer Zachary Hench in Twyla Tharp's Push Comes to Shove. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev Revel in ballet’s boundless potential as Pennsylvania Ballet presents a trio of diverse works with Balanchine/Wheeldon/Tharp, February 7-10, 2013 at the Merriam Theater. “The three choreographers on this program are nothing short of titans in the dance world,” Artistic Director Roy Kaiser says. “Their distinct styles will showcase our dancers’ incredible artistic adaptability.” George Balanchine’s Square Dance is a favorite of many dancers. Its title comes from the structure of American folk dance, which Balanchine found made a complementary frame for classical ballet movement. Dancers wear simple leotards and tights, allowing audiences to focus on the artists’ breathtakingly speedy footwork and the brilliant score by Antonio Vivaldi and Arcangelo Corelli. Christopher Wheeldon’s compelling and intimate After the Rain, a Company premiere, showcases inventive partnering and heartfelt emotion. The first section of this piece features three couples. The second, most-identifiable part is a pas de deux. The ballerina is dressed in a pink leotard and her partner is bare-chested. At times they are close and tender with one another, while at other times they are separated and searching for one another, all set to the moving music of Arvo Pärt. The legendary Twyla Tharp anchors this program with the quirky and fun Push Comes to Shove. Originally created for Mikhail Baryshnikov and featuring Tharp’s trademark theatrical style, this piece moves to a lively score by Joseph Haydn and Joseph Lamb and uses a bowler hat as its central prop. Dance Magazine praised this work’s crossover capabilities saying, “Tharp made ballet beautiful in a new way, tough and cool.” Tickets to Balanchine/Wheeldon/Tharp at the Merriam Theater are on sale now, starting at $30. Tickets are available online at paballet.org, by phone at 215.893.1999, and in person at the Kimmel Center Box Office. Balanchine/Wheeldon/Tharp performances at the Merriam Theater: Thursday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 9 at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. Sunday, February 10 at 2 p.m.]]> http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2013/01/09/pennsylvania-ballet-to-present-balanchine-wheeldon-tharp/feed/ 3 http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2009/09/28/pennsylvania-balley-launches-46th-season-with-a-balanchine-classic/ http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2009/09/28/pennsylvania-balley-launches-46th-season-with-a-balanchine-classic/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:38:36 +0000 http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/?p=1738
Pennsylvania Ballet, one of the premier ballet companies in the country, launches its 46th season with a Balanchine classic, an innovative new work by Choreographer in Residence Matthew Neenan, and Agnes de Mille’s rousing ballet honoring the American West. “I want to be able to expose the audience to a wide variety of styles within [...]]]>
Pennsylvania Ballet, one of the premier ballet companies in the country, launches its 46^th season with a Balanchine classic, an innovative new work by Choreographer in Residence Matthew Neenan, and Agnes de Mille’s rousing ballet honoring the American West. “I want to be able to expose the audience to a wide variety of styles within the art form,” Artistic Director Roy Kaiser says. “We have an amazingly talented company of dancers that can take on a diverse program like this and perform at a very high level.” Mr. Kaiser, who celebrates his 30^th year with the Company and 15^th as Artistic Director this year, revels in the artistic and technical virtuosity of Pennsylvania Ballet to explore the vitality and diversity of the art form and engage the audience with new work. Theme and Variations is George Balanchine’s tribute to the Imperial Russian Ballet of his youth. Pennsylvania Ballet – founded by Balanchine student and protégée Barbara Weisberger – honors its classical roots with this work. Balanchine’s landmark ballet connects the art of the past to the present with a modern sensibility that became the new standard for classical form and movement. Tradition yields to innovation as Choreographer in Residence Matthew Neenan unveils At the border, his 12^th commission for Pennsylvania Ballet.  Set to Hallelujah Junction, composer John Adams’ complex score for two pianos, this World Premiere is the first of three contemporary works by Mr. Neenan to be performed by the Company this season. Rodeo, Agnes de Mille’s spirited ode to the American character, is the unexpected story of a tomboy in search of love, set to Aaron Copland’s well-known score.  This lively Western ballet was the precursor to de Mille’s choreography for the beloved musical Oklahoma! complete with a rousing Hoedown that remains a show-stopping audience favorite. Tickets for Program I are on sale now, with prices ranging from $24 to $129. Choose your own seats online at paballet.org.  Tickets are also available at the Kimmel Center Box Office or by phone at 215.893.1999. Program I Performances:

• Wednesday, October 21 at 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, October 24 at 2 p.m.
• Saturday, October 24 at 8 p.m.
• Sunday, October 25 at 2 p.m.

Pennsylvania Ballet is one of the premier ballet companies in the United States and has been at the forefront of American dance since 1963. A leading Philadelphia cultural institution, the Company has earned a national reputation for its impassioned artistry and technical virtuosity, and has received widespread critical acclaim for extraordinary performances of a diverse classical and contemporary repertoire. Under Artistic Director Roy Kaiser, the Company has expanded its Balanchine-based repertoire to include bold, innovative new works that embody creative excellence and engage audiences in an ongoing commitment to the vitality of this unique art form. For more information, call 215.551.7000, or visit paballet.org.]]> http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2009/09/28/pennsylvania-balley-launches-46th-season-with-a-balanchine-classic/feed/ 0