NEW YORK — Local singer Talia Coles just released her new video “Never See You Again” on May 9. The up-tempo sexy dance tune was originally written by Coles, and produced by Teetimus. With her emotional lyrics and hot dance music, the single successfully stayed on Billboard’s Top 25 Dance/Club Play for nine straight weeks.

Coles is also known as a songwriter, stylist and designer. She styled videos for Trey Songz and P. Diddy, and wrote songs for Slim from 112, Musiq Soulchild and Tyler Perry. In addition, she has her own record label, Couture Music, and her own clothing line, Cisum Couture. As her phenomenal talent has been evolving in the entertainment industry, Blast asked Coles some quick questions to get to know her more.

BLAST: Where is dance music right now? Where is it going?

TALIA COLES: Dance music is going be around forever. People always want to feel good. It does something to your body and makes you feel untouchable. It goes hand and hand with fashion and the runway. But I feel like a dance record doesn’t define an artist, a lot of times you may know the song but not have a clue who the artist is. So it’s important to me not to get trapped in just dance music, I want to share the full spectrum of my music. So the consumer can go on a journey with me with a point of view.

BLAST: Where do you live?

TC: I currently live in New Jersey but I was born and raised in Harlem World.

BLAST: What do you do when you are not making music or clothing?

TC: When I’m not working, I spend time with my family. I rock out with my mom. I eat a lot a food and fried Twinkies…(Laughs). My secret nickname is Shallow Hal. But once the guilt settles in, I go work out like a maniac with my trainer Giant of the Bartendaz.

BLAST: Who would you like to work with?

TC: I’d love to work with Michael Jackson and John Lennon when I get to Heaven! But in this lifetime, my list might be too long. To name a few, Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, Prince, Madonna, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Beyonce, Frank Ocean! Boy I can keep going (laughs).

BLAST: What’s your style when performing live?

TC: My performance style most of the time has a theatrical feel. It’s energetic, playful, [and] sensual with personal swag.

Duncan Lyle, 20, journeyed from Melbourne, Australia to London to study classical dance at the prestigious Royal Academy. His next stop: the Boston Ballet. Blast asked Lyle about pursuing his dream across oceans.

BLAST: What was it like growing up in Melbourne? What made you want to dance overseas? Why America?

DUNCAN LYLE: Melbourne is a very, very beautiful city. People in Melbourne are very kind and open-minded and Melbourne has a wonderful dance company. I think Melbourne was the perfect place to grow up! But I’ve always wanted to dance overseas—I think it’s the ultimate validation for an Australian dancer—and America has always had a great appeal to me. It’s such an exciting and diverse place offering so many opportunities. America really is the place to be.

BLAST: How did ballet become your passion and why?

DL: I have no idea how my interest was initially sparked in ballet. For as long as I can remember it is always what I have wanted to do. I don’t think there’s ever been any other path.

BLAST: Have you encountered much resistance?

DL: I went to an all-boys school so some of the guys gave me a pretty hard time and I decided to keep it a secret. When I got older I decided to let it be publicly known which surprisingly gained me quite a bit of respect from my peers.

BLAST: How did tell your friends? Is there a story there?

DL: One day I just decided that my mates should know. At lunchtime I gathered them all together and made the big announcement. They didn’t even bat an eyelid. I almost got the impression they were thinking, “So…? What are you making such a big deal about?” My friends were so accepting and a great support network. I realized it didn’t matter what anyone else thought if I had friends who were going to stick by me, and when an opportunity presented itself to perform for the whole school I decided to take it. I was surprised at the reaction I got. After performing a pas de deux with a (very attractive) girl, I got quite a lot of respect and admiration from my peers. Especially the older students.

BLAST: What are some favorite roles you’ve danced?

DL: I performed the Pas de Cinq from "The Sleeping Beauty" with the Royal Ballet School on our graduate tour to Japan. It’s a very challenging and exhausting piece but the solo plays to my strengths and was very fun. I performed Franz from "Copp©lia" as a guest artist with the Russian Choreographic Academy in Melbourne. It was great to perform a principal part, doing a grand pas de deux.

BLAST: What kind of music and dance do you enjoy outside of Ballet?

DL: My taste in music is incredibly eclectic. If you put my iPod on shuffle you would find some very random things! I have everything from Britney Spears, to Sergei Rachmaninov, to "Avenue Q," to Arcangelo Corelli!

BLAST: What made you want to work with the Boston Ballet?

DL: All the American students at the Royal Ballet School have been telling me that Boston Ballet is an amazing company and certainly one of the best in the US. After seeing a few clips on YouTube I have to say I fully agree and I’m quite in awe of how high the standard of the company is.

LOS ANGELES — Konami started their press conference talking about Def Jam Rapstar and the company’s multi-year deal with Def Jam.

The game is interesting in the connection between the game, your computer and your mobile phone. They claim they are going for a "constantly connected game." The game will allow the player to make video’s and then upload the videos to their site. Then their friends can watch the video’s and vote on them. They get updates on their phone from the votes. They are claiming that 1 million views on their website really make you a rapper. Konami’s logic leaves out the question of people liking a free video, vs paying for a CD. I’m interested to see whether anyone will become a real rap star after making it big on their site, will be interesting to watch for.

Russel Simmons is promoting the game. He believes that this is an area that has been ignored. He also talked about the benefits of hiph op, even claiming, that one "benefit of hip hop, we have president Obama."

Their next title was Lucha Libre AAA: H©roes del Ring. They will be releasing a wrestling game based on the Mexican Wresting style known as Lucha.

There will be a new Saw game, called Saw 2 Flesh and Blood, where they will use the same style as the original, having victims, like a doctor in a free clinic stealing the drugs. This game will use not only Togen Bell’s voice, but his likeness for a character also. The main character this time will be the son of Detective Tap, though they added an interesting part that not all freed subjects will greet you with open arms, "unless they stab you in the back."

Ninety Nine Nights 2 will come out June 29 with an online leader board and the ability to kill even more enemies with one attack than before. They are labeling it as an "extreme hack and slash title." Though they are enhancing the gameplay so that you can’t simply repeat the same move forever.

A new 2D side scrolling game will be coming to the US. It’s called Otomedius and it’s excellent. This is aimed at both the hard core shoot-em-out genre, or for new players to this space. This game is similar to Gradius, and Parodius.

Later, Konami introduced a slightly different game, Dance Masters for the Microsoft Kinect. Up to two players can be on the screen at once. You can move your body freely. The game instructs the players on how to move by putting silhouettes on the screen for how the player should be standing at the next spot in the music. The game allows the player to save the dance scene and show it off to their friends, or use it to have backup dancers for their next time.

The next titles weren’t discussed just mentioned. From Hudson, a Bey Blade game, coinciding with the re-launching of the TV series. Decca Sports 3, and for the Kinect, Decca Sports Freedom.

There will be a new Silent Hill game, this time the main character is a Criminal on the run, that wondered into Silent Hill.

Kojima Productions introduced one of the new Metal Gear Solid games, called Raijin. This one will all be about swords and cutting. The game allows you to cut in precious ways. They show this off by having the character cut up a watermelon into slices. They also made the game allow the player to take parts, or absorb energy from your enemies. They made this with some strategy by making the player decide on what to take from the enemies. The options to take from the enemies are parts, energy, or information. They also improved the Stealth on the game from the Stealth used by previous heroes. There is no hiding on the ground, it’s a Hunting Stealth. The Story takes place between MGS2, and MGS4, and will describe how Riding got to become person he is together.

They next showed off info on the two new Castlevania games. The first, Harmony of Despair, is interesting and a little different. There is a big screen composed of many individual screens for the action. The game uses the HD TV’s to have 10million dots on the screen. Each individual screen is more like the familiar 2D platforms, but the enemies can follow you from screen to screen. The game allows the player to jump from screen to screen, but the enemies can follow you also. They are working it to add more features if it sells well. Starting with five playable characters, but add more and add more stages if it sells. This is scheduled for release on XBLA this summer.

The last video they showed was for Castlevania Lords of Shadow. That is scheduled for release this fall, on PS3, and Xbox 360. Not much more information was given on this game than the video.

NEW YORK — Greenhouse is your cup of tea on a Tuesday night. Blast specifically went to see DJ Jazzy Jeff, but unfortunately he was not able to come. In his place were DJ Stretch Armstrong and DJ IronLyon who both brought the house down with hip-hop and electronic beats that got the crowd moving every which way.

Greenhouse is truly green — It’s a LEED certified, two-floor, 6,000 square foot nightclub and lounge in SoHo.

We always have a blast going to different places and comparing Boston to NYC. Like sports and its rivalry such as the Red Sox and Yankees, you won’t find that at the greenhouse. You’ll find that the crowd is very receptive to new comers. But, we mean, don’t go in their rocking a Sox hat and jersey; you’re only asking for trouble in that respect.

Greenhouse is surrounded by branches of people from NYC. We were welcomed to a crowd that dressed wearing shirts, skirts, ties and shoes to another set of crowds that looked comfortable jeans, goodies, and boots. No matter what they were wearing, everyone was out to just dance and have a good time.

The setting and feel of the place makes you feel like you’re in a jungle. Leaves surrounding the walls and ceilings with lights on the ceilings and walls, which makes it a very unique and unlike any night venue we have visited. They have a downstairs that plays house and techno as well. Also, as an added surprise they had feather girls at least that’s what we call them.

If you are in NYC, especially on a Tuesday, we would absolutely recommend visiting the greenhouse. The night is hosted by the talented Roxy Cottontail who and now is a resident DJ at Greenhouse spinning the newest dance music to a fabulous and eclectic crowd. There’s something for everyone at this venue.

Greenhouse is located at 150 Varick St., and it’s 21+.

On the fourth floor of 19 Clarendon, in a large open room with light streaming in from oversized windows, sat beautiful ballerinas, worn out‚  slippers and male dancers stretching with iPod headsets in their ears. We wondered what they were listening to as the dancers prepared for the final studio rehearsal of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes Centennial Celebration.

From a corner of the room a pianist and a conductor begin a musical score and the dancers rise. The ballet features George Balanchine’s “Prodigal Son,” Vaslav Nijinsky’s “Afternoon of Faun,” Michel Fokine’s “Le Spectre de la Rose,” and Jorma Elo’s world premiere of “Le Sacre du Printemps.”

First to perform is “Prodigal Son.” The choreography is full of acrobatic endeavors that make it exciting and thrilling to watch, because this‚  is a great ballet for those new to dance. Watching the dancers twirl and lift to the beat of the music felt like a montage from the recent film “Pride and Prejudice,” captivating onlookers.

Playing the male lead is Jared Redick. This will be Redick’s last performance with the Boston Ballet after dancing with the company for seven years.

We had a chance to speak with Redick, and he said that playing the part of the Prodigal Son has always been a dream.

“This role is one you wait your whole career to do. This is a gift for me, I’m going out with a bang,” he said.

For years, Redick has been up before the sun for ballet practice with the Boston Ballet and then teaching at the Ballet’s Norwell School on the South Shore.‚  The principal dancer says he is looking forward to having his mornings back, but don’t think that having restful mornings means that he will get lazy or out of shape. He wants to stay active and try new things like martial arts and snowboarding.

“I can finally snowboard!” he said. He doesn’t have to worry now about injuring himself on the slopes, or hurting his ankle so that he can’t dance for several months.‚  As Redick looks back on all the opportunities he has had in his career and the major roles he has performed, he said happily, “I have been so fortunate in my career.”

The Boston Ballet will be performing Ballets Russes to celebrate 100 years since its establishment by Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev.

“The Ballets Russes became one of the most influential ballet companies of the 20th century, presenting ground-breaking artistic collaborations among choreographers, composers, and artists,” the Boston Ballet says on its website. Among the classic works by Balanchine, Nijinsky and Fokine, resident choreographer Jorma Elo will premiere a new work, his sixth for Boston Ballet, to Igor Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps.” The Ballets Russes will be at the Wang from May 14 to 17.

Boston Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty danced its way into the hearts of a packed house Friday night.‚ 

The opening curtain revealed vibrant costumes of red and orange.‚  Women of the Court and their men dressed in their best were present at the christening of the Princess Aurora. Young Fairy Godmothers contrasted the Women of the Court in cool colored costumes of blues and purples. The Godmothers each honored the infant princess with a solo dance. Some more traditional, others with flare that caused pleasant laughter throughout the theater. Their graceful flutters across the stage melted with the musical score to tell the story of a happier time.

While out of synch in places, the use of lines and beautiful choreography made this act a favorite among the audience. At the end of the prologue Fairy Carabosse, arrives and is angered that she has not been invited to the celebration. Riding on stage with the help of her four evil hobbit-like attendants in a chariot made of twisted branches, she casts a dark spell upon the young royal,‚  distressing everyone on stage until the beautiful Lilac Fairy comes to the rescue.

In act one the audience meets the young, graceful, and high-energy princess Aurora. Celebrating her twentieth birthday, four suitors come to court her but she dances with and dismisses them all.‚  When presented with a sparkling spindle from an ominously trudging hooded stranger, she leaps and twirls around the stage with excitement until she pricks her finger. At that moment the hooded stranger reveals herself as the evil Fairy Carabosse and the princess and all her guests fall into a deep sleep that will last for a hundred years until the spell is broken with a kiss from a prince. Layers of curtains fall to build a dense forest around the sleeping princess as act one ends.

The love story between Prince Florimud and princess Aurora comes to life in act two. While hunting in the forest, the prince sees the ethereal dancing princess in visions created by good Lilac Fairy. The Prince tries to dance with the beautiful vision but to his frustration cannot touch her and is soon led by the Lilac Fairy to his sleeping love. Mounting a boat and floating across the stage through fog and woods they finally enter the great gates where the princess lays. The prince enters the room and kisses his love to break the spell.

In the final act the wedding takes place. Everyone from mythical lands attends, from the Puss in Boots and the White Cat to Belle and the Beast. Each performs a duet to honor the soon to be newlyweds.

While some partners danced several times and seemed to take away from the love story, others added comic relief and refreshment. The audience cheered while the White Cat swatted away the advances of Puss and laughed as the two danced in circles chasing each others tails. This act felt very long and didn’t seem to focus on the lovebirds, Florimud and Aurora, who had a few duets with beautiful choreography in which the prince lifted his love into the air in stunning formations.

In the end, the audience gave a standing ovation. The prologue definitely stole the show as well as the Puss in Boots and the White Cat.‚ 

The Boston Ballet’s performance of The Sleeping Beauty swept up its audience in a timeless love story while still not taking itself too seriously — incorporating silly anecdotes throughout the performance. The show is a hit for all ages with something for everyone and the vibrant costumes and beautiful backdrops are sure to have you sitting on the edge of your seat for the whole Theatre through May 3.

The story of Sleeping Beauty is widely known by every generation.‚  Most forget however that the popular Disney movie with all of its singing squirrels and flying fairies was preceded by the popular ballet of the same name that has captivated audiences for over a century.

Charles Perrault first published the traditional fairytale of Sleeping Beauty in 1697.‚  In 1890 Sleeping Beauty was preformed as a ballet in St. Petersburg to a score by Pytor Tchaikovsky with choreography by Marius Petipa. It would come to be known as Tchaikovsky’s first major success in ballet composition and the choreography was held as a standard for composers to come.

A cross between exquisite solos and elaborate party scenes Sleeping Beauty has every element of a fairytale ballet.‚  There is the evil witch with her menacing accomplices, good fairies, prince charming, and a blonde princess. Over the 100-year span it covers birth, death, marriage and everything in-between.‚  The ballet becomes more than just a story of love and spinning wheels, but a narrative carefully told through movement, expression and music.‚  With the single flick of a finger a ballerina may express what had taken a song in any cartoon version.

With updated scores by Jonathan McPhee, Boston Ballet Musical Director, and choreography by Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen The Sleeping Beauty never gets old at the Boston Ballet.‚  Running at the Wang Theater from April 23, 2009 to May 3, 2009, The Sleeping Beauty promises to revisit old memories and create new ones.

Northeastern University’s newest dance organization, No Limits Dance Crew, is preparing for their first performance, which will be held at the Tower Auditorium Theatre at The Massachusetts School of Art and Design on April 3 at 7:30 p.m.

The one-time only show is free to the public and is expected to fill up fast. This student-run dance group has more than 120 dancers and will be showcasing 16 dance pieces in various styles, including Jazz, Hip Hop, Belly dancing and Lyrical genres to name a few. The all-inclusive No Limits Dance Crew is open to the entire Northeastern Community, and in addition to holding its own performances, the group is dedicated to collaborating with other NU creative arts groups and to being involved in the community.

The group also offers classes in all genres for $2 each for non-members. Classes are free for members. The classes are member-taught and the performance pieces are member-choreographed and this organization is truly a labor of love, and that love is for dance.

The Tower Auditorium is located directly in front of the Green Line E Branch’s Longwood Avenue stop at 621 Huntington Avenue.

The Boston Ballet’s Jewels was definitely a show that shined through and through. A unique gem, it is composed of three acts, representing three distinct flavors and nationalities in the form of emeralds, rubies and diamonds.

The first act is made up of classical dancing with duets that suggest a love story. The dances are elegant in composition and the dancers are great at letting the dance take them over, allowing a fluid collaboration throughout. There are solos that allow the dancers to show off their strengths and abilities, while the duets and corps work together like one body in the music. Watching the dance is mesmerizing like a bonfire on a cold night.

The second act, Rubies was more contemporary with some sultry jazz influence. It was much more playful. Some of the use of form and ways they held themselves in general were reminiscent of the Spanish flamenco. There was a sense of freedom in the air, as the dancers ran about the stage, chasing one another, almost like a game of tag. Much bolder, the dancers showed true professionalism in their confidence in one another. One of the most impressive aspects of this act was that some of the dancing relied dancers “falling” on one another, leading them into another step or pace- this took much trust and good collaboration.

Finally, Diamonds, the final act picked up where the first act left off in that it was much more classical. We pick back up with the implied love story, and go on to more mature, perhaps conservative dancing. The form was more Russian than French, which can be much more delicate and graceful to the eye. In terms of their costume and posing, many of the dances reminded me of a Degas painting. Others were suggestive of the Three Graces more commonly recognized in Botticelli’s “Primavera” and in Greek mythology.

The final act was truly a work of art and the whole show is worth seeing. The Boston Ballet really out-did themselves in terms of their hard efforts and very apparent talent.

Blast Magazine had the chance to attend a Boston Ballet practice session on Friday afternoon, the day after the opening night and American debut of Ji…â„¢ƒ­ Kyliƒ¡n’s Black and White.

We raved about Black and white (see our review) and were also able to get some pictures of Heather Myers, who we interviewed earlier in the week.

All photos: Blast Magazine staff photo/Jessica Lander

Boston Ballet’s Black and White will be a hit. I attended the preview show early this week, and although costumes were not used, the dancing and choreography were phenomenal.

In the first dance, it was not taken seriously by some of the dancers. One was giggling and losing form while another was behind a beat. However, as the music persisted, the dancers became in-tune with the rhythm. They synced up perfectly.

The choreography was stunning. Dancers acted like moving sculptures that imitated visual, abstracted interpretations of the classical music used in this show. Choreographer, Ji…â„¢ƒ­ Kyliƒ¡n is truly an artist. In this show, the music is his canvas and the dancers are the paint. This show is truly reminiscent of surrealist painting in terms of their abstract movements and bold, yet crisp expression.

The dancers are obviously talented, and they perform several means of bending and lifting to form human structures. They literally mold themselves to become a single art piece. Even when they move differently, they move in sync with one another. The music puts the dancers (as well as the audience) in a trance, while they put their all into the music.

This being said, however, one flaw I did notice in the choreography, that is very common in most professional acts, is that although unique lifts can be impressive, they can also be unattractive, as the dancers (regardless of how strong or experienced they are) tend to tremble. During one of the lifts, one person was balanced with one foot on the back of another’s knee, which was awe-provoking, but also nerve-wracking, as the bottom (and as a result the top) dancer was inclined to shake.

Sometimes, it just looked painful.

But this is a great show. The first alf is breathtaking with music from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach and unique interpretations of the songs and concepts, while the second half is just hilariously entertaining. The second half plays with gender roles and awkward situations such as romantic infidelity. The show leaves you feeling upbeat and content with its beautiful concepts and comical finale. If you like contemporary ballet or modern dance forms, or just art in a broad sense, I urge you to see this show. Boston Ballet’s Black and White is truly a show that will keep you continuously entertained.

Second look: John Guilfoil

I attended opening night on Thursday at the Wang and was very impressed. The last two acts were especially engaging. In the fourth performance, “Falling Angels,” the rhythmic thumping of Steven Reich’s “Drumming, Part I” had me literally on the edge of my seat. And the dancing — forgetaboutit. Unbelievable.

The ballet was playful, engaging, passionate and full of talent provided by the Boston Ballet. Black and White is a marvelous ballet, and we were very lucky to have it first in Boston.

Don’t miss original Blast Magazine photography Friday!

Cirque Le Masque, a world-toured, non-animal circus gave an amazing performance on opening night at Emerson College’s Cutler Majestic Theatre, in Boston’s Theatre District. The 90 minute show ended with a standing ovation.

Carnivale tells a story about a girl, Moira, (performed by Cara Maher) who is tired of the discordant noise from her home in a big city. She leaves the city and jaunts to Rio de Janeiro, where she eventually joins the circus. Along the way, Moira makes friends with local carnival performers in Central and South America.

Through this exploration we get to see such stunning acts as dual trapeze and silk acts (by World Champion twins Serenity Smith Forchion and Elsie Smith), aerial acrobatics, dueling contortionists, a massive “German Wheel” (by former Cirque du Soleil star Andrei Roublev), all accompanied by the Cirque le Masque dancers.

Between aerial stunts and psychedelic costumes, this show left me enchanted. The “Silk Act” particularly left us on the edge of our seats. People cried out in disbelief when one of the acrobats leaped into the air from one of the silk ropes and gracefully caught herself, roughly ten feet from the ground.

This French-inspired show expresses a liveliness that will surprise you over and over again.

If you don’t like audience interaction this show will definitely change your mind. There are two side characters. One acts almost as a ring master and looks like something not from this planet — rounded belly and various patterns and colors all over his body. The other is an eccentric older man. In between acts, these charming but mischievous characters that will have you in stitches.

Cirque le Masque’s Carnivale is a stunning performance, filled with laughter, intrigue and amazement.

The choreography had traces of bachata and salsa footwork. The two male dancers performing one of the silk acts in the second half of the show were reminiscent of capoeira (Brazilian “kick boxing”), as their wardrobe consisted of loose, white pants and their spirited choreography involved fast flips and impressive leg extension.

I would have liked to see more of two things: more emphasis on the dancing and more of the actual dancing, especially at the end and especially from the main character.

Moira suddenly shows up as a show girl in Rio, but there’s little character development before that. The dancing could have been rehearsed more, as small things like piques, other footwork and body isolation were sometimes not in sync or as accentuated as they could have been. I assume that this is probably because more of the emphasis at rehearsal was put on the difficult stunts than the dancing.

The music could have had more Latino influence in its beat, since the story takes place in South America — but this is also a French-inspired show…

BOSTON — Seeing the Boston Ballet perform The Nutcracker is a New England tradition. It’s one of our “things” here in the Bean.

Blast attended on Tuesday, and we were really moved by the performance that balanced the playful with the traditional to weave a classic masterpiece into fun for all ages.

From the cutest little black sheep purposefully a step behind his brothers to the angels opening Act II from the Boston Ballet School, The Nutcracker is two hours of your life well spent.

It is a show that will feel very familiar to anyone, even if you haven’t been to a ballet before — and we know college students and 20-somethings tend to not see enough live theater. The music will take you away, and the familiar scenes like the always crowd-favorite Russian dancers will make you feel like part of the show.

My favorite scene is the sensual Arabian Dance with its unbelievably beautiful music (listen) and dancing. The Boston Ballet performs this scene and all others wonderfully.

There are six more shows, two on each day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so get your tickets now. Tuesday’s show was sold out.

Tickets start at $30, and there are group and student discounts abound.

The Nutcracker is a fairy tale ballet in two acts by Peter Tchaikovsky in the 1890s.

We all love movies, no doubt, but our generation really needs to pay more attention to theater, opera and ballet. There is nothing in the world like a live show, and some of the moves these dancers pull off are enough to make anyone gasp — you just KNOW that was difficult.

The Boston Ballet has settled into its new home at the Boston Opera House. It’s a wonderful ballet company that has been sorely under appreciated and underfunded in Boston, as the commercial Citi Center does all it can to bring in talent from New York and elsewhere.

The Nutcracker is a bold reminder that Boston’s home-grown talent is a world-class force. More plainly: it’s a reminder that Boston’s home-grown talent is awesome.

The Boston Ballet has a busy 2009 coming up, including an April-May run of The Sleeping Beauty that’s not to be missed either.