AI Ballet Review 408

Darling, what a month it’s been! As a seasoned ballerina, it's my duty, my darling obligation to bring you, my precious reader, all the latest news from the world of dance. This month we've had an absolute whirlwind of productions that are truly making the world of ballet whirl and twirl!

From Paris with Love

Let’s start in Paris, oh darling, where else? Where else but the city of light and fashion, of romance and exquisite, refined dance? The Opéra Garnier has been a whirl of pink tutus and glittering diamante, thanks to their production of **Swan Lake** starring the magnificent **Sylvie Guillem**. Darling, she is a vision, a vision! Every single step she takes is poetry in motion, a whisper of elegance in an ocean of shimmering white. She simply melted my heart into a puddle of adoration. But she wasn't the only star, the corps de ballet were sublime, truly like birds, with the light catching their perfect formation.

The production itself, my dear, is utterly divine, the romanticism of the sets and the costume design, just breathtaking! We’re all so excited by the debut of **Nabil Elouafi**, a gorgeous young talent, he truly set the stage on fire with his intense portrayal of the Prince. Oh, to have him be my prince, he is simply dashing and virile, just look at those biceps darling! Truly, Paris once again outdoes itself.

New York, New York

Of course, we have to jet to New York, darling, the hub of it all. And where else in the big apple for ballet than the iconic **New York City Ballet**? Now I have a very personal fondness for New York City Ballet, it's like an old friend. They have been putting on one remarkable production after the other this month, but it's their production of **The Four Seasons** that really stole my heart. It’s simply gorgeous!

A new ballet by choreographer **Christopher Wheeldon** is like a delicious, sweet sorbet after a big meal! You know, refreshing and just perfect for a balmy summer night, although we can’t exactly call it a summer here yet! Oh but anyway, **The Four Seasons**, darling! It really does celebrate nature's beauty with exquisite dancing and this phenomenal new score. The costumes were simply stunning, evoking images of the changing seasons, and you could almost feel the wind rustling the leaves and the warm summer sun, and darling it was simply perfection!

Of course, there were performances that made my soul sing, like the exceptional **Diana Vishneva**, with her signature fire and energy! A total firecracker on stage darling, you can’t take your eyes off her, it's captivating. The whole cast really brought the choreography to life, truly bringing joy to the soul and just like that, I was swept away.

Across the pond

Now, a trip to the land of tea and crumpets. We are talking about **London's Royal Ballet** and their recent production of **The Sleeping Beauty** and darling, what a magical experience! My, my, oh the joy it brings, oh the costumes, the scenery, and a story as old as time.

Let's talk about **Darcey Bussell**, absolutely enchanting. Now, this dancer just takes me right back to the classic style of ballet, her grace, her artistry, truly divine. I've been an avid follower of Darcey for years now and she’s a true icon, the perfect role model. Her Aurora was simply magnificent, the perfect embodiment of innocence, beauty, and purity, darling.

We simply can’t forget the **Royal Ballet’s** male corps de ballet. These men were just, magnificent, strong, powerful, they looked fantastic in their classical tutus! Darling, I would say a visit to **The Royal Opera House** in the heart of London's West End, for this show alone, is a must-do, for anyone with a soul.

But darling, we must remember that there’s more to the ballet world than the grand productions.

Emerging Artists

The heart of our beloved art lies within these brave young talents pushing boundaries, testing limits, creating new languages, my dear. We see such promise in these daring talents across the world.

So this month I wanted to take the time to shine a spotlight on a few, and a couple of specific performances that caught my eye:

• **The Young Ballet of Munich** - this group is taking a chance, with their own fresh take on contemporary dance with their production of “A New Dawn.” With inventive choreography, powerful, energetic dancing and some stunning use of the stage, darling, I felt the joy and fear that these young artists channeled. There are so many promising faces to watch, **Markus Hoffman**, **Sophie Fischer** and **Sebastian Bauer**. These young stars really had the audience captivated with their performance.
• The Ballet Theater of San Francisco - I'm going to admit I was completely swept off my feet, darling, by **San Francisco Ballet's** latest contemporary ballet creation **"Whispers" by James Kudelka.** This is modern ballet at its most sublime! The performance had this incredible raw energy. Each movement, each gesture, felt like it spoke a different language, a language of the heart, and you could see every feeling coming from these dancers, my heart really sang. I simply have to point out the brilliance of **Yuan Yuan Tan** whose solo performance of the work, had the whole audience rapt.

But the beauty of ballet, my darlings, doesn’t stop on the stage! This month saw some exciting and innovative ballet exhibitions that have really made us all rethink the art.

A Celebration of Dance

There are few better ways to immerse yourself in the world of ballet, then to go behind the scenes, darling.

• The **Musée d'Orsay in Paris** has been having this simply fabulous exhibit “Ballet Russe,” featuring a truly incredible selection of costumes and photographs capturing the era when Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes were the hottest ticket in town! My, what a dream to see the exquisite beauty and decadence of those early years in this exciting new light!.
• And over in **New York’s Brooklyn Museum** , we have “Body of Work” a display, a really captivating exhibit exploring the changing physical landscape of dance with stunning and rare photographs capturing ballet dancers as art objects.

As always, it’s so exciting to see the world embracing art and in this case the beautiful art of dance.

Now Darling, to get a real dose of excitement, be sure to check out the many gala events happening throughout the month of April.

• The American Ballet Theatre’s** Gala this year was a phenomenal success and truly highlighted the talents of both veterans and emerging artists. The charity auctions darling, well they’re truly an event not to be missed. It's so exciting to see this incredible talent showcased and supporting such amazing initiatives, my darling.