Ballet

‘The Nutcracker’ comes to vivid life at Ballet Theatre of Maryland

Capturing the spirit of the season, the production is a joy to watch in person or online.

An enchanting ‘Little Mermaid’ from Ballet Theatre of Maryland

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s production of The Little Mermaid is a beautiful celebration of dance and storytelling. Performed at the Westin Annapolis Hotel to a mask-wearing, limited audience, with...

In Matthew Bourne’s ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ the lovers are teens in juvey

“For never was there a tale of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” Who doesn’t know the tragic ending of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet? Yet we continue to be besotted by the...

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s ‘Dracula’ is perfectly spooky

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s production of Dracula is the perfect Halloween show, even in these scary times. Viewing the performance outdoors, on the grass lot of the future Maryland Theatre for the...

Artistic Director Dianna Cuatto reflects on 17 years at Ballet Theatre of Maryland

Dianna Cuatto, artistic director of the Ballet Theatre of Maryland (BTM), recently announced she would retire in June after leading the company for 17 years. She answered DC Theater Arts’ questions...

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s gorgeous ‘Swan Lake’ pays tribute to artistic directors

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s production of Swan Lake is a gorgeous combination of dancing, costumes, and lighting. With choreography by Artistic Director Dianna Cuatto, it is a wonderful staging of...

The power of romantic love endures in American Ballet Theatre’s ‘Giselle’

After almost two centuries of gracing the ballet world, American Ballet Theatre’s Giselle, sometimes called the Hamlet of ballet, still has the redemptive power to transform a story of deception and...

‘The Snow Queen’ Opens Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s 41st Season

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s production of The Snow Queen at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts is a colorful feast of dance, lighting, and costumes. Based on the story of the same name by Hans...

Review: ‘New York City Ballet: New Works and New Productions’ at the Kennedy Center

It’s been a challenging few years for New York City Ballet, the nation’s preeminent ballet company. What with the misconduct and resignation of its ballet master in chief, subsequent misconduct...

Review: ‘New York City Ballet: Works by Balanchine, Robbins, and Reisen’ at the Kennedy Center

Spring is in the air with not only the blooming cherry blossoms but also the bursting energy of the New York City Ballet’s exciting spring concert at the Kennedy Center. Something old and something...

Review: ‘Thumbelina’ by Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and Academy

Thumbelina, the story of a miniature girl who grows from a seed, is kidnapped by a toad, tormented by beetles, and eventually marries the fairy prince, is not one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most...

Review: ‘The Nutcracker’ at Ballet Theatre of Maryland

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s production of The Nutcracker is a colorful sensation, with beautiful costumes and lovely dancing mixed with inventive lighting and a charming set. Choreographed by...

Review: ‘The Nutcracker’ by Ballet West at The Kennedy Center

Ballet West’s Nutcracker, conducted by Jared Oaks, is one of the most unique productions to hit the stage this season at the Kennedy Center. Steeped in lush colors, with a gorgeous set design and...

Charm City Ballet Announces Performances of ‘The Little Mermaid’ on June 9th and 10th

Charm City Ballet presents its original full-length ballet, The Little Mermaid, to be performed at The Gordon Center for Performing Arts, at 3506 Gwynbrook Ave in Owings Mills, for three shows:...

In the Moment: Conversation about Diversity with Laveen Naidu, Artistic Director, BalletNova

It started with a conversation with Laveen Naidu, artistic director for Northern Virginia’s BalletNova. Naidu said he wanted to change this observation: “ballet is often perceived as being for and...

Interview: Dancer Sebastian Haynes on ‘Nederlands Dans Theater’

Nederlands Dans Theater makes its Kennedy Center debut April 4-6. Artistic director Paul Lightfoot brings a program of distinctive works: “Shoot the Moon” (Glass/León & Lightfoot), “The Statement”...

Review: ‘Works by Balanchine, Martins, and Peck’ by New York City Ballet

In this era of #MeToo, a review of the New York City Ballet can’t begin without noting the allegations of abuse against now-retired Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins. Late last year, the company...

Review: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Metropolitan Ballet Theatre & Academy

Alice in Wonderland, the whimsical, magical story of a girl named Alice who follows a mysterious White Rabbit down a rabbit hole and into a mystifying dream world, strikes me as a difficult subject...

Review: American Ballet Theatre’s ‘Whipped Cream’ at the Kennedy Center

Take a step away from the mundane. Shrug off your office separates, buff hose, and business professional thoughts, and riggle into a world more like a pop-up children’s book than the screaming...

Dance Preview: ‘Bald Ballerina’ Maggie Kudirka Dances for Life

There wasn’t a dry eye when Margaret “Maggie” Kudirka ripped off her headscarf and fell to the floor during her poignant Loss and Survival solo, set to the familiar Edith Piaf song of no regrets. Just...

Interview: Natalia Magnicaballi of The Suzanne Farrell Ballet Discusses ‘Forever Balanchine: Farewell Performances’

I had the pleasure to sit down with Natalia Magnicaballi, principal dancer with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, to talk about her work with the company and the upcoming concert series: The Suzanne Farrell...

Preview: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Charm City Ballet

While it’s “Nutcracker” season for most dance companies across the region, Charm City Ballet presents something unique: its original full-length ballet, A Christmas Carol, to be performed at The...

Book Review: ‘A Body of Work: Dancing to the Edge and Back’ by David Hallberg

In his stirring autobiography A Body of Work: Dancing to the Edge and Back, David Hallberg – a Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and the first American Principal Dancer with the...

Review: Gin Dance Company’s ‘Dance, Champagne and Chocolate with Gin’ at the BalletNova Center for Dance

Gin Dance Company’s Dance, Champagne and Chocolate with Gin program felt a little bit like flicking between emoticons: determined, eyebrows scrunched emoji? Hmm, aloof? What about giggling emoji?...

Review of the Mariinsky Ballet in ‘La Bayadère’ at The Kennedy Center

If you’ve never seen the Mariinsky Ballet dance a full-length classic (or missed its previous 2008 production of La Bayadère,) rush to buy tickets for this current engagement at The Kennedy Center...

Review: ‘The Red Shoes’ at Kennedy Center Opera House

Generations of budding ballerinas have lusted after the shiny crimson satin pointe shoes in the classic 1948 film The Red Shoes. Who can resist those shoes, they make the wearer dance, and dance, and...

Interview: Dominic North Discusses ‘The Red Shoes’ and Life As a Dancer with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Company

Based on the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Red Shoes comes to The Kennedy Center October 10 – 15, 2017. The Red Shoes received two...

Review: New York City Ballet: 2 Programs of Works by Balanchine, Peck, Ratmansky, and Wheeldon

Urgency propels them forward. In a blink there are flashes of precise articulation and rapid fluidity as sweeping curves carry a leg overhead or propel a body high in the air. Dancers merge from...

Review: ‘New York City Ballet: Works by Balanchine, Peck, and Ratmansky’ at The Kennedy Center

Last evening’s ballet concert at The Kennedy Center was one of those magical evenings of dance. Sipping champagne and not talking politics, balletomanes gathered on the sprawling deck that surrounds...

Review: ‘(In)Security: Or, Jack and Nikki Do the Cold War Tango’ at The Kennedy Center

Memorial Day this year coincided to the day with the 100th anniversary of the birth of President John F. Kennedy. To commemorate the occasion, The Kennedy Center put on a full weekend of events,...

TODAY Only: ‘Tribute to Classical Ballet’ at L’Etoile, The Classical Ballet Theatre of Maryland

Dance Preview: L’Etoile Dances a Ballet Gem Pretty, pastel costumes, new ribbons on the toe shoes, tiaras that sparkle bright as a shiny new penny – these are signs of spring recitals where young...

Report: CityDance’s 2017 DREAMscape Benefit Gala

Moments into a dimmed house at the historic Lincoln Theatre, an off-stage voice over a loudspeaker made a promise to a buzzing audience: “We’re going to light up the night sky, so dance!” CityDance’s...

Review: Ballet Across America Showcases a New Day in Dance at The Kennedy Center

Since its debut in 2008, The Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America series continues to showcase the best of ballet from regional companies across the nation. This fourth time around, there are the...

Review: Hamburg Ballet: John Neumeier’s ‘The Little Mermaid’

In this production, John Neumeier adapts the classic 1837 tale by Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid. The production, not only explores the story of a young woman who wishes to have a human...

Review: ‘Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo’ at The Kennedy Center

Men in tights and pointe shoes ballet super seriously and have fun doing it. The all-male comic ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo returned to the Kennedy Center March 21 with a...

Review: ‘Cave of the Heart’ By the Martha Graham Dance Company at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

“Archaic/Modern” is not only the title of the estimable exhibit of Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi mid-20th-century works at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum. Archaic/modern describes...

Review: ‘The Little Mermaid’ at Ballet Theatre of Maryland

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s production of The Little Mermaid, at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, is a gorgeous spectacle of storytelling through dance. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen...

Review: Balé Folclórico da Bahia at the Merriam Theater

They say “music is the universal language.” Balé Folclórico da Bahia definitely proved that in their one-night-only performance in Philadelphia at the Merriam Theater. The show, Bahia of All Colors,...

Review: Mariinsky Ballet’s ‘The Little Humpbacked Horse’ at The Kennedy Center

Movement and merriment abound in Mariinsky’s The Little Humpbacked Horse Restraint and sutlety are generally not traits associated with Russian comedy ballet, and that proved true last evening at The...

Review: American Ballet Theatre’s ‘Swan Lake’ at The Kennedy Center

American Ballet Theatre Offers Magical Moments of Escapism The grey cloud of uncertainty that hovers over all, especially dance, lifted last evening at The Kennedy Center Opera House, if only for a...

Review: ‘The Nutcracker’ at Metropolitan Ballet Theatre

Metropolitan Ballet Theatre’s 28th annual production of The Nutcracker is a veritable feast for the senses. With a gorgeous array of costumes, a set that will evoke contented sighs from any Downton...

Review: ‘The Nutcracker’ at Ballet Theatre of Maryland at Bowie Center for the Performing Arts

Visions of sugar plum fairies quite literally danced in my head and into my heart last night at the Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s first performance of The Nutcracker this season, on November 23, 2016,...

Review: ‘The Nutcracker’ by the Cincinnati Ballet at The Kennedy Center

We know the holiday season is upon us when theaters around the country begin to put on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s classic The Nutcracker. The Cincinnati Ballet’s production at The Kennedy Center,...

Review: ‘DanceWorks Fall 2016’ at The George Washington University’s Department of Theatre and Dance

This past weekend, The George Washington University’s Department of Theatre and Dance presented DanceWorks Fall 2016. The program consisted of nine separate dance pieces, each by a different...

Review: ‘Cinderella’ With the San Francisco Ballet at The Kennedy Center

There are no pumpkins to be found in this Cinderella. The San Francisco Ballet’s version, created by Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and librettist Craig Lucas, departs from the Perrault story most...

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet: All-Balanchine Program at The Kennedy Center

Original works of George Balanchine drift onto The John F. Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower stage by The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Under the direction of Suzanne Farrell, who was once the protégé of George...

In the Moment: An Interview with BalletNova’s Artistic Director Laveen Naidu

Area non-profit arts organizations continually develop fresh ideas to reach children who may not regularly have access to the wonders of the performing arts. One new such effort is by Northern...

Dance Preview: Misako Ballet Reflects Asian Culture

It’s very quiet – quite lovely, in fact – in the upstairs studio where visiting guest artist Fumihito Shimizu is rehearsing the Misako Ballet Company and guest dancers from Tokyo for a special...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Glacier: a climate change ballet’

Midway through Glacier: a climate change ballet, a lone dancer, Therese Gahl, glided onto the stage. Costumed in a vibrant blue tutu, her long legs and arms and their deep earth tones, she captured...

Review: ‘Aladdin and His Magic Lamp’ at Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theatre

Aladdin and the Magic of Dance On June 4, 2016, in the Poolesville High School auditorium, Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theatre staged a production of original ballet, Aladdin and His Magic Lamp....