"Agon", "Black Swan Pas de Deux", "Far But Close", "Return"
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center
New York, New York
April 11, 2013
The Dance Theatre of Harlem hare returned to New York, after a nearly nine-year hiatus due to budget problems. Virginia Johnson, one of the original dancers, now leads the company and she has assembled an engaging group of 18 dancers. The larger works that the old company could perform (I especially
"Cascade", "Eventide", "Company B"
The Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center
New York, New York
March 9, 2013
For the second year, Paul Taylor has chosen the larger, more formal Koch Theater (State Theater to some of us), rather than the City Center. The dancers have adjusted to the bigger canvas well, though what is the use of an orchestra pit without live music? The recent Saturday matinee (complete with a fractious child)
"In Violent Circles (The Rite of Spring)", "Vashti"
Riedel Dance Theater and Ariel Rivka Dance
Ailey Citigroup Theater
New York, New York
March 7, 2013
Two modern dance companies, the Riedel Dance Theater and the Ariel Rivka Dance, premiered new works together. These were both character-driven explorations of old stories--a medieval Swedish ballad in Riedel's piece and the Biblical myth of Vashti in Rivka's work. Jonathan Riedel, who danced in the José Limón Dance Company from 1996-2006, has
"Cave of the Heart", "From the Grammar of Dreams", "Lamentation Variations" "Variations of Angels (Film)", "Diversion of Angels"
Martha Graham Contemporary Dance
The Joyce Theater
New York, New York
February 27, 20013
The current Graham season at the Joyce is called "Myth and Transformation", Graham presumably being the myth, and the new dances the transformation. "Regeneration" should also be acknowledged, as the beleaguered company struggled to cope with the damage from Hurricane Sandy. The opening myth, "Cave of
"Faure Fantasy", "Gershwin Preludes", "La Plage", "The Graceful Ghost", "Mad about the Boy"
TomGoldDance
Gerald Lynch Theater
John Jay College
New York, New York
March 12, 2013
Tom Gold, a former soloist with the New York City Ballet, noted for his forthright style and way with comedy, formed a company with a revolving cast of dancers selected from the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater. This two-day run featured, among others, NYCB principals Abi Stafford, Sara Mearns,
"Caravaggio Meets Hopper", "Threshold", "Butterflies and Demons", "Zjawa", "Suspended Women"
Buglisi Dance Theatre
The Joyce Theater
New York, New York
February 6, 2013
Jacqulyn Buglisi and her dancers are celebrating their twentieth season with old and new works; this evening ranged from 1991 ("Threshold") to two new premiers, one by Buglisi ("Butterflies and Demons") and one by the young Katarzyna Skarpetowska ("Zjawa"). The general mood was dark, with only flashes of gentleness and humor, with a powerful and imaginative
"Divertimento from 'Le Baiser de la Fée'", "Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux", "Bal de Couture", "Diamonds"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
January 27, 2013
All Tchaikovsky all the time (with Stravinsky channeling Tchaikovsky) is a gimmick, yes, but the Tschaikovsky (as NYCB spells it) Celebration does include some wonderful music and powerful dancing, so as gimmicks go, there are certainly worse ideas to warm up a bitter winter. The "Divertimento from 'Le Baiser
Thunderbird American Indian Dancers
Theater for The New City
New York, New York
January 26, 2013, matinee
Folk dance is by definition participatory, so presenting it on a stage raises several issues--should it be performed as theater, or presented as is, and if the decision is "just do it", how can the audience be engaged. The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, founded in 1963 by New York-based Native Americans from several tribes, took the "just do it" approach for their
Limón Dance Company
"Mazurkas", "The Moor's Pavane", "Come With Me"
Baruch Performing Arts Center
Baruch College
New York, New York
January 15, 2013
The Limón Dance Company had a brief (just two-day) season at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, with a revival of Limón's 1958 "Mazurkas", which has not been performed by the company for some twenty years, though recently the invaluable New York Theatre Ballet has danced a suite of dances from the work.
New Dances: Edition 2012
"Stages", "In Pursuit of Falling", "Visions and Miracles", Footholds"
The Julliard School
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, NY
December 12, 2012
Four Julliard classes of dance students performed four new works as part of the now annual "New Dances" program. The choreographers, Camille A. Brown, Emergy LeCrone, Susan Shields, and Jarek Cemerek, worked for several months with their assigned classes, and the dancing showed it. The dancers were uniformly precise, energized,
"Giselle"
Paris Opera Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, NY
July 13, 2012
"Giselle" was born in Paris but survived in Russia, and now is a citizen of the world. Since Paris let their original version die in 1868, their current one is combination of the Russian version with some added features by the stager Patrice Bart. To those familiar with the ABT version (the one most often seen in the US), there are some
"Le Corsaire"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 2, 2012
ABT premiered its version of the Petipa/various hands "Le Corsaire" in 1998; its pirates and pashas owe more to Gilbert and Sullivan than to Byron and it was great fun then, and it is great fun now. Ethan Stiefel was Conrad, the pirate king, in the second performance, and among the corps were Gillian Murphy, Marcelo Gomes, and Stella Abrera. These three were among