by Victor Swoboda Balloons. Hugs. Heartfelt speeches. At Théâtre Maisonneuve on May 25, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal paid homage to 79-year-old Gradimir Pankov following a performance of his last program as artistic director. It marked the end of an 18-year era at Quebec’s largest dance company. The triple bill was characteristically Pankov. Two works by old friend Jirí Kylián were local premieres. First, the sweet folksy Evening Songs (1987) set
by Toba Singer When I saw Oakland Ballet’s Nutcracker at the age of five, it wasn’t about the développés. It was about the gestures and communication,” says Antoine Hunter, artistic director of Urban Jazz Dance Company in San Francisco. Hunter, who is Deaf,* grew up feeling as if he were being held hostage to a
by Steve Sucato Few tales are as universally known and beloved as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Countless dance versions have been created, approaching the story of two star-crossed lovers from numerous angles. For choreographer Hélène Blackburn and her Montreal-based company Cas Public, Romeo and Juliet took on a broader meaning. In Blackburn’s Symphonie dramatique, the