Who was dancing with brilliant ease with Miami City Ballet at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts a couple weekends ago? Why, it was Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth gliding across the stage in a sweeping waltz. Projected larger-than-life on a huge screen, they introduced I’m Old-Fashioned, Jerome Robbins’ tribute to the silver screen and the glamorous, bygone golden age … [Read more...]
BalletX opens Duncan series in inventive but mixed-bag fashion
BalletX, a Philadelphia-based contemporary ballet company, opened the Duncan Theatre’s popular Modern Dance Series on Jan. 17 in Lake Worth. Under the leadership of Christine Cox, with an artistic mission to commission ballets from choreographers around the globe that will be inclusive and satisfying to the audience, the company has presented 78 world premieres by 39 … [Read more...]
MCB in fine form for evening of Balanchine, Taylor
Miami City Ballet adroitly launched its new season with the first of four diverse programs at the Kravis Center earlier this month. With a plethora of new dancers on the roster and some well-deserved promotions within the company ranks, MCB was in excellent form. Fully energized and technically strong, the company members took on the challenges of the different dance … [Read more...]
Beautiful, visually lavish ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ ends MCB season
The visually lavish production of George Balanchine’s evening-length ballet A Midsummer Night’s Dream closed out Miami City Ballet’s 2018-19 season in the Palm Beaches last week. This revisit of the $2.1 million reimagining of the original work was something to behold. The spectacular set and costumes were by artist Michele Oka Doner, who looked to the Miami waterways for … [Read more...]
Paul Taylor troupe sublime in late master’s dances
At last, Esplanade. The Paul Taylor Dance Company performed an exuberant version of what is generally considered Taylor’s most popular work to a very enthusiastic audience March 23 in Lake Worth. To finally see Esplanade performed on the Duncan Theatre stage was like eating the cherry on top of a long-awaited ice cream sundae. The company has participated in Palm Beach … [Read more...]
MCB sparkles in Peck’s ‘Heatscape,’ Balanchine
It’s hard to believe the season is almost over. This past weekend, Miami City Ballet presented its Program Three at the Kravis Center and fast on its heels will be its final program, the full-length A Midsummer Night’s Dream by George Balanchine with music by Felix Mendelssohn, which will close out the company’s season in the Palm Beaches on April 4 and 5. Program Three was … [Read more...]
Celebrating Paul Taylor: Dance troupe to pay tribute to founder in Duncan stay
When the Paul Taylor Dance Company returns to South Florida next week, it will do so for the first time without its founder, a legend of American dance. Paul Taylor, widely considered one of the greatest of all American choreographers, died in August at age 88 of kidney failure. He was a trailblazer, an entertainer and a true master of his craft. The dances he created … [Read more...]
Momix continues to astonish in Duncan show
The title of the performance — Viva Momix: The Greatest Hits Tour — did sound a bit like a Latin band’s last hurrah but Momix’s return to the Duncan Theatre on March 2 was nothing like that. As always, it was a complete delight — an inventive and fun evening filled with excellent dancing and a wonderful sampling of highlights from Momix’s outstanding evening-length works, … [Read more...]
Hubbard Street dancers shine even as Duncan program stumbles
We were lucky that the members of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago decided not to take chances with the minus-40 degree temperatures and the polar vortex in their hometown but arrive early in South Florida for their performances Feb. 2 at the Duncan Theatre in Lake Worth. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this marvelous group of young dancers who make up Chicago’s premier … [Read more...]
Plenty of energy, middling payoff at MCB’s Program Two
Though there were some kernels of wonderfulness in the Jan. 19 presentation of Miami City Ballet’s Program Two at the Kravis Center, the overall takeaway was that this program was not up to par with past shows. Presenting two works instead of the usual three or four, the program had some clear flaws. Dances at a Gathering, which opened the performance, was a pastel mosaic … [Read more...]