This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on April 26, 2007. April 26 (Bloomberg) -- What grand gesture can you make to honor the centenary of an icon's birth? The New York City Ballet is dedicating its spring season, which opened last night at the New York State Theater, to Lincoln Kirstein, co-founder, with George Balanchine, of the company and its prestigious academy, the School of American Ballet. All this week, the programs will be devoted to 10 Balanchine works that define the choreographer's world-shaking … [Read more...]

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on April 20, 2007. April 20 (Bloomberg) -- The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia, is recognizable at a glance. The dancers are as flexible as rubber bands and emotionally stretched to the snapping point; the stage patterns are exercises in simple geometry; the lifts acrobatic; the gestures extravagant. There's nothing soft or subtle in the choreography of Boris Eifman, 60, yet it can be crudely effective. It looks like animated poster art. The repertory for the … [Read more...]

Three-quarters of a year ago, struck by an image, I wrote about a dancer whose history was essentially unknown. Here is the image-- Weegee Ballerina Marina Franca in her peacock costume, April 18, 1941 Gelatin silver print © Weegee / International Center of Photography --and here is the essay. A brief passage in it now seems prophetic: "Contemplating this lady in her outlandish white costume--all shimmer and froth--we wonder: Who is she? How did she arrive at this time and place? This peculiar destiny? What does her "performance" … [Read more...]

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on April 5, 2007. April 5 (Bloomberg) -- The three dancers in ``Becky, Jodi and John'' are simply playing themselves. Becky is Becky Hilton; Jodi is Jodi Melnick. Both women have been important figures in groundbreaking dance -- Hilton, an earth-mother type, chiefly with Stephen Petronio and Lucy Guerin; Melnick, swift, sweet and smart, with Twyla Tharp and now Trisha Brown. John is John Jasperse, creator of this piece and just about as celebrated as downtown … [Read more...]