"Kammermusik No. 2", "Le Tombeau de Couperin", "Antique Epigraphs", "Raymonda Variations"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 23, 2026

The four ballets (three by Balanchine and one—“Antique Epigraphs”—by Robbins) on this program were all plotless explorations of the different atmospheres created by the composers, ranging from the jagged tones of Hindemith’s “Kammermusik No. 2”, the classical calm of Maurice Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin”, the mysterious Grecian echoes of Claude

"Serenade", "Prodigal Son", "Paquita"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 22, 2026

This evening’s ballets were a a series of firsts and lasts; Balanchine’s “Serenade” (1935) is the first ballet he made in the US, his “Prodigal Son” is the last of his works performed by the Diaghilev company, and Alexei Ratmansky’s “Paquita” (2025), while certainly not the first or the last work he has made for NYCB, is the first

“When the Water Breaks,” “Monarcas,” “Floes,” “Symbiotic Twins,” “Network,” “After the Rain,” “Asylum,” “Moss Anthology: Variation #5b (2025)”
vildwerk.
New York Live Arts
New York, NY
December 17, 2025

Dance lovers are drawn to dance because of its inherent beauty: visual, musical, and in story ballets, narrative. And it’s no coincidence. Humans are creatures captivated by beauty, whether born of nature or shaped by human effort. And so, when vildwerk., a three-year-old nonprofit with an urgent mission, married an

“Beethoven Concerto,” “Deeply,” “I Got U,” “Love Rocks”
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
November 25, 2025

Founded in 1994, Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s endurance is to be applauded, and its two-week run at The Joyce Theater is testament to the weight of commitment.  The company bills itself as an innovator, yet Program B, which I saw on this night, revealed that steadfast dedication to creation was more of its forte than innovation itself.  Two

"The Winter's Tale"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
November 14, 2025

The National Ballet of Canada’s 2025-2026 season skews heavily towards newer works with a contemporary style, featuring ballets by Crystal Pite, Will Tuckett, Jera Wolfe, Helen Pickett, Wayne McGregor, Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber. The revival of Christopher Wheeldon’s “The Winter’s Tale” is the most traditional story ballet of the whole season, which is saying something.

American Street Dancer
Rennie Harris Puremovement
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
November 12, 2025

There's something powerful about watching a body create rhythm and sound. Rennie Harris's company’s new program titled “American Street Dancer” offered an entire evening of such flavors in the form of a documentary-style performance that honored the African-American roots of American street dance and celebrated three distinctive regional traditions: Detroit jitting, Chicago footwork, and a now seldom performed on the streets, and dear to

"Cascade", "Sunset", "Offenbach Overtures"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, NY
November 23, 2025

The final program of the Paul Taylor Dance Company’s 2025 Fall season was an all-Taylor afternoon ranging from the pristine classicism of his 1999 Bach-inspired “Cascade” to the 1995 “Offenbach Overtures” raucously comic send up of ballet cliches, with a detour to “Sunset”, Taylor’s 1983 lyrically mournful picture of young sailors set to Edward Elgar. The program was

First Program: "Vive la Loïe", "Takademe", "Solitaire", "Company B"
Second Program: "Sunset", "Under the Rhythm", "Beloved Renegade"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, NY
November 12, 2025 (first program) and November 13, 2025 (second program)

The Paul Taylor Dance Company is facing the same questions that other companies whose repertories are based on the founding choreographer are facing—how to continue when the source of new works is no longer around. 

“Radeau/Raft,” “Hex,” “Las Desenamoradas,” “Exhibition”
Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company
Ailey Citigroup Theater
New York, NY
November 7, 2025

The tantalizingly brief run of modern dance works by Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company proved a rare gem – blink and you'd miss it. Those fortunate enough to attend were treated to Eleo Pomare's once-daring and still-potent choreography, alongside a new work by the company's Artistic Director Enrique Cruz DeJesus, and the evening became an exploration of women’s roles and

“Have We Met?!,” “Serenade after Plato’s Symposium,” “Theme and Variations”
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 30, 2025

For one of the final programs of its fall season, American Ballet Theatre presented a study in contrasts: the world premiere of Juliano Nunes's "Have We Met?!" explored parallel love stories across a century, while George Balanchine's "Theme and Variations" reminded us what timeless classicism looks like. Sandwiched between them, Alexei Ratmansky's 2016 "Serenade after Plato's

"Company B", "Scudorama", "Diggity"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, NY
November 7, 2025

It may have been accidental but this all-Taylor program had a canine theme--there were lots of dogs, flat metallic ones sitting on the stage for the dancers  in the final work, “Diggity”, to maneuver around and Taylor has also explained that one of the inspirations for the middle work, the inscrutably surrealistic “Scudorama” was the memory of a dog

“The Kingdom of the Shades,” “Le Grand Pas de Deux,” “Rhapsody (Pas de Deux),” “The Sleeping Beauty, Act III”
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 28, 2025

Sometimes fortune smiles on an audience. The second version of ABT’s “Classics to the Contemporary” program, which replaced the middle act pieces with Christian Spuck’s “Le Grand Pas de Deux” and an excerpt from Frederick Ashton’s “Rhapsody,” had a last-minute replacement for the opening act’

“Procession”
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
November 1, 2025

How satisfying it is when something lives up to the hype. Choreographic duo Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber have generated a lot of buzz in recent years, creating works for preeminent dance companies across North America and Europe while also crossing over into work in film and theatre. There was a lot of anticipation leading up to the world premiere of

“The Kingdom of the Shades,” “Grand Pas Classique,” “Known by Heart (“Junk” Duet), “The Sleeping Beauty, Act III”
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 26, 2025

It was a showcase of individual talent at ABT’s mixed bill titled “Classics to the Contemporary,” with plenty of solos to dance in Natalia Makarova’s “Kingdom of Shades,” Victor Gsovsky’s “Grand Pas Classique,” Twyla Tharp’s “Known by Heart” duet and the entire third act of

"Rodeo", "Le Grande Pas de Deux", "Rhapsody Pas de Deux", "Theme and Variations"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 31, 2025

ABT celebrated Halloween in grand style, handing out candy to the departing audience, holding a costume contest (I set next to the winning couple, a Venus fly-trap and a trumpet pitcher plant), and a program of tricks and treats (the trick was Christian Spuck’s comedy “Le Grand Pas de Deux” and the treats

“Les Sylphides,” “Gala Performance,” “Rodeo”
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 17, 2025

Celebrating its 85^th anniversary, American Ballet Theatre presented a program titled “A Retrospective of Master Choreographers,” featuring works from deep in the 20^th century. The evening showcased Michel Fokine’s “Les Sylphides,” Antony Tudor’s “Gala Performance,” and Agnes de Mille’s “Rodeo” – all treated with distinctly modern reverence and an almost overcautious care to preserve their original character.

That

"The Kingdom of the Shades", "Rhapsody Pas de Deux", "Grand Pas Classique", "The Sleeping Beauty, Act III"
American Ballet Theatre
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 25, 2025, evening

The program, entitled “Classics to the Contemporary”, had selections from three works ranging from the Shades scene from Marius Petipa’s “La Bayadère” (1877), the final act of his “The Sleeping Beauty” (1890), and a brief pas de deux from Sir Frederick Ashton’s “Rhapsody”

"Les Sylphides", "Gala Performance", "Rodeo"
American Ballet Theatre
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
October 23, 2025

ABT helped celebrate its 85th anniversary with the program entitled “A Retrospective of Major Choreographers” whose works (Michel Fokine’s “Les Sylphides”, Antony Tudor’s “Gala Performance”, and Agnes de MIlle’s “Rodeo”), though long associated with ABT, were all created for different companies.  Though they have very different styles (lyrical, satirical-technical, and American rowdy respectively), they all have a

"Otherwhere", "Leaven"
Tom Gold Dance
Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
New York, NY
October 20, 2025

Tom Gold Dance was established in 2008 by the former New York City Ballet soloist, Tom Gold, and the revolving cast (made up of dancers with various backgrounds, including current and former NYCB dancers) has been performing Gold’s choreography in smaller venues with regular New York seasons.  Keeping a small company going for so long can’t have been easy, but the dances

“The Barre Project, Blake Works II,” “Thousandth Orange,” “Swift Arrow,” “Time Spell”
Turn It Out with Tiler Peck and Friends
New York City Center
New York, NY
October 16, 2025

Tiler Peck’s intimately curated show – Turn It Out with Tiler Peck and Friends – made a brief but powerful return at City Center with an assortment of four ballets that showcased every performer's strengths while cleverly avoiding their weaknesses. Above all else, the program was a celebration of musicality itself

"Chaconne", "The Emperor Jones", "Jamelgos"
Limón Dance Company
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
October 14, 2025

In his affable introduction to the week-long Limón season at the Joyce celebrating the company’s 80th anniversary, Dante Puleio, the Artistic Director, dedicated the performances to his predecessor the late Carla Maxwell, who died this year.  She directed the company from 1978 to 2015, one of the early pioneers in maintaining a modern dance company which had been build around a

“Forseeable Future”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 9, 2025

Jamar Roberts is an American modern dance choreographer, associated most often with Alvin Ailey and his new work for City Ballet, entitled “Forseeable Future” is entirely true to that tradition.  It’s a theater piece by a ballet company and in no way dependent on classical dance.  Neither too bad nor too good, not unpleasant to watch, physically broad in

“Confetti,” “Valentine,” “Sea Shadow,” “Light Rain”
Arpino Dance Festival, Program 2
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
October 7, 2025

If there was one overarching theme of the Arpino Dance Festival, particularly in the second program, it was the choreographer’s unapologetic commitment to experimentation and entertainment. That such a vision could materialize on the Joyce's intimate stage, and given the participating dancers' complex schedules and the festival's logistical demands, is a testament to Arpino Foundation’s leadership’s curatorial