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Nina Ananiashvili Is Ready For Her Close-Up
By Tresca Weinstein
What makes Jacob's Pillow in Becket, Massachusetts, such a wonderful venue for watching ballet-and the great ballerina Nina Ananiashvili in particular-is the way the intimacy of the summer dance festival's 620-seat Ted Shawn Theatre magnifies every sound, step and landing. You can hear a ballerina's toe shoe squeaking as she turns on pointe and see her cavalier's muscles flex and lengthen. Experiencing their effort and humanity up close takes nothing away from their magical, idealized image; if anything, it makes them appear even more awesome.
Currently artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia, Ananiashvili, who performed with her company at the Pillow in June, does not suffer under magnification. At 44,...