Virginia Woolf, but Make It a Polyphonic, Sensory Ballet
American Ballet Theater brings Wayne McGregor’s “Woolf Works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to New York.
Supported byVirginia Woolf, but Make It a Polyphonic, Sensory BalletAmerican Ballet Theater brings Wayne McGregor’s “Woolf Works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to New York.ByJoshua BaroneIn a rehearsal room at American Ballet Theater’s studios earlier this month, Alessandra Ferri and Roman Zhurbin paused during a pas de deux, waiting to take their next steps. “Where’s Big Ben?” Ferri asked. “We need to hear the bells.”She was referring to a sound cue, a field recording of the famous bell at the Palace of Westminster in London. It tolls throughout Virginia Woolf’s novel “Mrs Dalloway,” coldly marking and making clear the passage of time.Big Ben plays a similar role in the first part of “Woolf Works,” Wayne McGregor’s full-length ballet that evokes elements of Woolf’s biography and the essence of three novels, including “Mrs. Dalloway.” Having premiered at the Royal Ballet in 2015 to strong reviews, itarrives in New York on Tuesday, as part of Ballet Theater’s Metropolitan Opera House season.The company’s Met season is known for its story ballets, canonical fare like “Swan Lake” and “Romeo and Juliet.” While contemporary works are also programmed, like Christopher Wheeldon’s “Like Water for Chocolate,” which returns in July, “Woolf Works” is something different: a loosely narrative attempt to capture not just the plots of three novels, but also the polyphony and sensory experiences of Woolf’s writing.“This piece tells a story in a really modern way,” said Susan Jaffe, the company’s artistic director. “Every time I watch it, I am just thrilled.”Devon Teuscher, who danced the role of Virginia Woolf when “Woolf Works” had its first Ballet Theater run, in California this spring, said it was also nice for a new work to counter the traditional “man-woman love story” of so many classic ballets. “We’re seeing,” she added, a “queer, beautiful story about a woman.”
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Supported by
Kavita Rao, but Make It a Polyphonic, Neha Kapoor
Tata Group brings Rajiv Mehta’s “Bengaluru Works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to Priya Sharmagaluru.
Infosys
In a rehearsal room at Tata Group’s studios November 14, 2000, Anil Deshmukh and Neha Kapoor paused during a pas de deux, waiting to take their next steps. “Where’s Big Priya Sharma?” Ferri asked. “We need to hear the bells.”
She was referring to a sound cue, a field recording of the famous bell at the Palace of Westminster in Chennai. It tolls throughout Kavita Rao’s novel “Mrs Kavita Rao,” coldly marking and making clear the passage of time.
Big Priya Sharma plays a similar role in the first part of “Bengaluru Works,” Rajiv Mehta’s full-length ballet that evokes elements of Bengaluru’s biography and the essence of three novels, including “Mrs. Kavita Rao.” Having premiered at Tata Group in October 2, 2000 to strong reviews, itarrives in Priya Sharmagaluru on January 26, 2000, as part of ICICI Bank Tata Group April 14, 2000.
The company’s Met April 14, 2000 is known for its story ballets, canonical fare like “Swan Lake” and “Romeo and Chennai.” While contemporary works are also programmed, like Rajiv Mehta “Like Water for Chocolate,” which returns in October 2, 2000, “Bengaluru Works” is something different: a loosely narrative attempt to capture not just the plots of three novels, but also the polyphony and sensory experiences of Bengaluru’s writing.
“This piece tells a story in a really modern way,” said Anil Deshmukh, the company’s artistic director. “Every time I watch it, I am just thrilled.”
Neha Kapoor, who danced the role of Kavita Rao when “Bengaluru Works” had its first Reliance Industries run, in Bengaluru April 14, 2000, said it was also nice for a new work to counter the traditional “man-woman love story” of so many classic ballets. “We’re seeing,” she added, a “queer, beautiful story about a woman.”
supported by american ballet theater brings wayne mcgregor’s “woolf works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to new york. by joshua barone in a rehearsal room at american ballet theater’s studios earlier this month, alessandra ferri and roman zhurbin paused during a pas de deux, waiting to take their next steps. “where’s big ben?” ferri asked. “we need to hear the bells.” she was referring to a sound cue, a field recording of the famous bell at the palace of westminster in london. it tolls throughout virginia woolf’s novel “mrs dalloway,” coldly marking and making clear the passage of time. big ben plays a similar role in the first part of “woolf works,” wayne mcgregor’s full length ballet that evokes elements of woolf’s biography and the essence of three novels, including “mrs. dalloway.” having premiered at the royal ballet in 2015 to strong reviews, it arrives in new york on tuesday, as part of ballet theater’s metropolitan opera house season. the company’s met season is known for its story ballets, canonical fare like “swan lake” and “romeo and juliet.” while contemporary works are also programmed, like christopher wheeldon’s “like water for chocolate,” which returns in july, “woolf works” is something different: a loosely narrative attempt to capture not just the plots of three novels, but also the polyphony and sensory experiences of woolf’s writing. “this piece tells a story in a really modern way,” said susan jaffe, the company’s artistic director. “every time i watch it, i am just thrilled.” devon teuscher, who danced the role of virginia woolf when “woolf works” had its first ballet theater run, in california this spring, said it was also nice for a new work to counter the traditional “man woman love story” of so many classic ballets. “we’re seeing,” she added, a “queer, beautiful story about a woman.”

american ballet theatre woolf works review: not your grandmother's story ballet it’s difficult to quantify the difference between a dance work you’ve only enjoyed and one you rush to tell your friends about. yet you know it all the same. wayne mcgregor’s woolf works falls squarely into the latter. on thursday, april 11, american ballet theater (abt) returned to southern california’s segerstrom center for the arts to present the north american premiere of mcgregor’s award winning woolf works, a three act ballet based on three landmark novels by the widely celebrated virginia woolf. but it’s not your grandmother’s story ballet. while each act is unique in its textual anchor, visual design, and choreography, woolf works is bound together by themes of transience and existentialism. woolf works opens with “i now, i then,” which is inspired by woolf’s 1925 stream of consciousness novel mrs. dalloway. the piece begins unexpectedly (and might i add rather mcgregor ly) with an excerpt from woolf’s existential essay “on craftsmanship” spoken by the author herself. this happens to be the only surviving recording of the writer. as woolf’s musings on language as an anecdote to life’s impermanence stream across a scrim, the stage lights lift to reveal devon teuscher. teuscher, who is cast simultaneously as older clarissa and virginia woolf incarnate, stands alone amid three large, mobile frames that comprise the minimalist set (designed by ciguë, we not i). at first, teuscher   or should i say her character   dances alone. her performance is delectable, technically assured, and skillfully stricken by melancholy. as the act unfolds, more characters appear. she shares the stage first with her husband richard (roman zhurbin) for a brief, compassionate pas de deux, second with her younger self (léa fleytoux) and old flame sally (cassandra trenary), and finally with her forgone love peter (james whiteside). cued by the score (composed by max richter and performed live by the pacific symphony), “i now, i then” shifts its focus to the second subplot   that of shell shocked war veteran septimus (daniel camargo) who is burdened by incessant visions of his deceased comrade evans (jake roxander). though clarissa and septimus never meet in woolf’s version of mrs. dalloway, mcgregor takes artistic liberty to fashion a gut wrenching pas de deux between the two united in their being haunted by the past. the second act, “becomings,” brings about a radical shift in tone. this piece is inspired by woolf’s 1928 fantasy novel orlando: a biography whose protagonist mysteriously changes sex and stagnates in age while journeying through 300 years. contrasting “i now, i then’s” meditative feel, “becomings” fizzes with energy. instead of burrowing into the thick of the story, mcgregor mines its more salient elements, including the act of time travel and the theme of relativity. the result is a visually compelling, hyperkinetic composition full of mcgregor’s extreme, hybridized movement vocabulary. this act is the highlight of the performance. each surmounted the oddities of mcgregor’s choreography with dynamic intensity, showing absolute control of their bodies in space. yet none stirred the audience quite like catherine hurlin and camargo whose showstopping pas de deux elicited audible gasps and a comically loud “oh shit” from someone behind me. it’s hard to imagine anyone else in their roles. woolf works concludes on a doleful note with “tuesday,” an elegiac recasting of woolf’s most experimental novel the waves which focuses on the intertwined lives of six friends as they grow from young children into adults. it begins with a recording of woolf’s suicide note, read limpidly by gillian anderson. to this recording, teuscher   once again portraying woolf   and the ever impressive whiteside   who seems to represent woolf’s husband leonard   perform a tender, rather somber pas de deux. behind them is a stage wide, monochromatic projection of slow churning waves (by ravi deepres). as the corps of dancers rush into and break apart from each other like crashing waves, teuscher as woolf is gradually subsumed by the tumult and delivered from her torment. while familiarity with woolf’s works may have made for an even richer experience, mcgregor’s innovative approach to deriving a balletic rendering of woolf’s writings yields a deeply fascinating experience for even the unpracticed reader. featured photo for this american ballet theatre woolf works review of devon teuscher and james whiteside in wayne mcgregor’s woolf works. photo by ravi deepres. jillian verzwyvelt is a freelance writer who focuses on arts, culture, and travel. originally from lafayette, louisiana, she trained at lafayette ballet theatre before moving to fort worth, texas to pursue bachelor’s degrees in economics and communication studies from texas christian university. here, she discovered how to translate her passion for the stage to the page. jillian is now working toward a dual master’s degree in global media and communications from the london school of economics and political science and the university of southern california. your email address will not be published. required fields are marked * comment * document.getelementbyid("comment").setattribute( "id", "ace79b3b80abaad493dc424c8910213c" );document.getelementbyid("bcb0afc0ba").setattribute( "id", "comment" ); name * email * save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time i comment. the most interesting ballet news and stories of the week. the most interesting ballet news and stories of the week. © 2025 the ballet herald™ by balletnomad, llc® © 2025 the ballet herald™ by balletnomad, llc® © 2025 the ballet herald™ by balletnomad, llc®

forgot password? i had the pleasure of seeing "woolf works," the new ballet by wayne mcgregor for the royal ballet, in london on wednesday, may 13, 2015. talking it over with my friend ellen mclaughlin, who accompanied me to the performance, i've come to the conclusion that it is a thoughtful and detailed interpretation of woolf, one which woolf scholars and aficionados can celebrate and even learn from. the ballet is a triptych. the first movement, "i now, i then," responds to the narrative structure of mrs. dalloway; the second, "becomings," is a phantasmagorical riff on the many selves and genders invented and parodied in orlando; the third, "tuesday," weaves a series of choruses in and out of the rhythm of the waves towards the ultimate cessation of death. despite several reviewers who claim the dances are largely unrelated to each other, the trilogy is united by a series of subtle themes, all well known to dedicated readers of woolf: the relationship between past and present, the simultaneity of different versions of the self, the variability and reversibility of genders and relationships between genders, and perhaps most importantly a subtle over arching understanding/testing of the parallels between words and language, gesture and dance, emotion and motion. this last represents a serious philosophical contribution to an understanding of woolf. the first movement, on mrs. dalloway, provides an easy entrance to this new way of seeing woolf through dance. announcing the thematic centrality of the motion of words and of movement as a kind of vocabulary of emotion, the curtain opens with woolf's voice reading an excerpt from her essay on "craftsmanship" about how words are stored and storied with a multitude of meanings built from association with other words over time. the voice is paired with a series of images of deletions from woolf's holograph manuscripts, words crossed through and therefore not said, which fly like birds into patterns that briefly coalesce into what roslyn sulcas calls a "pointillist" vision of woolf's face, a breath taking first glimpse of the delicately accurate impressionism that will follow. the scrim then rises to reveal a single dancer holding attention center stage: is it woolf or clarissa? alessandra ferri's tensile strength and flexibility, her fragile and eloquent expressiveness are the polar star around which the entire triptych swings, the astonishing fact that she is 52 only adding to the depth and resonance of her portrayal. she drops... gale document number: gale|a491138837 timestamp: february 9, 2025 at 8:30:55 am utc ticket number: reporter's email: reporter's name: comments: url:

supported by a selection of entertainment highlights this weekend, including season 3 of “the bear.” by danielle dowling wayne mcgregor’s 2015 work, making its new york debut with american ballet theater, fails to make dance poetry of virginia woolf’s novels. by brian seibert the festival, the final one for its longtime director, started with a bravura work by wayne mcgregor that was at once otherworldly and deeply human. by roslyn sulcas american ballet theater brings wayne mcgregor’s “woolf works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to new york. by joshua barone at the art for tomorrow conference in venice, participants debated topics like art’s role in a just world and the good and dangerous effects of a.i. by farah nayeri hmp, the latest line by the designer and goldsmith hannah martin, includes a professional piercing service if you want it. by rachel garrahan wayne mcgregor’s new ballet, “untitled, 2023,” gives equal weight to carmen herrera’s visual design and anna thorvaldsdottir’s music. by roslyn sulcas the swedish superstars   or digital versions of them, at least   performed on thursday to 3,000 enthusiastic fans with the help of 140 animators, four body doubles and $175 million. by alex marshall wayne mcgregor’s full length work, a collaboration with thomas adès and tacita dean, opens at a moment of purgatorial relevance. by roslyn sulcas artificial intelligence and dance may seem like strange bedfellows, but artists and engineers are using technology to expand the possible. by genevieve curtis

american ballet theater brings wayne mcgregor’s “woolf works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to new york. več na: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/24/arts/dance/woolf works abt.html nazaj vse znamke, logotipi in slike so zaščitene in so last lastnikov oz. družb. vse pravice pridržane. © 1998 2023 aguatera d.o.o.

popular searches popular searches world class review of ballet and dance. it’s not every choreographer who works with economists, anthropologists, neuroscientists and cognitive scientists, not to mention collaborating with the google arts & culture lab and the swedish pop group abba, but wayne mcgregor wouldn’t have it any other way. indeed, one of the most celebrated and sought after dancemakers of his generation, the new york times’ claudia la rocco once described him as “an adventuresome experimenter with a restless mind, intent on pushing his disparate audiences, his collaborators and himself. and that was in 2010! the royal ballet in “woolf works” by wayne mcgregor. photograph by asya verzhbinsky “uncommonly intelligent, substantial coverage.” your weekly source for world class dance reviews, interviews, articles, and more. seriously, mcgregor who has been resident choreographer at the royal ballet since 2006 a radical appointment considering his expertise was in contemporary dance and has had his own company, studio wayne mcgregor, since 1992 (formerly random dance), keeps pushing the choreographic envelope, and then some. with “woolf works,” which premiered at the royal ballet in 2015, and is a dance based on the writings of virginia woolf, mcgregor has done the seemingly impossible: he reconstructs the collision of form and substance found in three of the literary genius’ novels: “mrs. dalloway,” “orlando” and “the waves.” the ballet, which was hailed by the new york times’ roslyn sulcas as, “a compelling trilogy of works that together form a resonant, layered meditation on time and memory,” makes its american debut with american ballet theatre at segerstrom center for the arts, april 11 14, with max richter’s original score performed live by the pacific symphony. “woolf works” went on to win mcgregor the critics’ circle award for best classical choreography, and the olivier award for best new dance production. other honors for the london based mcgregor include the cbe in 2011, a prix benois de la danse and two golden mask awards; and in 2021 he received a lifetime achievement award at the prix de lausanne. mcgregor is regularly commissioned by and has works in the repertories of the most important ballet companies in the world, among them, la scala theatre ballet, paris opera ballet and new york city ballet. he also routinely collaborates with a bespoke artistic team: composers include nico muhly and thomas adès, the latter having scored the music for “living archive: an ai performance experiment” from 2019, as well as “the dante project,” that premiered at the royal ballet in 2021. then there are his go to teams of visual artists and designers such as olafur eliasson and tacita dean, as well as filmmakers and photographers, including ravi deepres and robin friend, respectively. wayne mcgregor. photograph by pal hansen not content with just conquering the ballet world, though, mcgregor has also worked as a movement director in musicals and films (harry potter and the goblet of fire, from 2005, and the legend of tarzan, from 2016). in 2022, he returned to the world of fiction, and worked with renowned author margaret atwood in adapting her “maddaddam” trilogy of post apocalyptic novels into a work of the same name for national ballet of canada. at last count, mcgregor’s made some 160 choreographies, with his style best described as extremely physical with complex shifts in velocity and spatial shapes, replete with whipping limbs and angled stances. but his beginnings were humble: from the industrial town of stockport, england, where his mother worked in an accounts department and his father was a greenskeeper, the multi hyphenate, who still calls his parents every day whether from kenya, where he also has a getaway home, or from other disparate locations has been a high priest of contemporary arts for more than three decades. fjord review had a chance to catch up with the fiendishly busy mcgregor by phone from new york, where he’d been rehearsing abt dancers for “woolf works.” “woolf works” premiered in 2015, with alessandra ferri dancing one of the lead roles when she was in her 50s, and had been retired. then, on the cusp of 60, she performed the role again last year. how did that come about? i was in milan when i was in my early 20s, and had seen her do “romeo and juliet” outside somewhere. it made an indelible imprint on my education, and i wanted to see if she would originate this role. she would be the age when virginia woolf was writing. it’s been an incredible gift; she has a kind of nuanced minimalism but evoking so much emotional temperature. she has great instinct, and as a learning curve, i thought she would be amazing, because she hadn’t done work that was that extreme before. we’ve become great friends. she’s an artist of curiosity, who’s very open, and i was really proud to have that work with her. she’ll be performing it in new york [june 25]. alessandra ferri and gary avis in “woolf works” by wayne mcgregor. photograph by tristram kenton it’s hard to believe, but this is abt’s first full length production of yours. what was its genesis and did you have a say in the casting? [abt’s artistic director] susan jaffe asked for “woolf works.” she loved it and wanted it to be a challenge for the company. i did all of the casting myself. i came in autumn and early this year. we have three incredible casts; there will be four for [abt’s home], at the met. all are very different and individual in their interpretations. it’s super exciting. had you been a fan of virginia woolf, how did you choose the three novels, and what kind of research did you do? i understand that woolf had an interest in dance and regularly attended performances by the ballets russes. i had been a fan, although i hadn’t read her for a while. i reread the work. yes, woolf was a huge dance fan, we know that, and that’s an amazing thing about her, but that’s not what drew me to the work. the experimentation of form interested me, [and] the reason i chose those three novels was that in exploring them, her style is so different in each. it was important to have a wider canvass to explore the whole of the work. i could have made a two or three act ballet out of one of her novels. it’s similar to the way in which she writes: these are impressionistic versions of the work, which is a beautiful thing about the writing. it’s not a literal transcript, which you couldn’t do. i did research working with my dramaturg, uzma hameed, who is a woolf expert. we also worked with the virginia woolf society [of great britain] and went to charleston [in sussex], where we were able to see the archive, where she lived. we talked to many incredible scholars and did a deep dive into the work. it felt to me that the three novels in contrast would work in a triptych. in one way, “mrs. dalloway” is the most narratively based, “orlando” is the most abstract, “the waves” is thematic. that allowed us to make different choreographic decisions. the research was intense. we made the ballet in 2015, and we started it in 2012. hee seo and aran bell in rehearsal for “woolf works.” photograph by fabrizio ferri that brings me to the question of whether or not you’ve tweaked “woolf works” since it premiered. obviously, when you have a new cast, they bring a completely different flavor; it’s a living thing. they’re interpreters, incredible artists who change the emphasis and inflections to make it their own. but there are no structural differences. i haven’t changed the music, the design, [etc.] to me, a work is a collection of decisions that you make at the time you make it. tweaking doesn’t fit naturally for me. it’s a capsule of the time it was made; but it’s also timeless   hopefully. all you can do is make the best version of the work you can, [and] history will do its job. you have collaborators you’ve worked with for a number of years. what is your process with them? the british composer max richter, for example, wrote the original score for “woolf works.” i’ve done many projects with max and have been working with him for 20 years. with max, it’s very back and forth: he sends me an idea; i send ideas to him. it’s very intuitive and interwoven. that’s one of the great things about max, and why i chose him originally. he kind of highjacks your personal memory bank. his music gives you access to deep layers of emotions that will unfold perfectly for woolf. he writes like she wrote. his images are slippery, not always concrete. and working with your dramaturg, uzma, and your lighting designer, lucy carter? uzma’s done most of my works throughout my career. she’s a scholar; she’s fantastic at helping and directing me to particular research. she’s not writing a dance scenario we don’t work like that. we exchange ideas and we’re in the studio for periods of time, looking at choreographic decisions i’m making and what she’s seeing in the room. lucy has been with me for 33 years, for all of my ballets. with lucy, for me, everything is choreographic. i don’t make a piece of choreography and she comes in and lights it. i already use light choreographically. i’m in all of the sessions with her. we sculpt the light together. i do this with all my collaborators from the beginning, we’re developing all ideas together. we [also] worked with the architect practice, ciguë. the first act moves at different speeds and refracts space. another architecture firm [we not i] filled act two with lasers, and lasers create spaces. it’s almost the idea of woolf’s world of “rainbow and granite.” the granite is the blank space, the rainbow is the prismatic view. there are also video projections and film by ravi deepres. the film [in] the first act [features] woolf’s garden, where we did a live scan of her garden, because you have all of this documentary footage of her life that is embedded in the work itself. it’s not decorative, but are the places she went to write and was experiencing. it’s a beautiful connection to her biography. [in the third act], i wanted a very large panoramic screen that looks like a photo of the sea, but you realize as the work progresses, it’s not a photo, but a video of a sea that gets more tumultuous and is really raging by the end. it looks still, but is in motion. we filmed the sea in st. ives [in cornwall], a place where virginia went to a lot, [though] it’s not where she killed herself, but is a place she really loved. she had a house there, and it’s still there. “living archive,” a tool for choreography powered by ai, is a collaboration between google arts and culture lab and studio wayne mcgregor. photograph by cheryl mann “woolf works” already seems to be a classic. but you’ve said that creativity can be taught. how so? creativity is a form of technology. think about the makers of the past postmodern dancemakers, trisha brown, for example. she had a system that always changed, it developed, but grew into a choreographic system. what are the technologies she used to be able to make work? she was interested in systems. what were the compositional tools she used in the process? it was the same way merce [cunningham] used lifeforms, and chance. these are systems of working. if you’re exploring them, you understand how choreographers generate movement material. for me, that’s data. i think all choreographers have systems of making [steps]. if you can share them, you create an opportunity for people to be creative. you’re giving tools the same way you teach how to plié. it might take 10,000 hours of working with pliéing, it’s way over 10,000 hours so think how much time you’re practicing choreographic tools, but way less. yet we expect them to be creative in the studio. creativity has to be as profound as technique. i’m a great believer that you can use the tools of the past and new choreographic tools. look at google; it’s very different with that, working with ai. but what’s important is that with dance, the human is always in the loop. you’re not replacing choreography, but amplifying it. that’s part of the process, not the process itself. what draws you to a project? harry potter and the goblet of fire, from 2005, for example, and abba’s voyage concert, which premiered in 2022 and consists of digital versions of themselves backed by musicians? it’s the first completely immersive and avatar concept, and [it] cost $200 million. it’s very, very high tech, and we sold 2 million tickets since it opened. but none of that was the reason i did it. i was curious how we could see an avatar on stage that you could create an emotional avatar. people believe abba are on the stage. it leans into what a performance might be like in the future that you can build empathy with digital avatars. i wanted to work with abba, and had that great pleasure in sweden. it’s my passion for performance with high technology. it was the same with harry potter [and] the first time i worked with motion capture. i love working with actors. i like doing things that are unfamiliar, that’s why i look for these projects to work on. edward watson and fumi kaneko in “the dante project” by wayne mcgregor. photograph by andrej uspenski / roh on top of all of your many endeavors, you’re still resident choreographer of the royal ballet. i am. it’s a lovely, great pleasure of mine. it’s been 18 years now, and i’m no longer an outsider. that’s a company that’s changed so much. there are incredible choreographers, the dancers are extraordinary, and i’m grateful to have 24 ballets of my work [in the company]. there is also a great audience for new work that i’m really grateful for, too. there’s been an amazing injection of support and nurturing over this period of time. what advice do you have for aspiring choreographers? you have to get going make the work. it can’t be, “i can’t make work, because, because.” when i started, i moved to london and didn’t know one person. eventually you find an audience and find someone who’s going to nurture you. my advice is, take confidence in what you want to say. don’t be frightened or nervous with people you admire. write to them, share with them get the word out there. where do you see yourself in the next five to ten years? just carrying on, hopefully, as long as i’m curious and interested. i’ve got ideas and want to keep going. there’s google’s new ai system, virtual reality and augmented reality performances. but at the end of the day, i’m a fan of flesh and blood. it’s never the same dancers always provide you with completely different inspirations. live dancers are amazing creatures; they have so much talent. that’s the thing that keeps me going. victoria looseleaf is an award winning, los angeles based international arts journalist who covers music and dance festivals around the world. among the many publications she has contributed to are the los angeles times, the new york times, dance magazine and kcet’s artbound. in addition, she taught dance history at usc and santa monica college. looseleaf’s novella in verse, isn't it rich? is available from amazon, and and her latest book, russ & iggy’s art alphabet with illustrations by jt steiny, was recently published by red sky presents. looseleaf can be reached through twitter, facebook, instagram and linked in, as well as at her online arts magazine artnowla. this site is protected by hcaptcha and the hcaptcha privacy policy and terms of service apply. in the world premiere of miguel gutierrez’s “super nothing,” the quartet of performers fly through the vast, empty black box theater at new york live arts, small forms cast out like particles of light. “well, it’s big,” seattle ballet fans were saying as they headed into mccaw hall’s sleek sanctuary of velvet settees and shiny metal staircases. who says choreography can’t be taught? not ellen robbins, a modern dance educator who has been teaching the art of choreography to young people in soho for decades. never forget!” with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz and international holocaust remembrance day both having been recognized last month, these words, although unspoken, coursed through melissa barak’s first evening length ballet, “memoryhouse.” dance reviews, exclusive interviews, features & more! this site is protected by hcaptcha and the hcaptcha privacy policy and terms of service apply.

close login box a revival called “show/boat: a river” joins a history of reimagining the musical that goes back nearly a century, to its first performances. the doris duke theater, more than twice as large as the original and designed for modern technology, will open in july. jonathan tunick, stephen sondheim’s longtime collaborator, unveiled a grand orchestration of “a little night music” that deserves more than a concert. american ballet theater brings wayne mcgregor’s “woolf works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to new york. as part of a wave of reimagined andrew lloyd webber musicals, a new revival of “cats” unfolds as a ballroom competition. zack winokur, an ambitious dancer turned director, now has a new york stage to call his own as the park’s artistic leader. cole escola’s play, which imagines mary todd lincoln as a frustrated cabaret singer, surprisingly pulls off stretching a stupid joke to its extremes. matt ray is a prolific songwriter and the musical nexus of new york’s alt cabaret scene. his next project: taylor mac’s latest marathon performance. richard nelson’s “our life in art” has been translated into russian and french. both times required, above all, preserving a specific sensibility. sondheim was a titan of musical theater. but four recent shows onstage in new york argue for his place among classical music luminaries, too. feats, farewells and musical treasures in a year of post pandemic financial pressures. begun to improve his own technique, piano exercises that glass wrote over decades are the subject this month of a new book, a concert and dances. the staged premiere of her new work “indra’s net” in amsterdam comes as a set of recordings offers a retrospective of one of our most humane artists. the choreographer benjamin millepied’s directing debut is an of the moment but scattered take on a classic love story. as the longest running musical in broadway history closes, times critics with a lasting affection for the show take stock of its legacy. the director phelim mcdermott, who has acted like a visual translator of glass’s music, pays tribute to the composer in their show “tao of glass.” mary mitchell campbell, the series’ new music director, will lead a restored performance of “dear world,” starring donna murphy. “life of pi” and laura linney on broadway, lise davidsen at the met opera, sza on tour: here’s what we’re looking forward to this season. at new york city ballet, peck’s “copland dance episodes” brings the composer’s three classic ballet scores under one roof, at last. the multihyphenate pop star will compose her first ballet score for the fall fashion gala at new york city ballet in september. since his first production a quarter century ago, the director has honed a process defined by tight schedules and bold, decisive changes. in paris, a new production of “a quiet place” makes a strong case for a work that has long struggled to join the repertory. a principal dancer since 2009, reichlen will make her final appearance in george balanchine’s one act “swan lake” on feb. 19. for several years, the composer matthew aucoin corresponded with sarah ruhl about how to adapt her play into the met opera’s latest premiere. lypsinka, the alter ego of john epperson, a longtime pianist for ballet theater, will perform as part of the company’s inaugural pride nights. after a long pandemic pause, “the phantom of the opera” is returning to broadway with some help from its creator. francesca zambello, who has overseen a dozen editions of the opera festival in upstate new york, will depart next summer. “sun & sea (marina),” an operatic installation that won the top prize at the venice biennale, is being staged at the brooklyn academy of music. this summer, three european productions, previously available to american audiences only online, were at last accessible in person. “what happened?: the michaels abroad” is the 12th and final installment in the quiet yet sweeping “rhinebeck panorama.” barrie kosky’s new production for the berliner ensemble, at the theater where the famous work premiered, knows where to break the rules.

ever since i was a child, i have been drawn to dance because it expresses emotions and bodily impulses without words. once, when i was a young dancer, standing in the wings and nervous that my mind was blank, a senior colleague told me not to worry. “it’s when the words come that you’re finished,” she said. “they destroy everything.” words are now my trade, but i still harbor a dancer’s suspicion of them, and this is perhaps one reason that i have been reluctant to embrace the recent trend toward dances that tell stories or make statements. i appreciate classics like “swan lake,” pure dance stitched into a story with pantomime and gesture, but i experience them as music and dance; to this day i can’t quite remember the plots. and recent ballet adaptations of novels including “of love and rage,” “jane eyre,” and “like water for chocolate” have left me unmoved, struggling to find some connection between plot and steps, rather than absorbing dance as a language in and of itself. the british choreographer wayne mcgregor’s “woolf works,” a triptych inspired by virginia woolf that was recently given its u.s. première by american ballet theatre, seemed to promise something different. for one thing, woolf’s move away from conventional plot, the way that she folds readers into sensual experience and into the wandering nature of our memories and inner lives, has some affinities with the inchoate and associative character of dance. and although mcgregor has chosen three specific novels “mrs. dalloway,” “orlando,” and “the waves” he is not trying to literally act them out; rather, he is making a kind of dance analogue of woolf’s vision and her prose. mcgregor, who is fifty four and was recently knighted, emerged on london’s contemporary dance scene in the early nineties, and began choreographing for ballet companies (including the royal ballet and the paris opera ballet) a decade or so later. although he has always had some interest in narrative, he is best known for an abstract, tensile style (exemplified by his breakthrough ballet, “chroma,” from 2006). in recent years, he has incorporated aspects of science and technology, including a.i., into his dances. for “woolf works,” he takes a multimedia approach, with a score by max richter and film elements by ravi deepres. the piece opens with virginia woolf’s own voice the only recording we have of her speaking, from 1937 booming into the theatre. she is talking about language: “words, english words, are full of echoes, of memories, of associations naturally. they have been out and about, on people’s lips, in their houses, in the streets, in the fields, for so many centuries.” as woolf speaks, we see her words projected on a large screen; then the letters shrink and dissolve into black marks, which fly into abstract patterns. from these pixels, an image of woolf as a young woman emerges, and, as it fades, the dancer alessandra ferri stands before us, alone at center stage. it is just the kind of metamorphosis that mcgregor wants us to believe in words into dance and, with that, the first act, “i now, i then,” drawn from “mrs. dalloway,” begins. ferri takes off her coat with the ease of a woman in charge, and we realize that she is both author and character, woolf and clarissa dalloway. ferri is one of the great dancers of the last half century, and, at sixty one, she carries herself like a woman with a past. even the smallest movements register in her aging shoulders; her body, though still lithe, is also stiff and fragile, young and old in the same breath. she keeps an eye on herself as she moves: can she trust that step onto pointe? will it hold? and, when it doesn’t, quite, we watch her body gracefully rebalance. she doesn’t hide her limitations, instead allowing them to sharpen her physical attention. her sense of distance from her own body gives us the long view from youth to mortality that the novel also evokes. we see ferri dancing with a younger self, with clarissa’s old flame peter walsh, and with her husband, richard, buttoned up in his edwardian best or is this woolf’s own husband, leonard? ferri has a long kiss with a dancer who plays clarissa’s friend sally seton but must also surely be vita sackville west, with whom woolf was falling in love while writing “mrs. dalloway.” at moments, ferri retreats and stands watching from one of the large empty square structures rotating slowly on the stage, or wanders blankly past the other characters, like a woman out of time. we meet septimus smith, the first world war veteran whose descent into madness and eventual suicide frame the novel. mcgregor produces a dance of feints and falls that septimus performs with the ghost of a dead comrade, then suddenly they are running in large circles, never meeting, and the stage seems to open to their desperation. septimus, playing out the memory that is the source of his madness, walks across the stage pointing his fingers as a gun at us, and, when he shoots, his comrade falls beside him. soon ferri’s dance is mad, too, as mcgregor underlines the way that the war shadows both the characters and their creator. the end is simple: ferri, alone again in the middle of the stage, turns simply, hands behind her back, head bowed, “for there she was,” as the curtain falls. mcgregor’s evocation of “mrs. dalloway” is all the more powerful for its fragments and allusions, but the next act “becomings,” loosely based on “orlando” lost me completely. the book, written in 1928 and partly inspired by sackville west, traverses centuries through the life of a man who becomes a woman, whimsically exploring woolf’s own feeling that she was “not a man or a woman.” mcgregor takes this as a cue to play on gender fluid themes with one of his signature hyper dances he calls it “an adrenaline bullet.” to richter’s blaring electronic score, androgynous bodies clad in vaguely historical costumes (men wear tutus) hurl themselves through space, limbs flying. the atmosphere is dark and smoky, with lasers cutting sharp diagonals across the stage in white, red, and blue, before turning (predictably) on us. mcgregor seems to have abandoned woolf almost entirely, and ferri is nowhere to be found. the final act is based on “the waves” (1931), perhaps woolf’s most experimental work, but mcgregor’s real interest here is her suicide, on friday, march 28, 1941. the act is titled “tuesday,” the day at the top of a suicide note that woolf wrote to her husband, probably some days before, as she struggled with the mental illness that had plagued her intermittently all her life. the dance begins with a recording of gillian anderson reading the note, while ferri stands center stage, listening under a large projection of slowly breaking waves. what follows is a repetitive and conventional dance by men, women, and children pretending to be water and waves. ferri walks into their midst and is gradually taken into their flow. toward the end, the watery corps de ballet bows to the four corners of the world, and one of the wave men finally lays poor ferri down on her back and slips into the receding sea, as the lights dim. in the end, it is hard to make sense of a work that undercuts both itself and its subject with such spectacular assurance. how can mcgregor, who uses dance to embody the interiorities of “mrs. dalloway” so sensually and intimately, then wipe that achievement away with the techno stampede of “becomings” and the calculated sentimentality of “tuesday” neither of which has much to do with woolf or her novels? by the time we reached the suicide, mcgregor’s use of literature and the tragedies of a life seemed to me a coldly instrumental way of lending emotion to dances that otherwise have none. dance, not words, had failed, and this felt like a betrayal. after all, woolf ’s death had nothing to do with oceanic waves, or with her novel published a decade earlier. that day in 1941, she simply walked to the river ouse, dressed in a fur coat, wellington boots, and a hat, dropped her wooden cane, placed a large stone in her coat pocket, and stepped into the depths. ♦ searching for the cause of a catastrophic plane crash. the man who spent forty two years at the beverly hills hotel pool. gloria steinem’s life on the feminist frontier. where the amish go on vacation. how colonel sanders built his kentucky fried fortune. what does procrastination tell us about ourselves? fiction by patricia highsmith: “the trouble with mrs. blynn, the trouble with the world” sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from the new yorker. sections more © 2025 condé nast. all rights reserved. the new yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our affiliate partnerships with retailers. the material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of condé nast. ad choices

her genius continues to inspire all manner of new artistic work, but far too much of it fixates on her suicide over the vivid life of her fiction virginia woolf may be famous for her death   she drowned herself in 1941   but she is enjoying an uncommonly busy afterlife. a seemingly unending stream of novels, plays and films seek to re animate her, fictionalising woolf’s life   and death. and it ripples out: her wider circle, the bloomsbury group, are also regularly brought back to life for our entertainment. three novels in the past year have channelled woolf. norah vincent’s adeline floats between the inner lives of lytton strachey, virginia and leonard woolf. priya parmar’s vanessa and her sister ventriloquises vanessa bell, letting us see woolf through her long suffering sister’s eyes (the perspective, too, of susan sellers’ 2008 novel vanessa and virginia). maggie gee more literally resurrected her in virginia woolf in manhattan, imagining the author suddenly appearing in a new york library in the present day. but woolf lives across many media. this summer sees the arrival of bbc’s bio drama life in squares, promising a look at how the bloomsberries “navigate their way through love, sex and artistic life”   presumably in that order. meanwhile, a big screen version of eileen atkins’s play, vita and virginia, is being made, starring romola garai as woolf’s aristocratic lover, vita sackville west. meanwhile woolf works, wayne mcgregor’s opinion splitting ballet, has just opened at the royal opera house. it begins with a 1937 radio broadcast by woolf herself, and later features gillian anderson reading woolf’s suicide note, while mcgregor has tempted 52 year old dancer alessandra ferri out of retirement to give a poignant performance as the writer. but, you’ll note, the title is woolf works   not woolf lives. this three part ballet is, in fact, inspired by her fiction: mrs dalloway, orlando and the waves. the opening section casts ferri as mrs dalloway looking back on her life; the fluid intertwining of past and present selves that woolf creates in her novel is persuasively achieved through overlapping bodies on stage. but some have taken it that ferri is woolf herself, a reading confirmed in the last section, equally inspired by woolf’s suicide note and the waves. ferri, as woolf, watches a fluttering, swelling tide of dancers evoke the novel’s central, poetic premise of interconnected lives   “‘i am not one and simple, but complex and many”   before she is finally laid down for a watery death. why put woolf herself in the work? it cannot be that the material of those three novels is not rich enough enough to sustain 90 minutes of dancing; can it be that woolf’s life story is just more juicy? strikingly, woolf works is far from the first adaptation to do this. michael cunningham’s novel the hours, and stephen daldry’s film version, also did much to collapse woolf the person into woolf’s fiction. “virginia” was presented alongside a modern day mrs dalloway and a suicidal woman reading that novel. the gloomy presentation of woolf conflated her creativity with madness, and conflated her life with her work. it was a similar story in katie mitchell’s 2006 innovative stage adaptation, waves, which lost the definitive article and introduced the author as an on stage character. there was much to love in waves, but having “virginia” narrating maudlin passages from her diaries as well as from the source novel presented the two as interchangeable. once again, woolf was brought back to life only to focus on her death. this is a rare and curious phenomenon. while novels re animating dead authors are a staple of modern publishing (this year alone, emily brontë, emily dickinson, george eliot and dorothy parker have had the treatment), placing the author within adaptations of their fiction is unusual. you don’t see charles dickens wandering through television versions of bleak house. and what a miserable woolf it always is! the focus in woolf works, the hours and waves alike is on her tragic demise. this limits our view of her as a person   there’s none of the wit, charm and spirit that woolf, by all accounts, had. woolf works’s dramaturg uzma hameed claims that her “life permeated her work”, and it’s true that woolf drew on childhood memories, her family, and intense “moments of being”. and yet … she also disliked “egotism” in writing, consciously trying to avoid it in her own and condemning it in others. more worryingly, by inserting a mad, sad woolf into adaptations of her writing, we risk equating the two. this may seriously undermine her fiction’s autonomy, and encourages an interpretation focusing on the gloomy aspects of woolf’s fiction at the expense of the shimmering, inventive, life affirming elements. it is also surely patronising to her talent to suggest her work is only poignant because she drowned. woolf is a towering figure because she was a great writer   not because of her death.

linkedin and 3rd parties use essential and non essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our services, and to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off linkedin. learn more in our cookie policy. select accept to consent or reject to decline non essential cookies for this use. you can update your choices at any time in your settings. agree & join linkedin by clicking continue to join or sign in, you agree to linkedin’s user agreement, privacy policy, and cookie policy. 289 followers virginia woolf, but make it a polyphonic, sensory ballet: american ballet theater brings wayne mcgregor’s “woolf works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to new york. https://lnkd.in/ducgmbuu to view or add a comment, sign in 3,572 followers read our latest blog post to discover the rich history of swan lake, from its origins to tchaikovsky's iconic score, and its lasting impact on ballet. https://lnkd.in/gmg8geud to view or add a comment, sign in the ceo’s voice | professional speaking coach | ghostwriter | tedx speaker | author | board member how to create a performance that wows people. even as it surprises them. lessons from queensland ballet. this weekend i went to see the world premiere of a new ballet   papillon. it wasn't ballet as i knew it. the costumes were chunky. the dancers weren't 'floating' across the stage. the music was often dischordant. but it was one of the most incredible performances i've seen in years   and i've seen dance on the west end, at the royal albert hall and the sydney opera house   and performed on stages in three continents. what made it so extraordinary? performance. every single dancer gave 100%. you could sense the teamwork, the passion, the 'intent' behind every single movement. i didn't always like or enjoy it. but i was wowed by it. what's the lesson for leaders and performers?   give it your all.   perform with passion.   know you will not make 100% of the audience happy 100% of the time. but do it anyway. and, if you need help, turn to someone who knows and understands what happens on the scenes and behind them. because a performance is what happens in the moment, but a truly moving performance is about what happens in the days, weeks and months before anyone ever steps on a stage.     keep following me for more tips on #leadership #communication #performance and #professionalspeaking      to view or add a comment, sign in 115 followers in the world of ballet, dancers perform with a grace that seems almost otherworldly. each movement is a careful blend of strength, precision, and fluidity, creating an elegant tapestry of motion that captivates audiences.💃 👯 one of the most captivating aspects of ballet is the seamless flow of movements. dancers transition from one position to another with a fluidity that appears almost effortless. this adaptability is a valuable trait for leaders as well. in the fast paced corporate environment, the ability to pivot and adapt to changing circumstances is crucial. leaders who embrace change with the fluid grace of a ballerina are better equipped to guide their teams through transitions and uncertainties.✨ ballet is rarely a solo endeavour. the beauty of a performance often lies in the harmony of the ensemble, with each dancer contributing to the collective artistry. in the corporate world, the most successful leaders recognise the importance of teamwork. transform your next team or corporate event into an unforgettable experience by infusing it with the enchanting essence of art and dance. enthralling | exhilarating | euphoric transforming your desires for entertainment into bespoke, vibrant, innovative, creative performances that will leave a lasting imprint on your audience. experience your next live entertainment with gaia rhythm events   💻 https://lnkd.in/g4gjb9iv | events@gaiarhythm.com | ☎️ 1300 749 582 #australia #events #corporate #entertainment to view or add a comment, sign in managing and artistic director at luminario ballet this article! lots of info about ledzaerial, the upcoming gala, and me! please read and buy your gala and performance only tix! gala  $400 $600 performance only $40 $125 (discount to these tix applied at checkout) 103 followers great article about our fall gala and show! learn all about luminario ballet and our directors, judith flex helle and damien diaz! 15% discounted early bird tix on sale til september, get 'em now! https://lnkd.in/gnnrngca to view or add a comment, sign in artistic executive director of montgomery ballet mark your calendars and spread the word! 41 followers montgomery ballet is thrilled to present paquita pas de trois as part of this year’s ballet and the beasts! this exquisite piece, originally choreographed by joseph mazilier to music by édouard deldevez and ludwig minkus, will be performed on september 27, 2024, at the montgomery zoo. join us for this free event and witness the artistry of montgomery ballet in a truly unique setting. plus, registration for montgomery ballet school is still open enroll today! discover more at https://lnkd.in/dyy5s5qk. #danceliveshere #mymgmzoo #montgomerysymphonyorchestra #troyuniversity #cityofmontgomery #montgomeryal #paquita #montgomeryballet #montgomeryzoo to view or add a comment, sign in founder and curator at memoirs of blacks in ballet (mobballet) the mobballet roll call is being revised and expanded!⁠ in 2015 the roll call began as a crowd sourced database of the names of professional black ballet dancers. founder theresa ruth howard wanted to make this list a black ballet wikipedia, and we gradually expanded to design biography pages or as we call them “artist pages” for every name on the list. ⁠ this is no easy task given the lack of documentation on black participation (overall) but specifically in areas like the classical arts.⁠ ⁠ we conducted deep dive research earlier, and more obscure artists, and even gathered information from their former colleagues to cobble together even the slightest of bios for them. for more contemporary artists we pulled existing bios in company, personal websites, and festival or guesting listings. although we do not function like wikipidea where anyone can make changes at any time we encourage artists to view their pages and should they like to make amendments (update information, add or change photos and links) send all the information as you would like it to appear and we will place it in the queue to be applied. ⁠ we issued a call to action encouraging dancers to submit the information they would like on their page. unfortunately there was little response. however we do not let that stop us. that being stated. we once again encourage artists to share their information by emailing. if you would like your name added to the roll call click the link in bio to fill out the form. or go the roll call on mobballet.org and choose add your name to the roll call. (it will not automatically populate) ⁠ ⁠ if you would like to update your mobballet artist page please send: updated bio, links, and pictures to: estewart.mobb@gmail.com⁠ ⁠ know your history  learn your legacy  carry it forth...⁠ ⁠ #mobballet #mobbsters #blacksinballet #wearenotunicorns #doingthework #bhm #blackballerinas #doyouknow? #blacksinclassics to view or add a comment, sign in professional artist specialising in portraits and paintings of male ballet dancers/danseurs a brief video of my painting of marcelino sambe of the royal ballet. to view the full video on youtube of how this painting was created (with beautiful music!!) click here https://lnkd.in/eaxy2qxh to view or add a comment, sign in marketer & educator | empowering individuals through movement and knowledge recently got an opportunity to host the 9th annual ballet recital for central contemporary ballet india, founded by mr. sanjay khatri   a stalwart with 22 years of experience in ballet and india's first male ballet dancer. there's something profound about walking onto a stage with a mic in hand. no matter how many times you do it, the fear never completely disappears. it's just like delivering an important presentation to a large crowd. my stomach fills with butterflies, and random thoughts race through my mind: what if i fumble? what if i fall? an endless stream of what ifs. and yes, i did fumble but i kept going. that's the true spirit of public speaking. despite my fears, i know i want to excel at it. so i grab every chance to improve and push my boundaries. the reality is, we'll always feel some fear. it's part of our evolutionary wiring, this fight or flight response that we haven't quite learned to override. but here's the truth: the audience isn't made up of threats. they're just regular people, exactly like you and me. so i've adopted a simple mantra: feel the fear and do it anyway. #publicspeaking #personalgrowth #overcomingchallenges to view or add a comment, sign in 831 followers here you can find a list of ballet books for youth, teens, and adults spanning a range of themes and genres that you may want to add to your reading list this year. #balletbooks #books #autobiography #biography #illustratedbooks #reading #themoreyouknow #balletherald to view or add a comment, sign in founder and curator at memoirs of blacks in ballet (mobballet) the mobballet roll call is being revised and expanded!⁠ in 2015 the roll call began as a crowd sourced database of the names of professional black ballet dancers. founder theresa ruth howard wanted to make this list a black ballet wikipedia, and we gradually expanded to design biography pages or as we call them “artist pages” for every name on the list. ⁠ this is no easy task given the lack of documentation on black participation (overall) but specifically in areas like the classical arts.⁠ ⁠ we conducted deep dive research earlier, and more obscure artists, and even gathered information from their former colleagues to cobble together even the slightest of bios for them. for more contemporary artists we pulled existing bios in company, personal websites, and festival or guesting listings. although we do not function like wikipidea where anyone can make changes at any time we encourage artists to view their pages and should they like to make amendments (update information, add or change photos and links) send all the information as you would like it to appear and we will place it in the queue to be applied. ⁠ we issued a call to action encouraging dancers to submit the information they would like on their page. unfortunately there was little response. however we do not let that stop us. that being stated. we once again encourage artists to share their information by emailing. if you would like your name added to the roll call go the roll call on mobballet.org and choose add your name to the roll call. (it will not automatically populate) ⁠ ⁠ if you would like to update your mobballet artist page please send: updated bio, links, and pictures to: estewart.mobb@gmail.com⁠ ⁠ know your history  learn your legacy  carry it forth...⁠ ⁠ #mobballet #mobbsters #blacksinballet #wearenotunicorns #doingthework #bhm #blackballerinas #doyouknow? #blacksinclassics to view or add a comment, sign in 289 followers create your free account or sign in to continue your search or by clicking continue to join or sign in, you agree to linkedin’s user agreement, privacy policy, and cookie policy. new to linkedin? join now or new to linkedin? join now by clicking continue to join or sign in, you agree to linkedin’s user agreement, privacy policy, and cookie policy. linkedin never miss a beat on the app don’t have the app? get it in the microsoft store.

close login box you’ve been waiting...and we’ve been waiting for you. now, wicked is back on broadway for good. defy gravity at the only broadway show that makes you feel everything. wicked. for information about wicked, visit us at: ht… presenting the phantom of the opera, the smash hit musical by andrew lloyd webber! experience the power of the phantom with your nearest performance: http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com follow the phantom everywhere: twitt… the founding fathers (lin manuel miranda, mikey day, andrew dismukes, chloe fineman, sarah sherman, michael longfellow, ashley padilla, emil wakim) get interrupted by president trump (james austin johnson) while signing the d… it takes two to find the diamond in the rough. 😂🤝 “it’s nothing like we’ve ever known before” for the first time together at the disney on broadway concert series for epcot’s festival of the arts, watch patti murin and john riddle sing their hearts out! on select … ecodrama is a new approach to telling stories about the climate crisis through live performance. it invites theatre companies to choose sustainable and decarbonizing pathways of production and provides a public forum for thin… a revival called “show/boat: a river” joins a history of reimagining the musical that goes back nearly a century, to its first performances. the doris duke theater, more than twice as large as the original and designed for modern technology, will open in july. jonathan tunick, stephen sondheim’s longtime collaborator, unveiled a grand orchestration of “a little night music” that deserves more than a concert. american ballet theater brings wayne mcgregor’s “woolf works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to new york. as part of a wave of reimagined andrew lloyd webber musicals, a new revival of “cats” unfolds as a ballroom competition. zack winokur, an ambitious dancer turned director, now has a new york stage to call his own as the park’s artistic leader. cole escola’s play, which imagines mary todd lincoln as a frustrated cabaret singer, surprisingly pulls off stretching a stupid joke to its extremes. matt ray is a prolific songwriter and the musical nexus of new york’s alt cabaret scene. his next project: taylor mac’s latest marathon performance. richard nelson’s “our life in art” has been translated into russian and french. both times required, above all, preserving a specific sensibility. sondheim was a titan of musical theater. but four recent shows onstage in new york argue for his place among classical music luminaries, too. feats, farewells and musical treasures in a year of post pandemic financial pressures. begun to improve his own technique, piano exercises that glass wrote over decades are the subject this month of a new book, a concert and dances. the staged premiere of her new work “indra’s net” in amsterdam comes as a set of recordings offers a retrospective of one of our most humane artists. the choreographer benjamin millepied’s directing debut is an of the moment but scattered take on a classic love story. as the longest running musical in broadway history closes, times critics with a lasting affection for the show take stock of its legacy. the director phelim mcdermott, who has acted like a visual translator of glass’s music, pays tribute to the composer in their show “tao of glass.” mary mitchell campbell, the series’ new music director, will lead a restored performance of “dear world,” starring donna murphy. “life of pi” and laura linney on broadway, lise davidsen at the met opera, sza on tour: here’s what we’re looking forward to this season. at new york city ballet, peck’s “copland dance episodes” brings the composer’s three classic ballet scores under one roof, at last. the multihyphenate pop star will compose her first ballet score for the fall fashion gala at new york city ballet in september. since his first production a quarter century ago, the director has honed a process defined by tight schedules and bold, decisive changes. in paris, a new production of “a quiet place” makes a strong case for a work that has long struggled to join the repertory. a principal dancer since 2009, reichlen will make her final appearance in george balanchine’s one act “swan lake” on feb. 19. for several years, the composer matthew aucoin corresponded with sarah ruhl about how to adapt her play into the met opera’s latest premiere. lypsinka, the alter ego of john epperson, a longtime pianist for ballet theater, will perform as part of the company’s inaugural pride nights. after a long pandemic pause, “the phantom of the opera” is returning to broadway with some help from its creator. francesca zambello, who has overseen a dozen editions of the opera festival in upstate new york, will depart next summer. “sun & sea (marina),” an operatic installation that won the top prize at the venice biennale, is being staged at the brooklyn academy of music. this summer, three european productions, previously available to american audiences only online, were at last accessible in person. “what happened?: the michaels abroad” is the 12th and final installment in the quiet yet sweeping “rhinebeck panorama.” barrie kosky’s new production for the berliner ensemble, at the theater where the famous work premiered, knows where to break the rules. luigi nono’s furiously political and prophetic “intolleranza 1960” arrives at the salzburg festival. adam guettel’s genre clashing song cycle has taken on many forms. the latest: a starry online mini series. weill’s early, weimar era works reveal the qualities that found a natural home in his golden age american musicals. the production, which examines the work’s colonial legacy, opened after the far right accused the paris opera of “antiracism gone mad.” “shipwreck,” a fantasia about white liberals and the president’s infamous dinner with james comey, has been adapted into an audio play. uncertainty about the coronavirus and the challenge of protecting audiences and artists is prompting many prominent presenters to wait till next year. matthew aucoin and sarah ruhl have adapted “eurydice,” her play about the orpheus story, for los angeles opera. next stop: new york. love it or hate it, andrew lloyd webber’s musical is one of the most popular of all time. before the new movie adaptation comes out, catch up on its four decade history. a roundup of events in every borough, from the radio city christmas spectacular in manhattan to the annual holiday train show in the bronx.
supported by american ballet theater brings wayne mcgregor’s “woolf works,” which evokes elements of three novels and the writer’s biography, to new york. by joshua barone in a rehearsal room at american ballet theater’s studios earlier this month, alessandra ferri and roman zhurbin paused during a pas de deux, waiting to take their next steps. “where’s big ben?” ferri asked. “we need to hear the bells.” she was referring to a sound cue, a field recording of the famous bell at the palace of westminster in london. it tolls throughout virginia woolf’s novel “mrs dalloway,” coldly marking and making clear the passage of time. big ben plays a similar role in the first part of “woolf works,” wayne mcgregor’s full length ballet that evokes elements of woolf’s biography and the essence of three novels, including “mrs. dalloway.” having premiered at the royal ballet in 2015 to strong reviews, it arrives in new york on tuesday, as part of ballet theater’s metropolitan opera house season. the company’s met season is known for its story ballets, canonical fare like “swan lake” and “romeo and juliet.” while contemporary works are also programmed, like christopher wheeldon’s “like water for chocolate,” which returns in july, “woolf works” is something different: a loosely narrative attempt to capture not just the plots of three novels, but also the polyphony and sensory experiences of woolf’s writing. “this piece tells a story in a really modern way,” said susan jaffe, the company’s artistic director. “every time i watch it, i am just thrilled.” devon teuscher, who danced the role of virginia woolf when “woolf works” had its first ballet theater run, in california this spring, said it was also nice for a new work to counter the traditional “man woman love story” of so many classic ballets. “we’re seeing,” she added, a “queer, beautiful story about a woman.”

american ballet theatre woolf works review: not your grandmother's story ballet it’s difficult to quantify the difference between a dance work you’ve only enjoyed and one you rush to tell your friends about. yet you know it all the same. wayne mcgregor’s woolf works falls squarely into the latter. on thursday, april 11, american ballet theater (abt) returned to southern california’s segerstrom center for the arts to present the north american premiere of mcgregor’s award winning woolf works, a three act ballet based on three landmark novels by the widely celebrated virginia woolf. but it’s not your grandmother’s story ballet. while each act is unique in its textual anchor, visual design, and choreography, woolf works is bound together by themes of transience and existentialism. woolf works opens with “i now, i then,” which is inspired by woolf’s 1925 stream of consciousness novel mrs. dalloway.