Damian Woetzel's DEMO: Now
Terrace Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
March 7, 2018
The focus of Damian Woetzel's latest talent show was dance. All but a couple of numbers featured dancers. Six of the works had originally been commis- sioned by Colorado’s outdoors Vail Dance Festival and one was a premiere sponsored by the Kennedy Center. Even so, this program didn’t add up to being a triumph for choreography.
"An American in Paris"
Elephant Eye, Pittsburgh CLO, Theatre du Chatelet et al.
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
December 14, 2017
What is it about Paris that Americans who go there want to find? Some seek a sense of freedom, whereas others hope to discover their true home. This stage musical is supposed to be about the adventure of leading an expatriate life. The idea has a complicated history. It started as
"I Am Vertical"
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
Kogod Courtyard
The National Portrait Gallery
Washington, DC
December 10, 2017
The poet Sylvia Plath receives attention because she wrote about herself as a passionate woman, because she committed suicide and because she was in love with another writer - Ted Hughes, the man who led their time together. Now, more than half a century after her death at the age of only 30, Plath's poems are still in print, she
The Suzanne Farrell BalletOpera HouseThe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsWashington, DCDecember 7 & 8, 2017 by George Jackson
First things first! Last night, December 8, the company danced the greatest "Serenade" of the countless ones I've seen. It had utterly remarkable accelerations with the fastest allegros plus the richest retards. These things were independent of any particular dancers, and yet all were part of it. The phrasing changed my idea of "romantic" and "classical" in
Helanius Wilkins's "Triggered"
Terrace Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
December 3, 2017
Was it bold of Wilkins to start with three male solos in a row and continue with a male duet? A sign at the theater's entrance had alerted the audience to strong language and mature topics. Yet, what met the eye possessed a harmony that was totally unsensationalistic. Different bodies, so it seemed, moved as a matter of course
"The Nutcracker"
Kansas City Ballet from Missouri
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
November 22, 2017
This time, DC's visiting version of "The Nutcracker" comes from Missouri's metropolis - Kansas City, located on the state's western border with Kansas. Like such guests in previous years, the company is wanted back home for Christmas so that its seven performances here are scheduled as a Thanksgiving treat. Credited as choreographer is
"Work"
Kim Yong-geo Dance Theater from Korea
Terrace Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
November 9, 2017
"Work" could use a sense of play, of gracious relaxation, of elegance. This hour plus display, choreographed by Yong-geol Kim, is crammed full with different dance numbers and has, sometimes, a military air – especially when its corps de ballet struts onto the stage in marching file. For the opening, though, there were no bodies, no
"Balance and Imbalance"
Bereishit Dance Company of Seoul, Korea
Millennium Stage South
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
November 7, 2017
Words that indicate opposites - "traditional" and "contem- porary" – appear in the printed program for choreographer Soon-ho Park's piece for a pair of drummers, a vocalist and five dancers. Indeed, what the eyes see on stage, and on the huge overhead video screen, is quite diverse in terms of dress, age and action,
DEMO: Jerome Robbins – American Dance Genius
Terrace Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
October 20, 2017
The centennial of Jerome Robbins’ birth in 2018 will spur big celebrations. This first one, part of Damian Woetzel’s Demo series, was small in scale and simple in format. Oddly, it suited the ballet choreographer and director of musicals, movies and television productions who had started as an American character dancer and became a complex
Mariinsky Ballet
“La Bayadere”
The Mariinsky Ballet
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
October 17, 2017
The plot for this exotic and bravura ballet keeps being altered. Right now at the Kennedy Center the story stops short with the hero immersed in a dream of his dead beloved among a bevy of similar bayaderes beckoning him to join her. Bayaderes were dancing girls who served in Hindu temples. The hero, an outstanding Hindu warrior, has