Viewed together, the separate pieces in the Robinson Ballet’s spring show seem to be telling one story – a child’s flight from the nest followed by a triumphant return home. In another sense, from its first classical ballet piece, “Laren’s Waltz,” the story-telling of “Tennis… Read More
“The last time this show was here, Michael wasn’t in it, and I started crying,” a teenage girl griped Tuesday night as she stood in line outside the Bangor Auditorium, eager for a second chance to see her golden-tressed idol – the Chicago-born, Celtic-inspired Lord of the Dance… Read More
Is there any ballet moment as exciting as the first few notes of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”? When the production is the annual collaboration between Robinson Ballet Company and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono, the answer is surely: No. It’s not… Read More
In the performing arts, an evening such as the one Garth Fagan Dance presented Friday at the Maine Center for the Arts, is called a dance concert. It is made up of a series of choreographies much like a music concert is made up of a series of… Read More
ORONO – In 1987, Bonnie Lewkowicz was trying to choose a name for a new troupe that included dancers with and without disabilities. She looked to the wheels on her wheelchair for inspiration and chose AXIS, the turning point, where the spokes come together. During… Read More
The latest version of the now famous Tap Dogs company returned to the Maine Center for the Arts on Saturday night as “Tap Dogs Rebooted,” five guys and two girls providing a 90 minute display of energy and dazzling technique that brought the audience to its feet for… Read More
Robinson Ballet’s Spring Dance Concert annually showcases the talented young dancers that the company has nurtured from gawky preteens through gangly adolescence to graceful adulthood. This year’s show gives more than 20 of the area’s best dancers the opportunity to shine on stage. While their… Read More
If your definition of ballet has anything to do with a dance style that emphasizes restraint, you would be seriously questioning the word after an evening with Les Ballets Africains, the high-octane national touring company of the Republic of Guinea. Currently touring with its 50th anniversary jubilee, Les… Read More
What is Christmas without “The Nutcracker”? In the last 20 years, I’ve had only one December holiday bereft of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, and it was a bleak omission, indeed. In the midst of the bustle and brawn of this holiday, it’s not such a bad idea to give yourself… Read More
BANGOR – Andrei Bossov’s adaptation of “The Nutcracker” this weekend was just right – sweet, spicy and altogether charming. The cast of more than 50 performers from the Bossov Ballet Theatre in Pittsfield did a gallant job of keeping the large production together on the… Read More
ORONO – Three men took the stage at Maine Center for the Arts last Wednesday night and signaled the start of an electrifying performance by the Ailey II dance company. The percussive beat of drums and intricate footwork in choreographer Robert Battle’s “Takedeme” set the stage for an… Read More
The original Broadway musical “Swing!” – performed Tuesday at the Maine Center for the Arts – gives new meaning to the lyric: “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.” Frankly, the show also gives new meaning to the term “musical” because, in fact, it… Read More
If ever a dance collaboration honored the marriage of movement and fantasy, it was Ballet Jorgen Canada and Hong Kong Ballet performing an adventurously crafted “Coppelia” on Monday at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono. Under the direction of Swedish choreographer Bengt Jorgen, who is based… Read More
Bill T. Jones, the dancer and choreographer, was once frightened of music by Beethoven. Then he met the Orion String Quartet, which, it would stand to reason, might have been somewhat shy about dance. Together, movement met music and the refreshing outcome is a joint creative spectacle between… Read More
It’s very likely that Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” ballet is one of the most endearing symphonic and dance celebrations of the Christmas season. If you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it a hundred times. And if you’ve seen it a hundred times, then you know why you can’t see it… Read More
WATERVILLE – Great choreography takes into account the talents of the performers, and goes one step further. It ensures that the smaller parts are just as essential to the whole as the star roles. One expects great choreography from Andrei Bossov, who spent 20 years… Read More
ORONO – The name “Don Quixote” is said to mean “the one who hides himself.” During the Moscow Festival Ballet’s production of “Don Quixote” Saturday at the Maine Center for the Arts, the pointy-bearded windmill chaser staggered through a few scenes, pointing and waving his… Read More