This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on August 28, 2006. Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Stay-at-home ballet fans will find themselves beguiled by the latest installment in PBS's Great Performances series: the Paris Opera Ballet dancing George Balanchine's ``Jewels.'' Created for the New York City Ballet in 1967, ``Jewels'' was the first plotless three-act ballet in dance history. Balanchine, for whom music always came first, chose the work of three decidedly different composers to evoke three cultures central to … [Read more...]

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on August 18, 2006. Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The birthday candles were burning fiercely last night at the New York State Theater for the premiere of Mark Morris's ``Mozart Dances.'' Lincoln Center is celebrating the 40th year of its Mostly Mozart Festival, Mozart his 250th birthday, Morris his 50th and the Mark Morris Dance Group its 25th. Morris appropriated a trio of Mozart piano works to produce three distinct, though intimately related, choreographies. The first two, … [Read more...]

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on August 18, 2006. Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- At the Joyce Theater in Chelsea, through tomorrow, the San Francisco-based Smuin Ballet entertains the summertime audience with veteran choreographer Michael Smuin's showbiz flair. The curtain raiser, ``Bluegrass/Slyde,'' to down-home music, is a cheery athletic piece with a gimmick. Its classically trained dancers romp through a jungle gym, swirling out from vertical poles planted on swiveling disks. The recently created … [Read more...]