Indianapolis News (Day at a Time)
"In the hands of this masterful choreographer, introspection turns into dances of pain, argument, loneliness,
love and undaunted spirit...Every step, every gesture is spare and meaningful. In this gripping, cooperative venture
between choreographer and dance company, Day at a Time could have become a full-length ballet. It is a pity it
isn't."
Julie Goldsmith |
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Miami Entertainment & News Views Magazine (In Passing)
"His moving theater piece chronicles the cycles of life. The entire piece was a gripping, emotional portrait
of life and death - a superb new work! ...Soleau has done nothing less than reinvent ballet as we know it, making
classicism new again. Here is a work of true genius."
Lawrence Budmen |
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Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Faure Melodies)
"Faure Melodies was an emotional and spiritual work. The music - performed by soprano Judith Cline and pianist
John Walter - was haunting, but at times the silence was every bit as important as the music... The world premiere
performance was enthusiastically received by the crowd of 1,040."
Lisa Crutchfield |
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The Palm Beach Post
(Starry Night)
"Premiere of 'Starry Night' Ballet Florida's finest effort...the full length ballet conceived and choreographed
by William Soleau provided a thrilling opening night at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. 'Starry Night' succeeded
in its push toward the avant-garde using the resources of technology to create high drama.... The challenging and
exquisite choreography flowed like oil on a canvas with the dancers working as a group, each providing a different
nuance of color..."
Herbert Perez-Vidal |
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Austin American-Statesman
(Threads)
"The evening's big excitement though, was provided by 'Threads" a stirring new work by William Soleau,
who has set his muscular study of urban attitudes to some John Adams music that accentuates its raw, sinewy style...
'Theads' was indeed a formidable highlight."
John Bustin |
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Los Angeles Times (Carmen)
"...this "Carmen" could serve his company splendidly at home and on tour for years to come. It offers
roles that display and develop artistry and enough choreographic originality to interest dancers and audiences
alike. Plus, of course, a classic story that gets deeper with every retelling."
Lewis Segal |
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The Orange County Register
(Dream Dialogues)
"Dream Dialogues is one of the nicest pieces in the Ballet Pacifica's repertory that I have seen. The choreographer
has left it up to the audience to fill in whatever story they want, but the ballet itself provokes many possible
scenarios."
Laura Bleiberg |
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Santa Barbara News-Press
(Cityscape)
"New York choreographer William Soleau scrapped the folk-rock ballet he had planned and instead created 'Cityscape',
an elegiac evocation of a city stunned but alive. 'Cityscape' brought together the whole company in a series of
moving tableaux of city life. Here the variety of body types and personal styles made sense, and Mr. Soleau used
the dancers well, his choreography free and natural in composition… 'Cityscape' was a tasteful and engaging expression
of feelings widely shared."
Michael Smith |
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Burnaby & Westminster News
(Fanfare)
"Soleau's Fanfare, a complete contrast to (Forsythe) In the Middle helped showcase the many sides of this
ravishing young company. It is anchored more in the ballet tradition than was the rest of the program, and its
use of white costumes suggested purity of movement, purity of intention and purity of dance. It was a piece that
showcased Ballet British Columbia at its very best."
Michael Azenstadt |
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Morgunbladid (Notturno) (translated
from Icelandic)
"Notturno is a lyrical ballet in neo-classical style. William Soleau created it for the Icelandic Ballet Company
and this was its world premiere. This ballet was the high point of the evening. Notturno succeeds in captivating
the audience..."
Olafur Olafsson |
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Miami Herald (Unanswered Question)
"The Unanswered Question, a sextet that juxtaposed Charles Ives' famous score against haunting modern-dance
partnerings and a photo collage of war casualties. One is tempted to tie a yellow ribbon around this piece and
think about the Persian Gulf - and to urge Soleau to expand it into a full evening work."
Laurie Horn |
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Palm Beach Post (Triad)
"A highlight of the program is William Soleau's Triad, a gentle trio in shades of lavender. It has a modern
look. Nothing is wasted, but there's no excess. It's airy, smooth, weightless."
John Eldridge |
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South China Morning Post
(Universe & Isle)
"If Isle established the Americans' world-class artistry, the main piece further demonstrated their capacity
to draw performances of similar emotion from their Shanghai colleagues. "
Lianne Hackett |
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Santa Barbara News-Press
(Nuevo Tango)
"Resident choreographer William Soleau's "Nuevo Tango" cast a spell no one wanted to awaken from."
Vickie Patik |
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Miami Herald (On the Air)
"On the Air - a far more complex and successful piece showing dancers on and off stage (or camera) in a stripped
to-the-walls sound stage. Soleau's sense of drama created a good deal to watch in this piece - particularly the
emotional relationships among dancers who walk in and out of an imaginary camera's range of vision, dropping their
charged performance mien to reveal real emotions."
Laurie Horn |
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The Vancouver Review
(Fanfare)
"Fanfare...choreographed by William Soleau, presented 12 dancers in a romantic and energetic sweep of movement.
This piece, which premiered in 1990, has been called a poetry of dance and this certainly rings true as the rich
mixture of dance, music and bodies delighted the audience."
Ross Michael Pink |
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Back Stage NYC (Isle)
"Here is a short but startling work, much of it conceived in a contemporary vein. Still, it isn't at odds
with the music, but rather complements the score. Although a short piece, its depth and mood stay with you long
after the conclusion."
Jennie Schulman |
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Austin American-Statesman (To Bach)
"Like Bach, Soleau knows when to move and when to stand still, offering just enough geometry and permutation
to keep the eye following dancers from point to point."
Jerry Young |
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Sarasota Herald Tribune
(Between Spaces)
"By turns attracted and repelled, tender and bristling, passionate and cold, trusting and suspicious, the
couple on stage involved the audience completely in this absorbing drama... Soleau has created a dance with great
dramatic impact and real originality."
Florence Fisher |
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Austin American-Statesman
(Threads)
"Threads, by guest choreographer William Soleau, was the evening's most provocative premier. All drapes were
lifted to reveal backstage, with exposed electrical riggings, ladders and exit signs. Lambrou sat onstage reading
a newspaper. Photographic strobe lights flashed in the background through the smoky haze… glimpses of human behavior,
insecurities masked by bravado and the isolation of modern society… Threads presented a departure from Ballet Austin's
usual fare, and I applaud it."
Sandra Lomax |
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Palm Beach Daily News
(Symphonic Dances)
"The best had been saved for last... William Soleau's choreography proved a perfect vehicle for the dynamic
and energetic music."
Herbert Perez-Vidal |
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The Tampa Tribune (Passage)
"Soleau directs them into couplings that go by with the speed of Trisha Brown's work and the leaning uneasiness
of a Jiri Kylian... What right of way is gained in such a Passage is provocative."
Porter Anderson |
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The New York Times
(Isle & Elegies)
"Isle...performed to music by Henry Purcell, Mr. Soleau offered a well-crafted romantic duet full of muted
feeling... Elegies, is a smooth-flowing dance for three couples... is icing, rather than cake, but its sweetness
is charming."
Jennifer Dunning |
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Palm Beach Post (Passage)
"Marie Hale's company has always had its complement of attractive well trained dancers. Now, Hale finally
seems to be finding choreographers capable of creating serious work likely to stand up well under repeated viewings.
The company's association with choreographer William Soleau, which last fall yielded the short but striking pas
de deux Isle, has now produced an even more satisfying full-company piece called Passage."
Jim Shertzer |
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Ballet International
(Universe)
"...Soleau's stimulating choreography soared with spectacular lifts and a sense of cosmic energy. Most significant
was its challenge to the Shanghai dancers, who experienced a new way of moving, and further contact with a foreign
approach to dance."
Daryl Ries-Shen |
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Washington Post (Between Spaces)
"A compellingly expressionistic duet, Between Spaces, to music by Webern, danced with an impressive range
of psychological and erotic overtones by its choreographer, company member William Soleau, and Christine Redpath."
Alan Kriegsman |
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Palm Beach Daily News
(Isle)
"The piece almost re-defines the term "classical" as it takes its two dancers - clad in gleaming
white leotards marked with marble-like veins - through an extraordinary series of movements, poses, holds and embraces,
such as one might find in a series of sculptures by Rodin."
Juliette de Marcellus |
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More reviews are available upon request
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