Stories such as Aladdin are timeless and great for all ages but the best opportunities to judge how interpretations of these classic tales in the performing arts resonate with young audiences is to ask them to take the reviewer’s seat. Recently, The Utah Review, with the assistance of Christal Jackson, an English teacher and ELL … Read more
If there was an overarching theme to the astonishing triple bill in Ballet West’s production that culminated in the riveting performance of The Rite of Spring, it would be contemplation, continuity and connection for humans living in a largely symbolic world. The opening night performance of works by three choreographers featuring the music of Stravinsky … Read more
The facts about the revolutionary character of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring are well known. Capitalizing upon the triumphs of The Firebird (1910) and Petrushka (1911), Sergei Diaghilev commissioned The Rite for The Ballets Russes. A dream team had been assembled for its premiere and rehearsals had proceeded without incident: Vaslav Nijinsky developed the … Read more
For this weekend’s Ballet West revival of Aladdin as part of the company’s Family Classics Series, audiences will have an excellent opportunity to see some of the rising stars of ballet’s newest generation. For example, in 2018, when Aladdin was last presented, it featured many current Ballet West artists in early roles, including Principal Artist … Read more
After last year’s success with its newest version of Regalia — So You Think You Can Choreograph — Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) is re-upping it this year. Making their debut as choreographers will include the mother of one of RDT’s current artistic leaders and one of the event’s hosts and whose profession is as a … Read more
“Out of old tales, we must make new lives,” the great literary scholar Carolyn Heilbrun once wrote. For London audiences still feeling weary after World War II, the Cinderella fairy tale took on a spectacular new life in the ballet choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton to the music of Sergei Prokofiev. Seventy-seven years later, Ballet … Read more
Few stories have been so versatile for adaptation than Cinderella. There have been versions for children’s theater, pantomime, opera, comic theater, vaudeville, burlesque, melodrama, risqué sendups, Christmas shows, rock music adaptations with Cinderella as antiheroine, television productions, mainstream and art films in many languages (more than 140 versions just of the fairy tale) and the … Read more
An encouraging trend in the contemporary performing arts era is that once a new work has its premiere, it nevertheless remains an organic piece, open to revision, restaging, expansion and finetuning. For Re-Mix, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s upcoming production, three previously performed works, including one that will be a company premiere, are restaged in a fresh … Read more
If audiences are worried that modern dance might be too abstract or opaque to understand their meaning, productions such as Repertory Dance Theatre’s Emerge, which has become a splendid New Year’s tradition over the last decade, can put novices in dance appreciation at ease. For example, Steve & Jim, Jim. & Steve: Another Modern Dance … Read more
What has become a worthy New Year’s tradition in the Salt Lake City performing arts scene returns this week, as Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) presents Emerge, an annual showcase of original choreography by company dancers, along with Nicholas Cendese, associate executive and artistic director. A community focus has been evolving in recent Emerge editions but … Read more