Dance

Swan Lake

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Swan Lake ballet, or rather, Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. Music by Tchaikovsky. Traditional story reinterpreted, choreographed, and directed by Matthew Bourne. The original show was premiered at Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1995; the recording presented here was apparently shot, for the first time in high-definition, at Sadler's Wells in 2011.  Stars Richard Winsor (The Swan/Stranger), Dominic North (The Prince), Nina Goldman (The Queen), Madelaine Brennan (The Girlfriend), Steve Kirkham (The Private Secretary), and Joseph Vaughan (The Young Prince). David Lloyd-Jones conducts the New London Orchestra. Set and costume design by Lez Brotherston; lighting by Rick Fisher. Directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon; sound post production by Mike Hatch; executive production by Robert Noble, Fiona Morris, and Todd Austin. Unlike some Kultur titles, this disc plays in all regions. Released 2012, it has 5.1 Dolby sound. Grade: B

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Fuenteovejuna

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Fuenteovejuna flamenco dance piece. Directed and choreographed by Antonio Gades to a script by José Manuel Caballero Bonald and Antonio Gades. Stars Cristina Carnero, Ángel Gil, Joaquín Mulero, and Alberto Ferrero. Additional women dancers are Carolina Pozuelo, Conchi Maya, Luisa Serrano, Mª José López, Maite Chico, María Nadal, Merche Recio, Vanesa Vento, Virginia Domíguez, Virginia Guiñales, and Yolanda Rodríguez. Additional men dancers are Ángel Bleda, Antonio Mulero, David Martín, Elías Morales, Jairo Rodríguez, Miguel Lara, Miguel Vallés, and Pepe Vento. The flamenco woman singer is Ángela Núñez "La Bronce". Flamenco men singers are Alfredo Tejado, Enrique Pantoja, Gabriel Cortés, and Joni Cortés. Guitarists are Antonio Solera and Camarón de Pitita. Music by Antón García Abril, Modest Mussorgsky (Cuadros de una exposición), Antonio Gades, Faustino Núñez, and Juan Antonio Zafra. Set and costumes by Pedro Moreno; folk ballet instruction by Juanjo Linares; television direction by Ángel Luis Ramírez; produced by Ángel Álvarez Rilla. Released 2012, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+

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Carmen (Vento)

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Carmen in flamenco dance version, based on the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée. Performed 2011 at the Teatro Real. Script, choreography, and lighting by Antonio Gades and Carlos Saura. Stars Vanesa Vento, Ángel Gil, Joaquín Mulero, and Jairo Rodríguez. Additional  women dancers are Conchi Maya, Cristina Carnero, Luisa Serrano, Mª José López, Maite Chico, María Nadal, Merche Recio, Virginia Guiñales, and Yolanda Rodriguez. Additional men dancers are Alberto Ferrero, Ángel Bleda, Antonio Mulero, David Martín, Elías Morales, Miguel Lara, Miguel Vallés, and Pepe Vento. The woman flamenco singer is Ángela Núñez "La Bronce"; flamenco men singers are Alfredo Tejado, Enrique Pantoja, Gabriel Cortés, and Joni Cortés. Guitarists are Antonio Solera and Camarón de Pitita. Music and poetry by Antonio Gades, Antonio Solera, Ricardo Freire González, Georges Bizet (Carmen), Manuel Penella (El Gato Montés), José Ortega Heredia, and Federico García Lorca (Verde que te quiero verde). Stage setting by Antonio Saura. Released 2012, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: B

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Bodas de sangre & Suite flamenca

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Bogas de sangre (Blood Wedding) flamencodance piece and Suite flamenca. Performed at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Choreography and light design are both by Antonio Gades.

1. Bodas de sangre is based on the theatre play by Federico García Lorca. Stars Cristina Carnero, Ángel Gil, Vanesa Vento, Joaquín Mulero, and Maite Chico. Also stars Alberto Ferrero, Alfredo Tejada, Antonio Mulero, Antonio Solera, Camarón de Pitita, Carolina Pozuelo, Conchi Gómez, David Martín, Elías Morales, Enrique Pantoja, Jairo Rodríguez, Joni Cortés, Mª José López, María Nadal, Merche Recio, Miguel Lara, and Virginia Guiñales. Adaptation for ballet by Alfreho Mañas; set and costume designs by Francisco Nieva. Music by Emilio de Diego, Perelló y Monreal (¡Ay, mi Sombrero!), and Felipe Campuzano (Rumba).

2. Suite flamenca features Stella Arauzo and Miguel Lara. Also features women dancers Carolina Pozuelo, Conchi Gómez, Cristina Carnero, Maite Chico, María José López, María Nadal, Merche Recio, Vanesa Vento, and Virginia Guiñales. Men dancers are Alberto Ferrero, Ángel Gil, Antonio Mulero, David Martín, Elías Morales, Jairo Rodríguez, and Jaoquín Mulero.  Flamenco dancers are Alfredo Tejada, Enrique Pantoja, Gabriel Cortés, and Joni Cortés. Guitarists are Antonio Solerá and Camarón de Pitita. Music by Antonio Gades, Ricardo Freire, and Juan Antonio Zafra. Choreography for Soleá por bulerías and Tanguillos by Cristina Hoyos.

Television producer was Ángela Álvarez Rilla. Released 2012, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. For both titles Grade: A

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Amelia

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Amelia modern dance movie. Music by David Lang with lyrics by Lou Reed (and, per urban legend, Nico, a friend of Andy Warhol). Choreography by Édouard Lock, leader of the dance group LaLaLa Human Steps. Lock first created a theater version of Amelia. Then in 2002 he also directed and edited the movie version we review here, which was shot on super 16 motion picture film at 24 fps. The dancers are Andrea Boardman, Nancy Crowley, Mistaya Hemingway, Keir Knight, Chun-Hong Li, Bernard Martin, Jason Shipley-Holmes, Billy Smith, Naomi Stikeman, and Zofia Tujaka. Musicians are Alexandre Castonguay (cello), Simon Claude (violin), Njo Kang Kie (piano and musical direction), and Nadine Medatwar (vocalist). Unique set designed by Lock; photography directed by André Turpin; costumes by Vandal; Folley effects by Lisa Wedlock (the film was shot silent and all sound comes from post-production); sound design by Hans-Peter Strobl and Lisa Wedlock; artistic director was Louise Marie Beauchamp. Producers were Pierre L. Touchette and Bob Krupinski; executive producers were Luc Châtelain, Alain Simard, and Daniel Langlois. There are valuable extras: (1) Director's Commentary in English and French as movie plays, (2) an interactive feature that takes you from the movie to 32 "how we did it" documentary clips, and (3) history of LaLaLa Human Steps. (Instructions in booklet on using the interactive feature are wrong: correct instructions are on disc.) Released 2009, disc has 5.0 PCM sound. Grade: A+

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Kaguyahime - The Moon Princess

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Kaguyahime - The Moon Princess modern ballet at the Nederlands Dans Theater. Choreography by Jiří Kylián to music composed for this ballet and conducted by Maki Ishii. Directed by Hans Hulscher. Stars dancers Fiona Lummis, Paul Lightfoot, Martin Muller, Ken Ossola, Johan Inger, Patrick Delcroix, Glenn Edgerton, Karine Guizzo, Brigitte Martin, Lisa Drake, Susan Laraghy, Carolina Armenta, Jorma Elo, Bruce Michelson, Sol Léon, Nancy Euverink, Cora Kroese, Philippa Bukinham, Lorraine Blouin, Owen Montague, Ivan Dubreuil, and Zane Booker. Features musicians Michael de Roo, Katsuji Kondo, Satoru Yaotani, Sukeyasu Shiba, Mami Tsunoda, and Mayumi Miyata. Stage design and lighting by Michael Simon; costume design by Férial Simon; NOS production by George von Breeman; NHK production by Hiroko Okudaira. This ballet was created in 1988. Nobody is saying what date this production was filmed. But this does appear to be a "cleaned up" re-release in 2012 of a DVD title that came out in 1994. Disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound, which should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt. Grade: B

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Flamenco Flamenco

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Flamenco Flamenco dance film by Carlos Saura. This is a full-length motion picture showing 21 performances of flamenco today. This title has been released in Europe under two different labels: Cameo Media (Spain) and Bodega (France). Both versions of this title are Region B only and have 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+

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Pina

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Pina dance film by Wim Wenders. (We know, the title of this is "pina," but we will still use the capital letter "P.") This is a heavy-weight documentary about the choreography of Pina Bausch. The film includes recently commissioned segments of stage performances, original shooting of dancing on locations around Wuppertal, interviews with dancers who knew and worked with Bausch, and archival footage. The package has a 2D movie, a 3D movie + a "making of" extra. There has been massive confusion over the marketing of this title. (It is being sold like a movie; not like a ballet title.) It is available in German, French, Spanish, and Italian releases, all limited to Region B. There is also a Canadian version, a 3-disc box set (2D, 3D, and DVD),  limited to Region A. This may be the best option for those living in the United States with Region A players. We have also learned that the Criterion Collection is planning to release this in the American market in early 2013. By the time you read this, things may have changed further, so beware.  Released 2012, discs have 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

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