John Mallinson

Alison you have my sympathy for what it's worth. I don't understand how different users can have such different experiences. As I said this was about the smoothest run ever for me.

BE WARNED - There seems to be a problem at the moment with new posts apparently not being posted and thus prompting people (me included) to click the post button again. This results in multiple posts of the same message. If that seems to be happening to you DON'T click on Post again, just refresh the page and you should find your message there.

BE WARNED - There seems to be a problem at the moment with new posts apparently not being posted and thus prompting people (me included) to click the post button again. This results in multiple posts of the same message. If that seems to be happening to you DON'T click on Post again, just refresh the page and you should find your message there.

In and out in 10 minutes with all the tickets I wanted. Did that really happen?!

Thanks - I was hanging around waiting for ROH booking to open!

Links – Tuesday February 7, 2012 Review – NYCB, Russian Seasons, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Allegro Brillante: Leigh Witchel, New York Post Review – Pacific Northwest Ballet in Ratmansky’s Don Quixote, Seattle: Claudia La Rocco, NY Times Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times Review – Russell Maliphant, The Rodin Project: 5 stars, Evening Standard 3 stars, Zoe Anderson, The Independent Neil Norman, The Stage Review – Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Uncommon: Jane Vranish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Ballet dancers and anorexia – and pay: Judith Mackrell, The Guardian Ballet dancers: under pressure, and underweight: Channel 4 news Joffrey Ballet, Thodos Dance Chicago documentaries: Zachary Whittenburg, Time Out Chicago Interview - Prix de Lausanne winner Madoka Sugai: Mainichi Daily News Review – Moscow City Ballet, Swan Lake: Martin Dreyer, York Press Jaered Glavin, Royal New Zealand Ballet: Erica Thompson, Dominion Post Real love story behind Sacramento Ballet's Cinderella: Leigh Grogan, Sacramento Bee Nancy Osbaldeston and ENB’s Emerging Dancer Competition: Constantin Bjerke, Huffington Post National Ballet of Canada’s 2012/2013 season: Melody Lau, National Post Preview – National Ballet of Cuba, Don Quixote, Vancouver: Andra Rabinovitch, Vancouver Observer New York City Ballet Colors by OPI: Lauren Salpatek, Modern Salon

Links – Monday February 6, 2012 Review – Russell Maliphant, The Rodin Project: Ismene Brown, The Arts Desk Review – NYCB, Balanchine and Ratmansky, À la Russe: Marina Harss, The Faster Times Gia Kourlas, NY Times Prix de Lausanne, prizewinner Madoka Sugai: Hiroyuki Maegawa, Asahi Shimbun …and Hannah Bettes who came 2nd: Carrie Seidman, Arts Sarasota Prix de Lausanne 2012 finals on video (1hr 45min): Prix de Lausanne Web TV, Prizewinners Preview – Twyla Tharp's The Princess and the Goblin, Atlanta Ballet: Cynthia Bond Perry, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Preview – Edward Liang’s Romeo and Juliet, Tulsa Ballet: James D. Watts Jr, Tulsa World Ballet begins (again) at 50: Yona Zeldis McDonough, The Telegraph Review - BONEdanse, This Is a Damage Manual: Zachary Whittenburg, Time Out Chicago

Links – Sunday February 5, 2012 Review – The Dream/ Song of the Earth, Royal Ballet: Jenny Gilbert, The Independent Review – Men in Motion, Sadler’s Wells: Luke Jennings, The Observer From Foot to Foot, How Rhythm Travelled the World: Ismene Brown, The Arts Desk Ashley Bouder, NYCB ballerina: Stefanie Cohen, New York Post Preview – Pacific Northwest Ballet, Don Quixote: Steven Mesler, Huffington Post Preview – Boston Ballet’s Balanchine/Wheeldon/Fokine bill: Jeffrey Gantz, Boston Globe Review – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Toronto: Paula Citron, Globe and Mail Review – Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Don Quixote, Texas: Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News Review – Israel Ballet, Tel Aviv: Ora Brafman, Jerusalem Post Shiny new Bolshoi theatre a big flop (apparently): Reuters, Times Colonist Italian ballerina sacked in anorexia row: Tom Kington, The Guardian

Links – Saturday February 4, 2012 Obituary – Rudi van Dantzig: Telegraph Reviews - Royal Ballet The Dream/Song of the Earth: Laura Thompson, The Telegraph Clement Crisp, Financial Times Clifford Bishop, Evening Standard Review - Wayne McGregor/Candoco/Hofesh Shechter, Sadler's Wells: Clifford Bishop, Evening Standard Review - Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Lyon: Laura Cappelle, Financial Times Review - Shen Wei Dance Arts, Seattle, Limited States: Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times Dancing in the Movies, three films considered: Marina Harss, Faster Times Wim Wenders’ Pina: Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post Preview – Twyla Tharp’s The Princess and the Goblin, Atlanta Ballet: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Australian Ballet goes to New York in June: Broadway World Prix de Lausanne 2012 (concludes tomorrow): Michele Laird, swissinfo L’affaire Polunin: David Lister, Independent

This thread can now be considered closed to new messages as Bruce has opened up a new forum titled Dance Links - reviews & features in which to post links.

News & Reviews links – Tuesday January 31, 2012 Wheeldon’s happy homecoming to NYCB: Jocelyn Noveck, San Francisco Chronicle Discursive piece on the Wheeldon triple bill: Tobi Tobias, Arts Journal Christopher Wheeldon triple bill at NYCB (Jennie Somogyi injured): Leigh Witchel, New York Post Jennie Somogyi’s injury: Daniel J. Wakin, New York Times Liam Scarlett’s Viscera for Miami City Ballet: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Ivan Putrov’s Men in Motion at Sadler’s Wells: Clement Crisp, Financial Times; Clifford Bishop, Evening Standard; Zoe Anderson, The Independent; Laura Thompson, Telegraph What is black dance? Interview with Ishmael Houston-Jones: Gia Kourlas Time Out NY Obituary of Paul DeMasson, Australian dancer: Fiona Tonkin, The Australian Bolshoi Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty, Moscow: Raymond Stults, Moscow Times

> What response would you like, John? Do we need to beg? Alison, grovelling and begging always go down well! As I'm sure you know, we were usually spending up to 3 hours a day garnering links under the old system. That was not really supportable any longer. If it's possible to snag the most important links in not more than 30 minutes each day then it might be worth carrying on just so long as people are interested in reading them (I am!). And at 30 minutes a day perhaps others might be more willing to join in and share the load. The biggest loss is the database and all the detail that holds, but extracting quotes and entering the data was one of the time-consuming elements. If this site survives (still a big if) then I would hope that some sort of links collation might be included, though it would not be as thorough as in the past.

Some more links to ease the withdrawal symptoms! (Whether we should continue with this depends on the response.) An Evening of Wheeldon at NYCB: Marina Harss, The Faster Times NYCB in a Balanchine and Robbins Program: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Wheeldon’s new Les Carillons for NYCB: Brian Seibert, NY Times Mark Morris's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato in Washington: Sarah Kaufman, The Washington Post 3-D or not 3-D – Wim Wenders’ Pina: Lewis Segal, LA Times Bill T. Jones and John Cage: Deborah Jowitt, The Arts Journal Rudi van Dantzig obituary: Anna Kisselgoff, NY Times Film review, Dominique Delouche’s Balanchine in Paris: Patricia Boccadoro, CultureKiosque Onegin at S.F. Ballet: Mary Ellen Hunt, San Francisco Chronicle Onegin at Paris Opera Ballet: Patricia Boccadoro, CultureKiosque Johan Kobborg’s Salute for Sarasota Ballet: Carrie Seidman, Arts Sarasota

How odd. I am logged in and it takes me straight there. If I log out then that link takes me to the login page. If I google Royal Ballet School Facebook I get in with this link http://www.facebook.com/pages/Royal-Ballet-School/192391186502 but it's a different account and I suspect not official. I give up! As you can probably tell I don't use Facebook, I don't understand it, I don't like it - perhaps someone else can help!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-ROYAL-BALLET-SCHOOL/261716290520557 got me there.

Bolle.

Wheeldon R&J anyone?

In memoriam TodaysLinks So. Farewell Then Balletco TodaysLinks. No more aubades Trawling The Patriot Ledger, Bradenton Herald, Gay City News - The wide Wild world Of titbits And witty crits. No more of Clement's crisps Before breakfast. Nor need I ride again On Brooklyn Rail. Fare thee well @people. Flitter away Twitter, All skimpy 140 characters Of you. Such sweet sorrow but No crocodile tears. You're on your own Now. From stir crazy To demob happy That's me. I will Sleep in Each morning. With apologies to the proprietors of Private Eye and E.J. Thribb, aged 17½

Saturday's Links - 21 January 2012 Obituary: Rudi van Dantzig by Ted Brandsen "Inspiring, passionate, intense and true to himself - these are the first words that spring to mind when I think of Rudi." Net Nationale Ballet website Obituary: Rudi van Dantzig "His work radiated style and colour. It looked fantastic. That was his strongest side." DutchNews.nl REVIEW: New York City Ballet Diving Into Sea, and Then Gershwin Ocean’s Kingdom, Le Tombeau de Couperin, Who Cares USA, New York, David H. Koch Theater Dancers: Bouder, Fairchild R, Hyltin, Kikta, La Cour, Mearns, Pazcoguin, Ramasar, Somogyi by Gia Kourlas "Ocean’s Kingdom, first performed in September, is as plodding as ever: four movements of static choreography by Mr. Martins, along with blandly sweeping music and a convoluted libretto by Mr. McCartney." New York Times Slideshow REVIEW: San Francisco Ballet Gala's depth, daring Opening gala: The Flames of Paris, Number Nine, Classical Symphony, The Lady of the Camellias, Solo, The Dance House, and others USA, San Francisco, War Memorial Opera House Dancers: Boada, Chung, Domitro, Helimets, Karapetyan, Kochetkova, Mazzeo, Molat, Nedvigin, Scribner, Smith, Sylve, Tan, Van Patten, Yamamoto, Zahorian, Riabko by Mary Ellen Hunt "San Francisco Ballet dispelled any lingering gloom from the damp, chilly evening with a gala opening on Thursday night at the War Memorial Opera House that deftly showcased the company's notable versatility." San Francisco Chronicle Twinkle Toes Celebrate SF Ballet’s 79th Season by Catherine Bigelow "Umbrellas turned out to be the most fashionable accessory last night when, beneath stormy skies, the San Francisco Ballet celebrated its 79th opening-night gala ..." San Francisco Chronicle S.F. Ballet gala's Bella Notte a night to remember by Catherine Bigelow "Atop tables dressed in persimmon and cerulean linens, chef Lucas Schoemaker served up a masterful McCall Associates meal (prosciutto and funghi salad, fillet with gorgonzola ravioli, poached pear and coffee gelato) accompanied by William Hill Estate vino." San Francisco Chronicle REVIEW: Erica Essner Performance Co-op Clouding Together for a Storm, and Shedding Light on Immigration Stories FLICfest 2012: Weathered USA, New York, Irondale Center by Claudia La Rocco "Ms. Essner favors handsome modern-dance phrases that make for pretty, polite pictures. Weathered never convinces that it exists to do more than serve as a framework for these images ..." New York Times REVIEW: Keith A Thompson Clouding Together for a Storm, and Shedding Light on Immigration Stories FLICfest 2012: Beginnings Forever Lost USA, New York, Irondale Center by Claudia La Rocco "There are intriguing moments. But ... Beginnings Forever Lost feels hardly formed, as if Mr. Thompson’s ideas needed to simmer for a good deal longer, so that the work’s didactic message and slippery choreographic logic might find a better meeting point." New York Times REVIEW: Rubberbandance Group Hip-hop and ballet in a soulful blend Gravity of Center USA, Philadelphia, Annenberg Center Dancers: Hoglund, Le Phan, Mayo, Plamandon, Quijada by Merilyn Jackson "I like seeing hip-hop danced raw on the street, but seeing it danced more slowly and by well-trained dancers like these is like eating tournedos de boeuf instead of hot dogs. There's nothing wrong with hotdogging on the street, but it can go only so far." Philadelphia Inquirer REVIEW: China Jinling Dance Company A Technicolor Garden The Peony Pavilion USA, New York, David H. Koch Theater Dancers: Bo, Xinyu, Yanfeng by Gus Solomons jr "Pavilion reflects its culture, created to play to thousands in arena-sized venues. Everything about it is big –- even the lovers' intimate moments reach to the rafters. No need to fill in with your imagination; it’s all spread out in a lavish visual feast." Gay City News Q&A: Lighting Designer Michael Hulls by Ismene Brown "Lighting designers are either wizards or useful pedants. They scrupulously light the action or they make light speak its own language, activating space, time, illusion, imagination - inventing effects that your blinking eyes can only consider as magic." The Arts Desk Wendy Whelan: A Dancer Who Can Remember The Giants by Claudia La Rocco "If Wendy Whelan were a Hollywood star, glossy profiles about her would forever be opening with vignettes underlining how remarkably down to earth and likable she is ..." New York Times Johan Kobborg - a noted dancer’s first choreographic steps by Carrie Seidman "Anything I do besides my own dancing is play for me, in a sense," he said. "And I’ve enjoyed the process. I love getting an idea and trying to bring it to life. To get it out of my brain and my body and into someone else’s." Sarasota Herald Tribune Backstage at the Ballet with the comedy team of Kobborg & Webb by Carrie Seidman "'I only spoke to you because Baryshnikov was supposed to be coming to Denmark and I saw the eyes and the height…I was certain your first name was Mischa,' Kobborg recalled." Sarasota Herald Tribune Preview: Mark Morris's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, Washington by Sarah Kaufman "That he relied on dancing, and dancing alone, to tell this sprawling story of human existence that he had in his head since first hearing the music several years earlier is telling. There is no other choreographer today with Morris’s unbound imagination and the skill to realize it onstage." Washington Post Youth America Grand Prix brings prestige to ballet competition world by Carrie Seidman "The winners - and even many of those who don’t receive medals - dance away with a lot more than just a cheap souvenir: YAGP awards more than $250,000 in scholarships annually to top schools both in and outside the United States." Sarasota Herald Tribune This week's new dance (UK) by Judith Mackrell "Ivan Putrov: Men In Motion; The Royal Ballet: Draft Works." The Guardian Some performers seek different career path after last dance by Mark Kanny "I'm starting over from scratch. I really would like to be a history professor," she says. "Medieval history has been an incredible passion my entire life. Stopping dancing was huge. It has been a huge part of my identity. All my friends were dancers. I knew it would take another passion to help me through the transition." Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Seattle dancer Ezra Dickinson: What can't he do? by Michael Upchurch "There's a creaturely intensity to Dickinson's performing style. There can also be plenty of humor. In a solo number Dickinson does with the Castaways, he goes into a handstand that he holds without a quiver until he gets applause ..." Seattle Times Don't forget - Balanchine's birthday tomorrow by Roslyn Sulcas "It’s the 108th anniversary of GEORGE BALANCHINE’s birth on Sunday, and New York City Ballet hasn’t missed the opportunity to celebrate with a day called, yes, Sunday at the Ballet With George." New York Times Scottish Ballet's Eve Mutso Eve's lengthy legs are a must for regal ballet role Uncredited "Mutso laughed: 'I am five feet seven, I am on pointes and I am long-limbed. Sometimes my legs live their own life - and I have to try to keep control of them.'" Inverness Courier Director Frederick Wiseman on Burlesque Doc Crazy Horse by Steve Erickson "I don’t understand all the fuss about showing naked people. All men and women know what naked men and women look like. We know what ourselves look like in the shower. If you’re in a relationship, you’ve seen your partner naked. You’ve probably seen your sisters and brothers naked." Studio Daily Resolution! 2012 REVIEW: Giorgio de Carolis and Elena Zaino Resolution! 2012: Bunga Bunga UK, London, The Place Dancers: De Carolis, Zaino by Keith Watson "Forced to improvise and open up, suddenly their dance came alive." The Place REVIEW: Giorgio de Carolis and Elena Zaino Resolution! 2012: Bunga Bunga UK, London, The Place Dancers: De Carolis, Zaino by Jeffrey Gordon Baker "...both were clearly capable movers, but a technical glitch completely stalled the pair, despite several audience members gamely entreating them to ‘just keep dancing!’ Advice they sadly didn’t heed." The Place REVIEW: Non Applicable Dance Collective Resolution! 2012: Bi-Winning UK, London, The Place by Keith Watson "...started brightly ...But as this satirical take on how we try make ourselves into what we want to be gathered physical speed, it ran out of ideas." The Place REVIEW: Non Applicable Dance Collective Resolution! 2012: Bi-Winning UK, London, The Place Dancers: Mcguines, Myers, Quick, Ryan by Jeffrey Gordon Baker "What the piece lacked in cohesion and thematic consistency ...it made up for in smiles, brought on by the fun that was clearly being had by these four sweetly geeky women." The Place REVIEW: Matthew Huy Resolution! 2012: After Happily Ever After UK, London, The Place Dancers: Huy, Walker by Keith Watson "From the disparate music choices to dance that shifted gear without an emotional core, this was pretty dancing but little more." The Place REVIEW: Matthew Huy Resolution! 2012: After Happily Ever After UK, London, The Place Dancers: Huy, Walker by Jeffrey Gordon Baker "...Mr Huy and partner Emma Louise Walker were pleasantly exhilarated by their own rushing leaps and Time-of-My-Life lifts even if the choreography felt a bit trite and dated, at times awkwardly executed." The Place REVIEW: Black Gecko Dance Resolution! 2012: We Have Won UK, London, The Place by Lyndsey Winship "...it needs a bit more punch. More like a playground scrap than an all-out battle." The Place REVIEW: Black Gecko Dance Resolution! 2012: We Have Won UK, London, The Place by Rachel Donnelly "This was a deft and solid piece, with some strong choreography from Georgie Hay and Grace Sellwood, although the central concept lacked complexity." The Place REVIEW: Saad Resolution! 2012: Think_outside UK, London, The Place Dancers: Wild by Lyndsey Winship "It's not a bad piece, but neither does it quite soar." The Place REVIEW: Saad Resolution! 2012: Think_outside UK, London, The Place Dancers: Wild by Rachel Donnelly "Something about unthinking acquiescence versus independent thought? Perplexing, but nonetheless affecting." The Place REVIEW: Jindeok Park with thisnowthis Resolution! 2012: A Downpour UK, London, The Place by Lyndsey Winship "But when the text finally coalesces into something narrative, and we realise we've been listening to mixed up fragments of a sane story all along, we have to ask: did we miss the method in the movement too? An answer isn't readily forthcoming." The Place REVIEW: Jindeok Park with thisnowthis Resolution! 2012: A Downpour UK, London, The Place by Rachel Donnelly "However, despite a strong ending, the connection between the words and the choreography is not always apparent and the overall effect was one of distraction." The Place REVIEW: Neshima Dance Company Resolution! 2012: Beyond Words UK, London, The Place by Graham Watts "Neshima is an unpretentious and engaging ensemble, directed with an eye for interesting structure and diversity by Batel Magen." The Place REVIEW: Neshima Dance Company Resolution! 2012: Beyond Words UK, London, The Place by Natalia Okeke "With a refreshing irony, Beyond Words clearly communicates the complexities of the inability to speak." The Place REVIEW: Lindy Nsingo Resolution! 2012: Self UK, London, The Place Dancers: Nsingo by Graham Watts "...Nsingo’s authoritative performance commanded attention although - at 25 minutes - the work was at least a section too long." The Place REVIEW: Lindy Nsingo Resolution! 2012: Self UK, London, The Place Dancers: Nsingo by Natalia Okeke "Part one-woman comedy show, part spoken-autobiography, Lindy Nsingo’s Self makes an impression through its sheer honesty." The Place REVIEW: Tourlander Resolution! 2012: Don't Say It Was A Dream UK, London, The Place by Graham Watts "Her six dancers attacked the movement with a seductive, infectious sharpness and joy." The Place REVIEW: Tourlander Resolution! 2012: Don't Say It Was A Dream UK, London, The Place by Natalia Okeke "In these closing moments a ukulele version of Somewhere over the Rainbow plays and, although quaint, hinders the strength of the rest of the piece." The Place REVIEW: Joss Arnott Dance Resolution! 2012: 24 UK, London, The Place by Sanjoy Roy "The piece went down a storm, but I found it all effect and no substance. It also gave me a sense of deja vu..." The Place REVIEW: Joss Arnott Dance Resolution! 2012: 24 UK, London, The Place by Germaine Cheng "...one cannot help but think of Arnott as the dance equivalent of Wayne McGregor and Hofesh Shechter’s lovechild." The Place REVIEW: Jemma Bicknell Resolution! 2012: Please Not Mine UK, London, The Place by Sanjoy Roy "Wet blankets of morose indie music contribute to the sense of a creative spark that hasn’t caught hold." The Place REVIEW: Jemma Bicknell Resolution! 2012: Please Not Mine UK, London, The Place Dancers: Armstrong by Germaine Cheng "Please Not Mine is the heartfelt cry of a woman witnessing the utter bedlam in the capital city, valiantly maintaining a shred of hope amidst her intensifying fear." The Place REVIEW: Thom Rackett Company Resolution! 2012: You Just Live UK, London, The Place by Sanjoy Roy "With apple-eating, newspaper-stuffing and blasts of operatic arias, it’s pretty discombobulating, but you feel that you have just lived a little." The Place REVIEW: Thom Rackett Company Resolution! 2012: You Just Live UK, London, The Place by Germaine Cheng "A young man is caught in a world where the herd mentality once again prevails." The Place REVIEW: Jacob Hobbs Resolution! 2012: Project 51 UK, London, The Place by Donald Hutera "...consistently amusing..." The Place REVIEW: Jacob Hobbs Resolution! 2012: Project 51 UK, London, The Place by Rachel Donnelly "Ultimately, though, it failed to engage me, with predictable choreography and a flat narrative." The Place REVIEW: Jessie Brett Resolution! 2012: Woolgatherer UK, London, The Place Dancers: Brett by Donald Hutera "Nevertheless this deft little character vignette showed that Brett has presence, facility and flair." The Place REVIEW: Jessie Brett Resolution! 2012: Woolgatherer UK, London, The Place Dancers: Brett by Rachel Donnelly "...Woolgatherer surprises and compels, with an intriguing and potentially rich premise, but loses momentum at moments." The Place REVIEW: Kip Johnson Resolution! 2012: Birthday UK, London, The Place Dancers: Johnson by Donald Hutera "Bleak? You bet. Dramatically naïve? Maybe. But, however bluntly or inarticulately expressed, there was definitely something going on here." The Place REVIEW: Kip Johnson Resolution! 2012: Birthday UK, London, The Place Dancers: Johnson by Rachel Donnelly "The end sequence, in which Kip worms his way, spotlit, across the floor, was the most affecting part of the performance, concluding the top contribution of the night." The Place REVIEW: Tiffany Gibson and Virginia Munday Resolution! 2012: Maybe We Should UK, London, The Place Dancers: Gibson, Munday by Keith Watson "A sharper sense of story - and a splash of music - would have helped, but Maybe We Should had a low-key charm." The Place REVIEW: Tiffany Gibson and Virginia Munday Resolution! 2012: Maybe We Should UK, London, The Place Dancers: Gibson, Munday by Jeffrey Gordon Baker "There was sweetness in the friends' cuddles and quarrels, but choreography-wise the piece was a collection of non-committal pedestrian gestures..." The Place REVIEW: Dirty Feet Dance Company Resolution! 2012: Out of Nowhere UK, London, The Place by Keith Watson "...a raw edge, unsettling emotions given a visceral edge - this is a company to look out for." The Place REVIEW: Dirty Feet Dance Company Resolution! 2012: Out of Nowhere UK, London, The Place by Jeffrey Gordon Baker "...despite the anti-story eventually getting boring and the adolescent posturing notwithstanding, this was the most wholly realised work of the night." The Place REVIEW: Needlefoot Dance Theatre Company Resolution! 2012: She Knocked Three Times UK, London, The Place Dancers: Corday by Keith Watson "It's quite hard to make a work about the Marquis de Sade that’s stripped of all eroticism, but Needlefoot Dance Theatre pulled it off..." The Place REVIEW: Needlefoot Dance Theatre Company Resolution! 2012: She Knocked Three Times UK, London, The Place by Jeffrey Gordon Baker "...here student types awkwardly executed cliched, limon-esque dance class exercises in grey asylum-chic tunics." The Place Exeunt omnes…

Each day we add the latest links to reviews and interviews that we find on the major newspaper web sites around the world. If you find a link that we have missed do please post it up, preferably as a URL link. Last week's thread: See last week's and earlier links here: http://www.ballet.co...ry/todayslinks/ Reviews Database: The review links we find go in a database - we have many thousands of entries and you can search it on company, dance, dancer, reviewer, publication, theatre, city or a combination of all of them! Just fill-in the boxes here: http://www.ballet.co...h/db_search.cgi Non Working Links: Some papers move pieces on their websites so it is impossible to guarantee links. If you find a recent link that does not work and you have found a working version by all means post it up. And thank you! Registering with papers: It's an increasing fact of life that papers ask readers to register before letting them have free access to pieces. Usually registration is a one off process and then, providing you've ticked any obvious boxes, you should be remembered as a registered reader and the links we give should take you straight to the pieces. In registering for papers many people get themselves a Yahoo or Hotmail email account and thus protect their main email from any inadvertent problems. Seeing Pieces Behind a Pay-wall: Some papers have introduced a pay-wall. We don't generally list pieces we can't freely see. However some of the papers will show the article for free if the reader visits the page by way of a Google search. If we can do this then we list, but alas cannot give a 2 stage link - only the link that works if you are a subscriber. If you are interested but not a subscriber then use the details we give to search Google and take it from there. And finally... We should not need to state this but these links are for our readers' use and not for other websites to take and pass off as their own. We ask all visitors to respect Balletco's site and the way it operates.

Friday's Links - 20 January, 2012 In Memoriam Rudi van Dantzig 1933-2012 No English-language obituaries yet of the great Dutch dancer, director, choreographer who died yesterday. REVIEW: New York City Ballet Elegant, fascinatin’ dancing starts with Mr. B The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Who Cares, Le Tombeau de Couperin USA, New York, David H. Koch Theater Dancers: Bouder, Fairchild R, Mearns, Peck, Veyette by Leigh Witchel "Once upon a time, Ashley Bouder was Tiler Peck. Now in her late 20s, she makes Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux a star vehicle with her sophisticated accenting, vivid personality and bravura technique." New York Post REVIEW: New York City Ballet New York City Ballet, Beginning with Balanchine The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Who Cares, Le Tombeau de Couperin USA, New York, David H. Koch Theater Dancers: Bouder, Fairchild M, Fairchild R, Mearns, Peck, Pollack, Reichlen, Stanley, Ulbricht by Margaret Fuhrer "Then she fell during her variation, and lost a bit of her swagger. There it was, suddenly: vulnerability. Bouder is so much more appealing as a human than a superhuman. When she stops pointing out her own strengths, they become more impressive." Huffington Post REVIEW: Meg Stuart Meg Stuart’s BLESSED: Channelling Beckett Blessed USA, New York, New York Live Arts Dancers: Camacho, Hurtado, Nishiwaki by Susan Yung "we empathize with Camacho’s sorry state - getting soaked to the bone literally and metaphorically, with nowhere to hide, watching his entire world dissolve into ephemera. And yet, like Beckett’s finest, he survives, for better or worse." SundayArts REVIEW: Young Jean Lee Untitled Feminist Show USA, New York, Baryshnikov Arts Center Dancers: BOB, Clark, Zirin-Brown, Blackwell, Pyle, Rocke by Hilton Als "Young Jean Lee’s Untitled Feminist Show is one of the more moving and imaginative works I have ever seen on the American stage. Its gravity is spiritual and not entirely intellectual ..." New Yorker REVIEW: Molissa Fenley Covering Ground with Cage and Glass Credo in Us, The Vessel Stories USA, New York, Judson Memorial Church Dancers: Fenley, Kao, Neville, Small, Wilson by Deborah Jowitt "The whole of The Vessel Stories is imbued with Fenley’s spare elegance in terms of form, the tensile strength of her movements, and an almost joyous, relieving attack on space, as if she had acres she could cover if she had a mind to." Arts Journal Flash moves: the 360 degree dance project by Judith Mackrell "Hughes places his dancer inside a circle of 48 cameras, which are networked up to take a simultaneous image of what he calls a 'peak' moment of action - a jump, an arabesque, a slide." The Guardian Another American Dancer Joins a Russian Ballet Company by Daniel J. Wakin "Keenan Kampa, a member of the Boston Ballet and a rare American to attend the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, is joining the Mariinsky Ballet." New York Times La La La Human Steps's New Work moves at the speed of light by Janet Smith "The choreographer ... now shifts his interest to two iconic operas: Henry Purcell’s 17th-century Dido and Aeneas and Cristoph Gluck’s 18th-century Orfeo ed Euridice. Like most of the company’s pieces since the late 1990s, New Work will be performed en pointe." Vancouver Straight Neumeier and Hamburg Ballet go to China this year by Chen Jie "This time, Hamburg Ballet brings to Beijing and Shanghai, Neumeier's signature works Nijinsky and Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler." China Daily Cranko’s Onegin opens SF Ballet season by Janos Gereben "Opera audiences in The City have seen and heard Tchaikovsky’s 1879 Eugene Onegin dozens of blissful times, but John Cranko’s 1965 Onegin, opening next week, is a San Francisco Ballet premiere." San Francisco Examiner Ashley Page's Sleeping Beauty for Scottish Ballet Dark beauty of a treasured fairytale Uncredited "Principal dancer Claire Robertson has been with the company for 18 years, and says that Sleeping Beauty holds special meaning for her as it was one of the first ballets that Ashley created for her." Aberdeen Press and Journal Atlanta dance scene to take big leap Off the EDGE with weeklong festival by Chelsea Thomas "The inaugural edition of Off the EDGE, a weeklong contemporary dance festival, is gaining momentum daily as participating dance companies and artists feed off of mounting enthusiasm." ArtsCriticATL Fancy frocks in the rain San Francisco Ballet Opening Night Gala Photos by Laura Morton San Francisco Chronicle

Thursday's Links - 19 January 2012 REVIEW: New York City Ballet Curtain Rises on a Season Aloft The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Who Cares, Le Tombeau de Couperin USA, New York, David H. Koch Theater Dancers: Bouder, Fairchild M, Peck, Ulbricht, Veyette by Claudia La Rocco "opening night ... was an oddly low-energy and at times ragged affair. It had its highlights, to be sure, but the overall feel was dispiriting, in stark contrast to the generally marvelous onstage spirits that the dancers have exhibited in recent seasons." New York Times REVIEW: Mariinsky Ballet Mariinsky Ballet shines in Fokine program Russian Seasons: Chopiniana, The Firebird, Scheherazade USA, Washington, Kennedy Center Dancers: Kondaurova, Korsuntsev, Lopatkina, Ostreikovskaya by Sarah Kaufman "several of the performances were quite wonderful, particularly Xenia Ostreykovskaya in the tender Prelude role in Chopiniana. There was suppleness and breath in her dancing, and great delicacy. And, a sense of the body harmonizing with the Chopin, and with its candlelight mood." Washington Post REVIEW: Russian State Ballet of Siberia Giselle UK, Oxford, New Theatre Dancers: Kuimova, Litvinenko by David Bellan "I have admired Maria Kuimova ... for some years now, but had never seen her Giselle. She did not disappoint." Oxford Times Preview: Story/Time, Jones channels Cage? Bill T. Jones Takes a Turn on the Stage in New Work by Felicia R. Lee "Story/Time, a co-commission of Peak Performances and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis was inspired by the composer John Cage’s Indeterminacy, first performed in 1958, a series of one-minute spoken-word stories that was different each time it was performed and was eventually recorded as an album." New York Times Preview: Stanton Welch's Cinderella for Houston Ballet Cinderella: She’s No Disney Princess, But She’s a Real Role Model by Marene Gustin "It’s a very feminist ballet," Welch says. "What do you want to tell your daughter today? That someday someone will come along and save you, or that someday you’ll have a wonderful life of your own?" Playbill Arts Company C Contemporary Ballet turns 10, flying high by Claudia Bauer "First there were the all-ballerina shows, because Company C didn't have any male dancers yet. Then came the all-leotard performances, because that's what the costume budget allowed. And always, there was the multitasking." San Francisco Chronicle Tony Nominee Adam Cooper on His Leap from Ballet to Musicals in London's Singin' in the Rain by Matt Wolf "Cooper is set to returen to the West End’s Palace Theatre on February 4 as the above-the-title star of the latest stage production of Singin’ in the Rain, first seen last summer at the Chichester Festival Theatre." Broadway.com Preview: Edouard Lock's New Work La La La Hman Steps embarks on a labyrinth of memory and myth by Kevin Griffin "Ballet technique is amply able to carry contemporary themes. If the technique is to survive, it has to be a living technique. It has to somehow correspond to the contemporary world and not just reference older work." Vancouver Sun Wim Wenders films Pina Bausch by Marcia B. Siegel "Shot in breathtaking 3D, Pina treats dance with an expansiveness never seen before on screen." Boston Phoenix. Also reviewed in Bay Area Reporter and Huffington Post DVD review: Three Ballets by Kenneth MacMillan by Steven Ritter "The Royal Ballet, with its close association with Macmillan, renders a superb tribute to its former director on a highly-desirable disc recorded wonderfully and in resplendent high-def video, nicely captured by sensitive and appropriate camerawork." Audiophile Audition ABT dancers talk about dancing, what they wear - stuff like that (Video) Stylelikeu

Ivan Putrov is Ukrainian rather than Russian (as is Polunin) but perhaps one shouldn't split hairs. In reply to Alison, Spectre is to be danced by Putrov and Glurdjidze.

Wednesday's Links - 18 January 2012 Obituary: Niles Ford, Dancer and Choreographer by Jennifer Dunning "With a long-boned body seemingly as pliant as warm taffy, Mr. Ford was a dancer of quiet intelligence, understated sweetness and intense focus." New York Times NYCB's Megan Fairchild overcomes her reservations Blooming in the Bright Lights by Pia Catton "I lost myself completely - getting promoted and feeling not ready, wishing I had more time behind the scenes, then being shot out in front and being critiqued while I'm figuring it out." Wall Street Journal REVIEW: Hiroaki Umeda 2 stars Haptic, Holistic Strata UK, London, Linbury Studio Theatre Dancers: Umeda by Judith Mackrell "One man, a few wonderful lighting ideas and some very brutal noise can make for a very long evening." Guardian REVIEW: Hiroaki Umeda 3 stars Haptic, Holistic Strata UK, London, Linbury Studio Theatre Dancers: Umeda by Zoe Anderson "Mixing dance, computer imagery and video projection, Umeda surrounds and transforms himself with shifting light, then stops. He refuses to develop the images or ideas: there they are, take it or leave it." Independent REVIEW: Young Jean Lee 4 stars Untitled Feminist Show USA, New York, Baryshnikov Arts Center Dancers: BOB, Zirin-Brown by Apollinaire Scherr "Young Jean Lee has a reputation for sending issues that any self-respecting liberal assumes he has a handle on in squirm-inducing directions. But Untitled Feminist Show is less a thought-provoking trap than a taste of utopia." Financial Times REVIEW: Young Jean Lee Live, nude, funny women Untitled Feminist Show USA, New York, Baryshnikov Arts Center Dancers: Zirin-Brown, Clark by Elisabeth Vincentelli "The six women in Untitled Feminist Show are stark naked for the entire hour, during which they perform swoony pas de deux, energetic aerobics, comic pantomimes and assorted calisthenics in their birthday suits." New York Post REVIEW: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Up, Down and Sideways Arden Court USA, New York, City Center by Joel Lobenthal "It wasn’t always easy or comfortable for them to recreate Taylor’s overarching and paradoxical tone of balletic burliness, but they pulled it off - and with panache, I almost don’t have to add." City Arts REVIEW: Merce Cunningham Dance Company Up, Down and Sideways Park Avenue Armory Event USA, New York, Park Avenue Armory by Joel Lobenthal "There was a certain poignancy in not being able to totally apprehend all of the movement information being transmitted, particularly since this was our final opportunity to see this company." City Arts REVIEW: Daniel Linehan Zombies and Blackboards Zombie Aphoria USA, New York, Abrons Arts Center Dancers: Lac, Linehan, Rosengren by Susan Yung "Working with spoken and sung words as much as dance, at times they took directives from a laptop, or one another; recombining verses, moving in a naively appealing style." SundayArts REVIEW: Michael Klien Zombies and Blackboards Choreography for Blackboards USA, New York, Invisible Dog Art Center Dancers: Manwelyan by Susan Yung "The concept held far more potential than the experience, at least for the viewer." SundayArts REVIEW: Meg Stuart Surviving the Flood Blessed USA, New York, New York Live Arts Dancers: Camacho by Deborah Jowitt "Camacho, who had a hand in the creation of BLESSED, enacts this harrowing scenario magnificently. At times, you can hardly bear to watch him labor at constructing something out of total ruin." Arts Journal REVIEW: Cardell Dance Theater Grace and improvisation at Falls Bridge dance festival Falls Bridge dance festival: NOW! USA, Philadelphia, Mt Vernon Dance Space Dancers: Cardell by Merilyn Jackson "She and her five dancers blocked and challenged, held and climbed over one another, as artist Jennifer Baker drew life-size impressions of them ..." Philadelphia Inquirer REVIEW: Green Chair Dance Group Grace and improvisation at Falls Bridge dance festival Falls Bridge dance festival: Unnamed USA, Philadelphia, Mt Vernon Dance Space Dancers: Holt, Camp by Merilyn Jackson "Another wonderfully playful improvisation ..." Philadelphia Inquirer REVIEW: Michelle Stortz Grace and improvisation at Falls Bridge dance festival Falls Bridge dance festival: Open Wide USA, Philadelphia, Mt Vernon Dance Space Dancers: Stein, Stortz by Merilyn Jackson "a witty improvisation ..." Philadelphia Inquirer REVIEW: Lela Aisha Jones Grace and improvisation at Falls Bridge dance festival Falls Bridge dance festival: Street Grace USA, Philadelphia, Mt Vernon Dance Space Dancers: Jones by Merilyn Jackson "Often just standing in place, she languidly led us through an evocation of many emotions, from hunger for beauty to acceptance of self." Philadelphia Inquirer REVIEW: Merian Soto Dance and Performance Grace and improvisation at Falls Bridge dance festival Falls Bridge dance festival: Circulations USA, Philadelphia, Mt Vernon Dance Space Dancers: Ramirez, Soto by Merilyn Jackson "In total silence, Ramirez, a beautiful mover, paced the space with increasing speed, spiraling her circles smaller until she reached center." Philadelphia Inquirer Tsiskaridze reprieved Bolshoi Star Keeps Teacher Job "I never requested anything from Bolshoi Theater management. I just explained my point-of-view and said I would be complaining to appropriate authorities in case the contract’s terminated." RIA Novosti Necessarily So: Porgy and Bess May Not Be Known as a Dance Show but Its Choreography Can Make a Difference by Robert Gottlieb "Porgy and Bess has never been thought of as a dance show, and yet it’s filled with dance. It uses dance to punctuate the action, or as background, or as atmosphere; even when it’s front and center it isn’t crucial." New York Observer Film review: Crazy Horse by Frederick Wiseman The Agony Behind an Erotic Club’s Ecstasy by A.O. Scott "Ali Mahdavi ... declares that the French government should make attendance at Crazy Horse mandatory for all citizens as an educational experience and an acknowledgment of the institution’s place in the nation’s cultural patrimony." New York Times Film review: Butt Seriously - Life is an Erotic Cabaret in Crazy Horse by Melissa Anderson "the filmmaker's exceptional artistry restores the faith of those wearied by the glut of cruddy-looking and poorly structured documentaries from the past decade - vapid celebrity profiles, "journeys" of one kind or another, half-thought-out polemics." Village Voice Preview: Keely Garfield brings her surreal autobiography style to Twin Pines by Susan Reiter "A highly regarded, thoughtful and instinctive choreographer whose pieces delve deeply while integrating flashes of wit, she notes that her ongoing work with yoga and Zen practices is closely connected to her work in dance." City Arts The RA's David Hockney exhibition with a little tap at the end by Richard Godwin "A group of dancers choreographed by Hockney's old friend Wayne Sleep move around to a piano. In the penultimate dance, the Royal Ballet dancer Steven McRae steps onto a blue rectangle and begins to tap dance. Hockney and Sleep watched the performance together, both rhapsodising the particular shade of blue." Evening Standard Book review: The Pursuit of Perfection: A Life of Celia Franca by John Fraser "Amongst those who knew her well enough, the book will arouse both remembered dread and renewed respect." Macleans.ca

Royal Ballet 2011/2012 Period 4 casting (m = matinée) Ballo della regina / La Sylphide May 21 - Jun 15 Ballo della regina Nuñez, Polunin (May 21, 24, 26; June 12) Cuthbertson, Bonelli (May 22, 26m; June 7, 15) La Sylphide Cojocaru, McRae (May 21) Marquez, McRae (May 24, 26) Rojo, Pennefather (May 22, 26m) Lamb, Polunin (June 7, 15) Cojocaru, Kobborg (June 12) The Prince of the Pagodas June 2-29 Nuñez*, Rojo*, Kish* (June 2, 6, 18) Cuthbertson*, Yanowsky*, Pennefather* (June 9, 21, 27) Lamb*, Morera*, Bonelli* (June 13, 29) Birthday Offering / A Month in the Country / Les Noces June 30 - July 9 Birthday Offering Rojo*,Bonelli* (June 30; July 4, 7) Nuñez*, Soares (July 3, 6) A Month in the Country Yanowsky, Pennefather (June 30; July 4, 7) Cojocaru*, Polunin* (July 3, 6) Les Noces Arestis, Hirano* (June 30; July 4, 7) McNally*, Hristov (July 3, 6) Titian 2012 July 14-20 (casting to be announced) *denotes a debut in the role