My latest two features for the Times touched upon two different worlds: the world of the dance accompanist, and that of the movie choreographer.
The first was a musing on the secret life of dance pianists. I spoke with Cameron Grant of New York City Ballet and Michael Scales of New York Theatre Ballet, as well as countless others, to find out how they train, what the challenges are, and what keeps them inspired. Here’s that piece.
Cameron Grant, Sterling Hyltin and Tyler Angle. Credit Krista Schlueter for The New York Times
And the other was on Jack Cole, known in some corners as the “Father of Jazz Dance”. The dance writer Debra Levine recently organized a retrospective of Cole’s movies at the Museum of Modern Art. Which led me to watch a good number of these films… That piece is here.
This time of year, it’s hard to keep up with the goings-on in the dance world (particularly ballet). Here is a round-up of recent performances and news:
Evgenia Obraztsova in Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Rosalie O’Connor.
1. Herman Cornejo and Evgenia Obraztsova performed a touching rendition of Romeo and Juliet at the Met. It was Obraztsova’s début with the company—here’s hoping this new partnership will blossom in coming seasons. Here is a link to my review, for DanceTabs.
Herman Cornejo at the same performance. Photo by Gene Schiavone.
2. New York Theatre Ballet, alias “the little company that could,” held its first season in the sanctuary at St. Mark’s Church, its new home. On the program were works by Frederick Ashton, Richard Alston, David Parker, Antony Tudor, and the young choreographer Gemma Bond. The space fits the company beautifully, and the inclusion of live music (piano and voice) made all the difference. Here’s a link to my review, for DanceTabs.
New York Theatre Ballet in Anthony Tudor’s Dark Elegies. Photo by Yi-Chun Wu.
3. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater closed out the season with a Rennie Harris’s moving Exodus (new this season), Robert Battle’s No Longer Silent (a company première), and, of course Revelations. Here’s my review, for DanceTabs.
4. And finally, Julie Kent gave her final performance with ABT, a finely-etched portrait of Juliet in the well-loved Kenneth MacMillan production. As always with this thinking ballerina, every detail was beautifully distinct. It is difficult to imagine works like A Month in the Countrywithout her.
Julie Kent, the soul of simplicity, as always. Photo by yours truly.
Dancing Around 