The second-act character dances, in various "ethnic" flavors, were lively and full of variety. Kathleen Breen Combes flung herself into the luxurious backbends and spirals of Spanish. Lia Cirio and Sabi Varga, their long torsos and arms exposed in skimpy tops and harem pants, were a big hit in the mysterious Arabian.
The Chinese children twirled their umbrellas cleverly, and the audience went "Awwwww!" on cue in the Pastorale when five white lambs appeared in the care of two shepherdesses, and "Aah!" a moment later with the arrival of a naughty little black sheep. This flock upstaged the hardworking trio of James Whiteside, Heather Myers, and Megan Gray. Oh, and the marauding mice had cute pink ears, and their King (Mark Wax) was dressed like the Sultan in Sheherazade.
Related:
State of the art, The real deal, Slideshow: Ballets Russes at the Wang, More 
- State of the art
Maybe it’s the economy, but Boston Ballet’s third-annual season-opening gala was a sober evening, without the orchestral overture that graced the first two affairs.
- The real deal
Nineteenth-century ballets are not all alike. But Boston Ballet's Sleeping Beauty is the real McCoy.
- Slideshow: Ballets Russes at the Wang
Boston Ballet performs "Diaghilev's Ballets Russes Centennial Celebration" at the Wang Theater
- Both ears and the tail for this Carmen
"World Passions," the collection of four works that Boston Ballet opened at the Opera House last night, was more pleasant than passionate until Kathleen Breen Combes sashayed out as the title character in Jorma Elo's Carmen .
- Photos: Boston Ballet's World Passions
Photos of the Boston Ballet's "World Passions" collection, including Jorma Elo's Carmen ; Helen Pickett's Tsukiyo ; Viktor Plotnikov's Rhyme ; and Marius Petipa's Paquita.
- Scenes from the city
I missed more things in two and a half days last week than I managed to take in, so whatever I might infer about dance in the New York vortex could have come out a different way if I’d reversed my priorities.
- Not quite Nina
On hearing the opening notes of the Kronos Quartet composition and seeing the dancers lit in sunny yellow, I feared we were about to be subjected to one of those “up with people” ballets.
- Tragic tropes and anti-tropes
The only question to ask about a new Romeo and Juliet, besides “Why?”, is “Why New York City Ballet?”
- Love and death
“Classic Balanchine” as opposed to . . . “Jazz Balanchine”? “Porno Balanchine”? What was the alternative?
- Dreaming and remembrance
Two momentous revivals in town showed us how big the category of classical ballet really is.
- Links to a legacy
In her Pillow Talk at Jacob’s Pillow last weekend, Suzanne Farrell was asked what she expects of the young dancers who are reviving George Balanchine’s ballets under her direction.
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Dance
, Entertainment, Dance, Performing Arts, More
, Entertainment, Dance, Performing Arts, Boston Ballet, Boston Ballet, Boston Ballet, Boston Ballet, Ballet, Larissa Ponomarenko, James Whiteside, Less
