"Coppélia"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 24, 2026

Though the dreary, rainy Memorial Day weekend weather didn’t cooperate, the theatre was warm and sunny, as Megan Fairchild said goodbye to NYCB dancing a bright, confident, and luscious Swanilda.  As I was leaving, I overheard a man saying this was his first ballet and why on earth was she retiring—a question anyone in the audience might have asked, as Fairchild sailed

"La Bayadere (Pas D’Action),” “Variations For Three,” “An American in Paris,” “Saudade,” “Cornbread,” "Cerulean Skies," “Grand Pas Classique,” “The Weeping Willow,” “Bernstein in a Bubble”
ABT Studio Company
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
May 13, 2026

In a program of varied works, the ABT Studio Company showed a bench of talent ready to outjump, outturn and technically eclipse the main company’s roster.  The artistry and emotional range of these young dancers still need work, but the

“Untitled, 2023,” “Yugen,” “Quantum Souls”
Wayne McGregor: Alchemies
The Royal Ballet
The Royal Opera House
London, United Kingdom
May 1, 2026

Most creators, even of the genius sort, cannot produce exclusively masterpieces, and The Royal Ballet’s evening of three Wayne McGregor works titled “Alchemies” was an example of that humbling notion: a sampling of ballets from the creative incubator that generates great art, united by musical experimentation and abstraction, but ultimately unable to fully alchemize into gold.  On

"Opus 19/The Dreamer", "Standard Deviation", "Symphonie Espagnole"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 12 and May 17, 2026

All three ballets in the program, entitled Eclectic NYCB, were set to music featuring guest soloists.  The music ranged from the 19th century (Édouard Lalo’s “Symphony Espangnole” for Tiler Peck’s new work, the 20th century (Prokofiev’s “Violin Concerto No. 1, op. 19” for Robbins’ “Opus 19/The Dreamer”) and the 21st

Distance / decay / by Pioneers Go East Collective
Anabella Lenzu, choreographer/performance artist
Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte, director & filmmaker
LaMama Experimental Theatre Club
New York, New York
May 8, 2026

In the unlikely event that women ever achieve equal rights in America, someone should put up a statue of Anabella Lenzu. In her new solo, she dances the full scope of humanity in female form.

Distance /decay / begins in captivity. To a sound track of solitary, sad poetry by

"Voices", "In Memory of...", "Diamonds"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 8, 2026

The evening’s performance had works by Ratmansky, Robbins, and Balanchine, and though none showed them at their finest, it did show that craft and imagination, plus very good dancing, can be rewarding.  Ratmansky’s “Voices” is rather austere opening work, an experiment in movement to pure sound without melody or clear rhythm; ironically the biggest applause went to the

"Continuum", "Each in Their Own Time", "Distant Cries", "Concerto DSCH"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 1, 2026

NYCB’s programming has had some ups and downs this season, and this program, called forthrightly “Contemporary Choreography III” (Contemporary Choreography I and II were danced in the Fall and Winter seasons respectively so it seems that one contemporary collection a season is allotted), opened with three rather dark and knotty works, which, perhaps coincidentally, were

"Divertimento No. 15", "Zakouski", "Composer's Holiday", "Heatscape"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
April 29, 2026

This evening’s program, one pas de deux (Peter Martins’ “Zakouski”) and three longer works (Balanchine’s sublime “Divertimento No. 15”, and two newer works by younger choreographers (Gianna Reisen’s “Composer’s Holiday” and Justin Peck’s “Heatscape”), seemed to be designed to show off the company’s current impressive collection of dancers. “Zakouski” celebrated the soon to

“Quinto Elemento: The Fifth Element”
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
April 21, 2026

The program presented by Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana at The Joyce Theater was no doubt not intended to coincide with humanity's historic return to the Moon — NASA's Artemis II lunar flyby, which carried astronauts farther into space than any humans had traveled in over fifty years, completed just weeks before opening night — but its celestial themes resonated all the more powerfully within

"Symphony in C", "Agon", "Firebird"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
April 24, 2026

This all-Balanchine program had a packed and enthusiastic audience, saluting several debuts and two farewells—Megan Fairchild, who danced the first movement of “Symphony in C”, is retiring at the end of the season and Taylor Stanley, who performed the sarabande in “Agon”, has announced his 2027 retirement. The company seemed to sense the audience’s excitement, and the dancing was

"Lady Macbeth"
The Royal Danish Ballet
The Royal Theatre, The Opera
Copenhagen, Denmark
April 24, 2026

Friday night renowned choreographer Akram Khan fulfilled his promise to former artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet Nikolaj Hübbe to create a new full-length work for the company.

Khan and his team have spent the past four months working with the dancers in the studio perfecting his take on the Shakespeare drama “Macbeth,” transforming the dramatic material of power, betrayal and downfall into

Directed, choreographed, and performed by Vangeline
Costumes by Machine Dazzle
Music by Ray Barragan Sweeten
Lighting by Ayumu "Poe" Saegusa
LaMama Moves! Festival at LaMama Experimental Theater, New York
April 18, 2026

Butoh artiste Vangeline continues to amaze. Last year she was synching brain waves with a male Japanese dancer in a piece (which I didn’t see) called Man/Woman. This year she has dispensed with punctuation and partner, and become a complete being —male and female, animal, vegetable