With the long weekend coming up in Toronto, what better way to spend it but with some music, dance and song? Here are some of my recommendations for you to immerse yourself in the arts this weekend.
After 33 years, the world-renowned Russian ballet company, Bolshoi Ballet, has made its return to Toronto with one of the most loved and revered ballets. The ballet showcases the original revival choreography by Marius Petipa as composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
This is by far my ultimate favourite ballet and the Bolshoi does not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Vyacheslav Lopatin as the Fool. Athletic and graceful are but two words that come to mind. A loud applause well deserved to the female corps, who made the swans come to life and were absolutely a delight to watch. Their performance was not only in lyrical unison but also mesmerizing. Maria Alexandrova, as Odette/Odile, did not disappoint either. She completed the 32 fouettés as if floating on air.
The Medieval set design works well with the costumes and of course, the lighting is perfectly matched. The Bolshoi Ballet’s Swan Lake will be at the Sony Centre For The Performing Arts until this Saturday, May 19th. For ticketing information, visit www.sonycentre.ca.
In this new revival, the late Arthur Laurents‘ Broadway direction is recreated for the tour by David Saint, the Associate Director on Broadway, and the original Jerome Robbins choreography is reproduced by Tony Award-nominee Joey McKneely.
This production incorporates Spanish into the mix and it works well. As someone who speaks Spanish, I appreciated the added humour and cultural perspective in the dialogue and songs.
Evy Ortiz (Maria) and Ross Lekites (Tony) don’t have always seem to have chemistry. Nonetheless, Ortiz‘s voice is young, sweet voice nicely complements Lekites‘ charming singing. The rest of the cast works well together. The two gangs (Sharks and Jet) are portrayed well enough. The costumes are lively and colourful; and I quite liked the lighting design. Fans of the musical will not be disappointed.
West Side Story will be in Toronto for another two week, until June 3rd. For ticket and other information, visit www.dancaptickets.com.
I love dancing! Harbourfront Centre‘s World Stage is inviting us all to dance. Dance Marathon, brought to Toronto by bluemouth inc., is an “immersive theatre event inspired by the endurance contests of 1920s and ‘30s America.” So what does this mean? It means you need to put on your most stylish and comfortable dancing shoes and join in the fun of the competition. There will be a live band with floor judges to guide the night. Now, if you’re too shy to join in, you can sit back and enjoy the music and the dancing.
Dance Marathon will take place at the Enwave Theatre on May 18th and 19th. It runs for 240min with breaks. For full details and ticket info, go here.
