observations 3/22

Unexpected obstacles seem to provoke her creativity. Twyla's, that is.

Coming up this Friday, March 26th, on PBS is a brand new Twyla Tharp documentary. The newest episode in the American Masters series shows Twyla at nearly 80 years old still making dances with her fresh, ageless ingenuity even in the midst of lockdown during a pandemic.

Check your local PBS channel for times when American Masters Twyla Moves premieres on March 26th.

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Yesterday Haglund spent a couple of hours watching The State Ballet of Georgia, a University of Minnesota Northrop documentary about Nina Ananiashvili's wonderful troupe. My o my, has the company matured since their visit to Avery Fisher Hall almost ten years ago. Then, their programming was mostly early Ratmansky works. Ratmansky still has a strong presence in the repertory, but this new documentary makes clear the institution's devotion to the country's famous son, Balanchine, and, of course, Petipa.

Nina has cultivated a handsome group of talented dancers from all over the world. The striking classicist Philip Fedulov, an alumnus of The Rock School, Orlando Ballet II, Houston Ballet II, and Edward Ellison's extraordinary academy in Manhattan, is a Leading Soloist in the company. We could watch him all day along with the beautiful Nino Samadashvilli. Scrupulous lines, lifted torsos, powerful jumps, endless length are on display throughout this company.

The documentary included clips from Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Swan Lake, Laurencia and several Balanchine classics. While it would have been nice to see an entire ballet, obviously that wasn't doable for this project of Northrop's. The cost is $25 or $10 for students. The documentary will be available through March 28th.

 

 

Comments

[Laura Maceyka]

Thanks for Twyla tip. Will watch it this evening.
I wish someone would get her 2012 ballet for kids,The Princess and The Goblin, on film and online at PBS.
Kids and parents really need an infusion of hope, victory & beauty these days. Nothing like a good fairy tale to get the job done.

From Winnipeg's trailer
"Tharp's defining new ballet, adapted from a fairy tale by Victorian fantasy novelist George MacDonald, follows young Princess Irene on a courageous quest as she discovers the town's children being kidnapped by the Goblin. Guided by her Great-Great-Grandmother, the heroine succeeds in rescuing the children against the odds in a transformative and inspiring story of humility and forgiveness."

Co-produced by: Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet & Atlanta Ballet

[Haglund]

The PBS documentary was outstanding - informative and entertaining.

Twyla has always been in the forefront when it comes to using technology. She may have inherited that from working with Robert Joffrey who also saw a benefit to using technology in some of his works like Astarte.

She's had quite a life, and I'm glad to see that she is still going strong -- and that this documentary has come along.