Corella in Philly
The Pennsylvania Ballet kicked off its first season under new Artistic Director Angel Corella. The season runs to October 26 at the Academy of Music. From Delaware Online:
There are amazing dancers here, some of the best in the world. So my vision is just to help to make them even better if it’s possible, and to just bring the best choreography, the best ballets,” he said. “My purpose is to make everyone want to be a part of the company and be proud of what they have here because they should be.”
Corella said he would love to eventually see the company add enough dancers to do something like a full-length “Don Quixote.” But he said he has every intention of maintaining the company’s Balanchine legacy.
Another interview from Philly.com:
Q Is it true that you have photographic memory about all the steps in a ballet?
It’s a curse. I’m going through them all the time constantly. In bed I can’t get them out of my head and it’s hard to go to sleep. I’ve always learned the steps for every single person, it’s impossible for me to forget. I did the Balanchine piece a long time ago in London and still remember every step.
Q Will you schedule more premieres, or more standard major works, and will you do any choreography?
I want to balance the full-length pieces like “Romeo and Juliet,” “Swan Lake” and “Don Quixote,” with new, edgy choreography. And we have Matthew Neenan, who knows the dancers intimately, as choreographer-in-residence, and I hope to extend his contract.
Wendy Whelan Retires
Wendy Whelan will give her final NYCB performance Saturday evening after 30 years with the company. Here is an interview with her in Mail Online:
Whelan is definitively not hanging up her dance shoes. She’s been moving gradually into modern dance, and is booked solid with numerous projects, including a tour next year with ‘Restless Creature,’ a series of duets with four modern choreographers.
‘Exploration. That’s what I love,’ Whelan says.
But for now, she has to stay fit and healthy for a few more days. She’s not overly concerned. Karma, she says, is with her.
‘I’ve paid some big dues,’ she says. ‘I’ve earned a good farewell.’