This article originally appeared in Voice of Dance (http://www.voiceofdance.org) on June 25, 2007. Savion Glover, Invitations to a Dancer / Joyce Theater, NYC / June 19 - July 14, 2007 Savion Glover. Photo by NiNA. The master tapper Savion Glover may have been cool providing the feet motion-captured for the irresistible dancing penguin Mumble in the movie Happy Feet. But he's hot in his new live show, Invitations to a Dancer, at the Joyce Theater in New York through July 14. A big chunk of the program takes place on three raised miked … [Read more...]

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on June 19, 2007. June 19 (Bloomberg) -- The New York City Ballet's sublimely cool Kyra Nichols and American Ballet Theater's tempestuous Alessandra Ferri have little in common except the fact that, to the sorrow of their countless admirers, both ballerinas are retiring this weekend. Nichols, 48, is leaving the stage after a remarkable 33 years with the City Ballet; Ferri, 44, who may continue to perform elsewhere, has been with ABT for 22 years. Some classical dancers … [Read more...]

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on June 11, 2007. June 11 (Bloomberg) -- To the sound of birdsong, Wendy Whelan transforms herself from ballerina to magical avian creature. In a sienna-streaked tunic suggesting feathers, she accents the familiar curved-arm movements of classical dance with quick, sharp angles. Her head flicks this way and that, as if noticing the pleasures and dangers of the natural world. Her feet, on pointe, delicately pick their way across the ground. After this inventive, beguiling … [Read more...]

This article originally appeared in Voice of Dance (http://www.voiceofdance.org) on June 5, 2007. School of American Ballet's 2007 Workshop Performances / Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Lincoln Center, NYC / June 2 & 4, 2007 School of American Ballet in George Balanchine's The Four Temperaments with Raina Gilliland (foreground). Photo by Paul Kolnik. As the entire classical dance world surely knows, the School of American Ballet's annual Workshop Performances show the public the high-powered training that provides carefully selected young … [Read more...]

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on June 4, 2007. June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Veronika Part's lush, emotionally eloquent dancing as Aurora in the Vision Scene was the sole unarguably wonderful element in American Ballet Theater's new version of ``The Sleeping Beauty'' that had its world premiere Friday at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. The Kirov-trained ballerina's work in the arduous first act had been admirably strong and clear. But here -- seemingly impalpable, yet making it clear that she is … [Read more...]