Neumeier in Venice
Hamburg Ballet's "Death in Venice"
by Lisa Rinehart
John Neumeier is known for making ballets from meaty chunks of psychodrama, and the stew doesn't come much richer than the decline and fall of Gustav von Auschenbach in Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice." Neumeier's balletic version is described as a "free adaptation" of Mann's novella, and von Auschenbach is tweaked from renowned writer to great choreographer whose ideas, memories and unraveling inhibitions are a swirl of danced characters. Using a hefty collage of Bach and Wagner, and a gorgeous set of operatic proportions by Peter Schmidt, Neumeier deftly plumbs von Auschenbach's willing descent. The costuming, a collaboration between Schmidt and Neumeier, is delicious, particularly in the Venetian society scenes throughout which the women waft about in aquatic hues of shimmering chiffon. There's only one hitch — Neumeier, in what I suspect is an attempt to emulate von Auschenbach's tossing off of all restraint, loses his way in the second act and throws in some cheap tricks meant to signify our protagonist's surrender to depravity. They are less than successful. But more about that later. READ MORE
Panache
Birmingham Royal Ballet's "Cyrano"
by John Percival
I am ashamed to say I did not realise that Cyrano de Bergerac was a real person until I read Cormac Rigby's fascinating programme note for David Bintley's new ballet about him. He was (forgive me if you already know all this) a seventeenth century cavalier who had a short military career followed by fifteen years devoted to writing, followed by an early death. It was Theophile Gautier, poet and balletomane, who rediscovered him after two centuries, and Edmond Rostand, dramatist, who immortalised him in a famous play. And that amazing nose, cause of all his problems? Was it really so prodigious in size? The idea apparently comes from a quirky remark in Cyrano's novel “L'Autre Monde” that a person's merits can be measured by the length of his nose ... READ MORE
Second Thoughts
Armitage Gone! Dance
by Leigh Witchel
First drafts usually come in two flavors — too much and too little. Some artists begin with a bare skeleton; subsequent drafts are devoted to fleshing out the bones. Other artists put everything and the kitchen sink into the first draft; after deciding what the creature wants to become, they revise to pull out the extraneous material. Karole Armitage presented two main works at the Joyce Theater, one premiere and one revision of a work from 2004. She overchoreographs, then pares down. READ MORE
Soul Rocking
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
by Lisa Traiger
The opening night Opera House crowd — dressed to the nines in stilettos, velvet and brocade, classic tuxedos — knew exactly what they wanted from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: legs up to ears, quicksilver leaps and displays of stunning physiques. These days the Ailey dancers can put to shame those diamond-cut models from Bally’s Fitness Centers. It’s a wonder modern dance and ballet classes aren’t bursting out the doors: if dance can make you look like Ailey dancers, why isn’t everyone doing it? The gala ticket buyers certainly got what they paid for: honed bodies plus Sunday-morning inspiration for the soul from the company’s signature work, “Revelations.”
And the dancing? That wasn’t so bad either. READ MORE