Tulsa Ballet: Made in America Review

"American dancers possess unique attack and a very special way of engaging the audience by appearing to look straight into our eyes, inevitably drawing us in and keeping us focused. All three works in Made in America build on those qualities, and if I have quite a few quibbles about all three, I have absolutely no reservations about the dancers, whose performances I found thrilling."

"It's a neo-classical work, which shows off the dancers' impeccable, often exuberant, classical technique, both in pair work and in its very many individual variations. However, after a neat opening movement, where the dancers moved in unexpected, interesting groupings and formations, the choreographer appeared to run out of ideas, so that the ensuing movements lost structure and progression, to become merely academic successions of party tricks."

"Sandra Woodall's costumes - all black for the men, flimsy, two-layer printed tutus for the women - were flattering and easy on the eye. And although all 14 dancers performed to a high level, I was particularly impressed with Nao Ota and Jun Masada, who danced the opening pas de deux."

"The second piece was Divenire (Italian for 'becoming') by Nicolo Fonte, who drew his inspiration from the music of Ludovico Einaudi. The Italian Einaudi, whose stated aim is to create emotionally accessible music, is a prolific composer, perhaps more widely known for his soundtracks for film ( Nomadland, The Father) and TV, and there is a c"

Tulsa Ballet presented Made in America, a triple bill of distinctive works, at the Linbury. The performances emphasized American dancers’ direct audience engagement and energetic presence. The program opened with Yuri Possokhov’s Classical Symphony to Prokofiev’s Symphony No 1, highlighting precise neo-classical technique through pair work and many individual variations, though the choreography later lost structure and progression. Costumes by Sandra Woodall used black for men and light printed tutus for women. The dancers performed at a high level, with Nao Ota and Jun Masada especially noted in the opening pas de deux. The second work, Divenire by Nicolo Fonte, drew inspiration from Ludovico Einaudi’s emotionally accessible music.

Read at London Unattached