Blog Profile / The Ballet Bag
| URL : | http://theballetbag.wordpress.com/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Dance / Ballet | |
| Posts on Regator: | 352 | |
| Posts / Week: | 1.8 | |
| Archived Since: | August 9, 2009 | |
Blog Post Archive
Ballet Cross Collaborations
Heads up on three very original cross collaborations between ballet and other art forms taking place across different parts of the globe this week: 1) Ballet & Graphic Design: Pointe Blank A collection of original images inspired by the story of Coppélia. In a first-of-its-kind collaborative project for Birmingham Royal Ballet, 27 artists and designers [...]
Social Media and the Arts
Last month we took part in B.Hive Club’s “Live in the Lounge” series, talking about how ballet and the arts in general can benefit from a presence in social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.), as well as the latest that the ballet blogosphere has to offer to enrich one’s personal experience of the art [...]
Kevin O’Hare Appointed new Royal Ballet Artistic Director
Via Press Release: Simon Robey, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Opera House, announced today the appointment of Kevin O’Hare as Director of The Royal Ballet following the retirement of Dame Monica Mason in July 2012. Kevin O’Hare has been Administrative Director of the Company since 2009. On his appointment Kevin O’Hare [...]
Musicality
A few months ago we wrote about what makes a dancer graceful. When looking at elements of Grace, we mentioned musicality as a quality in dancers that “will trick you into forgetting about the orchestra pit and thinking that his or her movement is creating the music.” Musicality is a common discussion theme between balletomanes [...]
Gary Avis & Friends Gala
Via Press Release: Ipswich-born Royal Ballet Principal Character Artist Gary Avis is bringing dancers from the Royal Ballet and English National Ballet to his home town this September to take part in a unique charity gala event in support of The Hunger Project. After a 40-year gap, East Anglian audiences will once again have the [...]
Rite of Spring: The Chosen Ones
Steven McRae and Edward Watson are the two principal dancers who have been chosen to “dance to their deaths” in the current revival of MacMillan’s Rite of Spring. Read below an extract of our interview with the pair, as originally posted on the Royal Opera House blog. When Kenneth MacMillan choreographed the first British Rite of [...]
The Royal Ballet’s Manon at BP Summer Big Screen
Via Press Release: The Royal Opera House is delighted to announce that this summer’s free BP Summer Big Screen performances are The Royal Ballet’s Manon and The Royal Opera’s Madam Butterfly and Cinderella (aka Cendrillon). These productions will be beamed live from Covent Garden to 21 locations up and down the country (Bradford, Bristol, Derby, [...]
It’s Friday, Friday!
The world has dubbed it the “worst song ever”, but it has gathered more than 150 million views and a staggering 2.9 million “dislikes” on YouTube. It seems we all love to hate Rebecca Black‘s “Friday” and its trail of brilliant spoofs - check out Stephen Colbert’s hilarious rendition here and, our favorite, the Death [...]
The Ballet Bag Talks Social Media & the Arts at B-Hive
If you are in town next Tuesday 31 May, we would love to see you at B.Hive Club, in Covent Garden. As part of their “Live in the Lounge” series, we will be talking social media & ballet from 1pm to 2pm. We are planning a very informal session, with plenty of time to network [...]
Rambert Dance Company: Cardoon Club / Monolith / Roses – Preview
Earlier this year we posted a photoblog about the Rambert Dance Company in rehearsal for Tim Rushton’s new piece Monolith. In time for tonight’s London premiere at Sadler’s Wells, where Tim’s work will be performed alongside Paul Taylor’s Roses and Henrietta Horn’s Cardoon Club, we recap on our Monolith feature, with this selection of production [...]
Birmingham Royal Ballet & Miyako Yoshida in Japan
Birmingham Royal Ballet are currently on tour in Japan. This is a very welcome visit during challenging times for the Japanese people. In the wake of the post-earthquake nuclear crisis, when so many concerts and dance performances have been canceled, BRB are bringing two different programmes to four cities. On Tuesday the company also helped [...]
Real Life & Fantasy: An Interview with RDB’s Kizzy Matiakis
Last month we were lucky to catch The Royal Danish Ballet’s new production of A Folk Tale, one of Bournonville’s masterpieces. On that occasion, we were particularly taken with soloist Kizzy Matiakis’s performance as Miss Birthe. We thought Kizzy stole the show with her comic timing and strong characterisation of “a volatile maiden who struggles [...]
Autumn 2011 Dance at Sadler’s Wells
Our picks from the Autumn 2011 season at Sadler’s Wells which goes on sale Monday 23 May, taken from the press release issued earlier today (for full details click here): Grupo Corpo Imã & Onqotô Tuesday 13 – Friday 16 September Founded in 1975, Brazilian contemporary dance company Grupo Corpo and choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras have [...]
Let England Shake – Dutch National Ballet in London
Earlier this month Dutch National Ballet’s Artistic Director Ted Bransen wrote a guest blog for “All About Art” expressing his concerns over the Dutch Council of Culture’s proposed funding cuts to his company. If the proposal goes ahead, says Bransen, DNB will not only have to scale down staging full-length classics, it might also have [...]
Ballo della regina: Merrill Ashley
Merrill Ashley, one of Balanchine’s great ballerinas, was renowned for her amazing speed, attack and musicality, gifts that she brought to the central role in Ballo della regina. Below is a photo gallery with selected shots from Merrill in rehearsal with dancers of the Royal Ballet, as well as an extract of our recent interview with [...]
Think Globally, Dance Locally
A roundup of some interesting, off the beaten track, dance events in London this month: Madame Galina’s Silver Jubilee: Madame Galina, created by variety performer and writer Iestyn Edwards, is an interactive set that bridges a gap between the glory days of Variety and the modern daring of the contemporary scene. Her show “Ballet Star [...]
Best of Costumes – Our Readers Pick Their Favorites
We recently wrote about how many different elements have to come together for one of THOSE perfect evenings at the ballet. Designs and, in particular, costumes, play a big part in creating a mood, helping dancers express themselves and inhabit their roles. They come in all shapes, colours and fabrics: from vaporous Romantic skirts to [...]
10 Things We Love About British Ballet
Below is an extract of our first guest post for Behind Ballet, with our pick of the best in British ballet right now. In case you didn’t know, Behind Ballet is the official blog of The Australian Ballet. They are one of our very favorites amongst company blogs. We have said of them before: “from [...]
Alban Lendorf – New Principal Dancer at RDB
The Royal Danish Ballet has announced that Alban Lendorf has been promoted by AD Nikolaj Hübbe to Principal Dancer, following Lendorf’s performance in Harald Lander’s Études on Saturday 30 April. Alban Lendorf was trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School. He became an apprentice in 2006 and in 2008 he joined the corps de ballet [...]
Five Ballet Weddings From Hell
We hear you. You can’t stand the buzz about a “certain wedding” anymore. Everywhere you look, it’s all about fairy-tale endings, cheese and romance. You don’t care whether the bride will be wearing vintage McQueen, nor about who made it to the Queen’s private party. You refuse to watch the populist media coverage or to collect [...]