Ellen Dunkel

1 month ago | inquirer.com | Ellen Dunkel

Philadelphia Ballet closed its 2024-25 season with a bit of escapism and a touch of history. Artistic director Angel Corella paired La Sylphide, a Romantic-era ballet from the 1830s, with Études, a 1940s piece often viewed as a “how-to” on classical technique. Both were lovely, but when the program opened Thursday night at the Academy of Music, some audience members only saw La Sylphide. — likely due to confusing program notes and both ballets featuring sylphs.

1 month ago | inquirer.com | Ellen Dunkel

BalletX journeyed toward enlightenment in the world premiere of Jennifer Archibald’s Maslow’s Peak Friday night at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, opening the Mann’s season. The company also reached a new peak with this Lord of the Flies-inspired ballet. It looked like a different troupe, ready for much bigger stages than the intimate Suzanne Roberts Theater it performs in most of the year.

2 months ago | inquirer.com | Ellen Dunkel

BalletX artistic director Christine Cox wanted a new story ballet and knew what she was NOT looking for: a new Swan Lake. “We’re not the right company for that,” she told choreographer Jennifer Archibald. It would have to be an evening-length work and involve her entire company of 14 dancers (since expanded to 16). It should also fit a big theater. The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, where the new ballet will have its world premiere Friday night, fits 13,000 people.

2 months ago | inquirer.com | Ellen Dunkel

In honor of Philadanco’s 55th anniversary, the company invited four choreographers who were consistent voices on its stage to come back. Founder and artistic adviser Joan Myers Brown and artistic director Kim Bears-Bailey asked them to revisit one of their pieces for the occasion or make a new one. Milton Myers, who has worked with the troupe off and on since the mid-80s, and Christopher Huggins, opted to set existing works on the current generation of Danco dancers.

2 months ago | inquirer.com | Ellen Dunkel

The Nutcracker is such a popular ballet that most ballet companies rely on the revenue to carry them through the rest of the season. George Balanchine didn’t choreograph the first Nutcracker in the United States, but he is credited with making it a holiday classic. Philadelphia Ballet, New York City Ballet, and many other companies still perform the Balanchine version of Nutcracker, and the Tea variation is a crowd-pleaser for its fast turns and split jumps.