As always, the two big companies wheel into Lincoln Center and overlap between April 29 (City Ballet Opening Night Gala) and July 10 (ABT’s final Romeo and Juliet).
ABT is also unveiling a production of John Neumeier’s full-evening The Lady of the Camellias from 1978. It’s not up my alley, but it may be up Read More
Here’s what you have to keep in mind: Twyla Tharp’s wonderful Nine Sinatra Songs and Sinatra Suite are ballets; her new Come Fly Away is a Broadway musical. And when she appears to be recycling famous passages from the past, she’s actually reinventing them to serve her latest ambitions. “That’s Life” in the context of Read More
Forget that great tree at Rockefeller Center: We dance-lovers know it must be Christmas because Alvin Ailey’s at the City Center and The Nutcracker’s at the State. Year in, year out, they anchor New York’s end-of-year dance experience. This year, though, Ailey is hoping to confound our expectations (terrific dancers, unterrific repertoire) at least a Read More
The other night, I was in Elaine’s in search of a little solace when an old friend came by and said in wounded disbelief that he’d just been to the worst show he’d ever seen in his life.
“That’s funny,” I replied regretfully, “so have I.”
We’d both just seen Twyla Tharp’s The Times They Read More
The other night, I was in Elaine’s in search of a little solace when an old friend came by and said in wounded disbelief that he’d just been to the worst show he’d ever seen in his life.
“That’s funny,” I replied regretfully, “so have I.”
We’d both just seen Twyla Tharp’s The Times Read More
City Ballet got one last season, and now A.B.T. has one, too—a new ballet by Jorma Elo, the latest Designated Choreographer of the Day. “Jorma Elo is huge,” The New York Times recently quoted someone as saying. “Huge!” So huge that apparently he’s making seven new ballets for seven different companies this season alone. (Is Read More
It’s not often you go to the ballet and see something with absolutely no redeeming value, but the recent Michael Smuin season at the Skirball Center was exactly that—two hours of glitzy junk, poorly danced.
First came Dancin’ with Gershwin, an endless potpourri of routines to recordings of Gershwin music, from the obvious hits—“’S Wonderful,” Read More
What is Twyla Tharp telling us with her current spur-of-the-moment season at the Joyce? That her eye is on the sparrow (her small touring company) as well as on the blimp (her huge Broadway hit, Movin’ Out )? Twyla Tharp Dance has been touring for months-most recently and highly successfully in London-with more or less Read More
When it comes to reviewing ballet, publishing an anthology of the 20th century’s best lyrics, editing President Clinton’s memoirs, or matters concerning collecting vintage plastic handbags, I always defer to the superior scholarship of Robert Gottlieb. Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out, set to Billy Joel’s hit songs, is a dance show on Broadway, and Mr. Gottlieb’s Read More
Twyla Tharp once said to me, “George Balanchine is God.” She herself doesn’t seem interested in being God; the universe, the nature of man and love, the future of the art-these aren’t the things that concern her. On the other hand, she’s just accomplished something that God clearly hasn’t had time for: With Movin’ Out Read More
