2020-2021 Season Boston Ballet’s first-ever virtual season. Will Shank This newly revved up platform, an edgy online version of the television show, is quickly becoming the definitive online lifestyle guide for savvy Bostonians. Hanna studied dance at a small dance school in Massachusetts and at Near the end of the piece, a woman (Lorna Feijóo), dressed in a white, loosely fitting dress, enters; her steps are not especially different from those of the other dancers, but she dances them with more conviction. Steven Tackeff Kathy Benharris Send your resume and writing samples to blog@styleboston.tv. Play it loud. With Appreciation Featuring world-renowned choreographer William Forsythe’s New Suite and a world premiere by creative powerhouse Stephen Galloway, this electric program will have you at the edge of your seat. Your email address will not be published. But where they exceeded expectation was the conviction, the electric emotional energy, with which these dancers took to the stage, and to the works, diverse as they were. Don’t miss a pair of works that shatter expectations of what ballet can be. Helen Pickett’s PART I, II, III (choreographed to music by Arvo Pärt — a composer whose work has become trendy in dance in recent years) plays with some interesting ideas, but the three movements do not cohere. Kennedy Elsey The image above is an excellent example: the pair having each just shed their clothes (and with it their proverbial skins), this dénouement of sorts was frenetic but achingly vulnerable, an ephemeral moment as beautifully felt as it was beautifully danced. While at Barnard she studied English Willems’ score, too, is both defiantly audacious and slightly aimless, sometimes sounding like fading music at a creaky carnival. Kylián’s use of the stage is fantastic: he deftly uses the black curtains to define, and redefine, the space. She has both a fury and a fragility in her frame, and the stage never feels more alive than when she is on it. Photo by Gene Schiavone. The 2020–2021 performances of Stephen Galloway’s world premiere have been made possible by generous gifts from a Commissioners Circle including Amy and David Abrams, Leslie and Howard Appleby, Warren and Mary Naphtal, Alison and Frank Quirk, and D. Ellen Wilson. Full disclosure: the Boston Ballet’s Bella Figura had me spellbound long before I passed through the doors of the Opera House. Go behind the scenes with recently promoted Principal Dancer Tigran Mkrtchyan as he rehearses Jiří Kylián's lauded Bella Figura with Principal Dancer Ashley Ellis. The Company gratefully acknowledges the outstanding support of Barbara and Amos Hostetter in our commitment to amplifying diverse artistic voices. The first, LAYLI O MAJNUN is a pas de deux inspired by an old Persian love story; the second, called Tsukiyo, is also for two dancers, and is inspired by a Japanese fairytale. Richard Baiano. Scott Kearnan York to attend Barnard College. CHIEF FASHION CORRESPONDENT In Boston she danced a diverse repertoire of contemporary and classical leading parts. Subscribe to all six virtual performances for just $180. I could hardly claim objectivity. It feels both stylish and vaguely unformed — an aesthetic that runs through the piece, from the attitude of the dancers to the block-lettered “THE” placed challengingly on the lip of the stage. Nevertheless, it demonstrates Pickett’s skill as a choreographer — she simply needs to sharpen her vision. You can purchase your tickets here: Bella Figura. In her last few years, she began her transition to teaching. Then Forsythe's protégé Stephen Galloway brings serious swagger to the stage with a much-anticipated world premiere (originally slated to premiere in May 2020). Get to know Jiří Kylián, the man behind several audience favorites including Bella Figura, Petite Mort, and Wings of Wax. Bella Figura was just that, and then some. Throughout the program of shorter works, the Boston Ballet’s dancers demonstrated the requisite command of craft and versatility–shifting effortlessly from near-rigid, stilted sequences to broad swaths of supple movement–that makes this company one of the most respected in the country. styleboston is now an online community of curators covering a variety of subjects. To view styleboston the television show – visit styleboston.tv. Joseph Gordon Cleveland, Executive Editor. This is perhaps due in part to the score, which is filled with ominous-sounding chords that change neither the direction of the music nor the arc of the dance. in publishing. Tonya Mezrich, CONTRIBUTORS The depth she imbues in her movements is the variety of emotional resonance that goes beyond beauty of form, or, even, bella figura. literature and wrote dance reviews for two campus publications, the Vision is something Bella Figura has in spades. More subtly, they change each other. In another, two women (tightly framed by those black curtains) kneel opposite each other, their red skirts spread out on the floor: when one reaches forward with her hand, the other pulls back.