THE ARTS FUSE

Stepping Way Way Out

ArtsFuse — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:28:28 +0000

Karole Armitage, once known as a “punk ballerina,” brings her dance troupe to the Berkshires.
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Balanchine, ballerina, ballet, Karole Armitage, Merce Cunninghma, punk

Parisian Sexcapades

ArtsFuse — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 15:31:49 +0000

The time is right for the revival of ballet about a country mouse who becomes a Parisian courtesan. (more…)

Manon, Royal Ballet

Swan King

ArtsFuse — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:53:25 +0000

By Debra Cash

From the hype, you’d think that ten years ago British choreographer/director Matthew Bourne was the first person to develop a post-Freudian “Swan Lake” or cross-dress a ballet production, and you’d be wrong. You’d be right, however, to call Matthew Bourne’s “Swan Lake” a phenomenon. (more…)

Mattew Bourne, Swan Lake

Ups and Downs

ArtsFuse — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 15:37:14 +0000

A Mark Morris world premiere is turning the attention of the national press to the state of the Boston Ballet Company under new director Mikko Nissinen. (more…)

Boston Ballet, Mark Morris

The Passing of Fayard Nicholas

ArtsFuse — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:52:15 +0000

By Debra Cash

Rusty Frank sent this note last night…
Our friend, our legend, our hero, our idol, our humanitarian Fayard Nicholas passed away peacefully at home tonight at 8:30pm, January 24, 2006. He was surrounded by friends and his loving wife, Katherine Hopkins Nicholas. (more…)

Fayard Nicholas, Tap dance

Helping Fayard Nicholas

ArtsFuse — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 21:51:01 +0000

By Debra Cash

Only medical skill, the support of friends and family and perhaps the prayers of his fans can help Fayard Nicholas recover from the stroke the gentlemanly 91-year old African-American dancer suffered on November 22, 2005. But those of us who thrilled to the virtuoso tap dancing of the Nicholas Brothers in the “Stormy Weather,” “Down Argentine Way” and other Hollywood musicals can make a difference by pulling out our wallets. (more…)

Dance, Fayard Nicholas, hollywood, musicals, tap, tap dancing

Genius at Risk

ArtsFuse — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 15:50:50 +0000

Years of bitter and expensive litigation as well as the challenging nature of her work have put the artistic legacy of dance giant Martha Graham in crisis. (more…)

ballet, Dance, Janet Eilber, Martha Graham

Heart Throb

ArtsFuse — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 21:49:45 +0000

By Debra Cash

Young love never completely fades. The sight of a group of elderly ladies sighing over the perfect physique and gentlemanly mannerisms they remember embodied in the young George Zoritch is the centerpiece of Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine’s sweet new documentary “Ballets Russes,” which is at the Landmark Cinemas in Kendall Square, Cambridge and other screens in New England. (more…)

arts, ballet, Ballets Russes, documentary, Film, Russia, Russian

Dance Against Atrocity

ArtsFuse — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 16:01:45 +0000

Audacious as it sounds, a new dance work by an innovative choreographer explores how human beings have expanded our ability to articulate the nature of crimes against humanity.
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Auschwitz, Dance Exchange, Harvard Law School, Holocaust, Liz Lerman, Martha Minow, Nuremberg

Holy Matrimony!

ArtsFuse — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 21:48:52 +0000

By Debra Cash

The temple of dance that Ted Shawn built in the Berkshires in the 1930s has become a rustic wedding chapel. Jacob’s Pillow management announced this week that the Pillow is available to provide “world class” wedding business. And why not? Couples have been getting married at museums and historic sites for years (I, myself, got married in a New England barn that had been willed to the Girl Scouts). (more…)

Jacobs Pillow, marriage