2011: The year in dance
Royal Danish Ballet remains among classical dance’s elite. The company was back at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in May with Nikolaj Hübbe in charge. The two programs reflected Hübbe’s embrace of August Bournonville’s refined 19th century vision, and his drive to be up-to-date. That translated into a repertory program of provocative ballets, and a new version of the beloved “Napoli” (above) set in the 1950s. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Mark Morris Dance Group revived his two-act masterwork, “L’Allegro, Il Penseroso, ed il Moderato.” Last seen in 1997 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, “L’Allegro” is both classic and innovative, and was better-suited, somehow, to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (presented in May by the Music Center in collaboration with LA Opera, which supplied conductor Grant Gershon, the soloists, orchestra and chorus). (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
