When I started reading Toni Bentley’s Serenade: A Balanchine Story, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. In fact, I wasn’t sure that I was going to continue reading it. I had my suspicion that the tone might be overly reverent, as Bentley was young and impressionable when she joined the ranks of New York City Ballet and was chosen by master choreographer George Balanchine to dance … [Read more...]
In MCB’s season-ender, couples, soloist Peters stand out
Miami City Ballet hedged its bets for the last program of season by presenting the world premiere of an elaborately ambitious collaborative work together with the company premieres of two acclaimed contemporary pas de deux and a dated repertory warhorse --- George Balanchine’s The Prodigal Son. It was an evening of strong performances by all the company dancers, but the … [Read more...]
Complexions ballet troupe astonishes as its widens dance audience
The “wow factor” when seeing a performance of Complexions Contemporary Ballet is incredibly high — in fact, it is off the charts. During their one-night stand at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts on April 2, the amazing New York-based ballet company checked off every box with aplomb — gorgeous dancers, a dazzling display of technical prowess, fantastic music and … [Read more...]
Graham company impresses at Duncan in works classic and new
“Something old, something new” was once again the theme at the Duncan Theatre as the Martha Graham Dance Company closed out the 2022 Modern Dance Series at Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth Beach. Straddling the lifespan of the company from 1926 to 2022, the program March 25 presented was both historical and very current. Opening and closing the program, like covers of … [Read more...]
Ballet Palm Beach to premiere ‘Peter Pan and Tinker Bell’
After almost two years on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then a little bump for omicron in October when their season was scheduled to begin, Ballet Palm Beach this month will return to the stage with an original work, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, inspired by two novels by Peter Pan's creator, J.M. Barrie. The production runs April 14-16 at the Rinker Playhouse at the … [Read more...]
Glittering ‘Jewels’ was true treasure at Miami City Ballet
Miami City Ballet shared a glittering jewelry box with us March 18 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts by presenting a treasure: Jewels. This iconic ballet, which is performed by numerous ballet companies around the world, was choreographed for New York City Ballet in 1967 by George Balanchine who always claimed that, despite the title, his evening-length ballet … [Read more...]
Pilobolus’s 50th, at Duncan, was a mish-mash rather than a celebration
The renowned creative collective known as Pilobolus had been scheduled to return to Palm Beach County in April 2020 after a four-year absence. Unfortunately, they ended up being the first show to be canceled at the Duncan Theatre because of COVID-19. They were booked to return in February 2021, but once again their performances had to be canceled. Finally, this year on … [Read more...]
MCB’s ‘Swan Lake’: A monumental feather shakeup
Today, it’s hard to imagine that Swan Lake, the most iconic evening-length ballet, was not a success when it was first created in 1877. It is now -- without a doubt -- the most respected of classical ballets and it is the pinnacle of achievement for a ballet company to have a successful version in the repertory. Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez makes no bones sharing what an … [Read more...]
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance show, at Duncan, sizzles in second half
The choice of companies for this year’s Modern Dance Series at the Duncan Theatre in Lake Worth Beach is a celebration, not just of the modern dance companies that made it through the pandemic, but of those that have been around for decades and are on the verge of becoming historic institutions. Parsons Dance (which opened the series) is 40 years old, and Cleo Parker … [Read more...]
Parsons Dance offers memorable return to the theater at Duncan
It’s just shy of two years since the Duncan Theatre in Lake Worth Beach went dark. The immensely popular annual Modern Dance Series hadn’t finished when the theater shut down because of COVID-19, but on Jan. 15, the doors were wide open to welcome its loyal audience back as it kick-started its 2022 season with Parsons Dance. And what a kick it was to be back in the theater … [Read more...]