"Darl," "Seventy-Two Hours," "Two Sides Of," "Reverie," "Dialogue Dances"
The Joyce Ballet Festival, Program B
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
August 10, 2019 

Program B of the Joyce Ballet Festival, curated by The Royal Ballet’s star Lauren Cuthbertson, at first could have seemed like an odd grab bag of material, as thematically its one United States and four world premieres hardly had a connecting thread (besides the almost uniform prominence of Cuthbertson).  On reflection though,

"Then and Again", "Song of a Wayfarer", "Elite Syncopations (divertissement)"
Ballet Festival Program C
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
August 13, 2019

If The Joyce Theater's 2019 Ballet Festival is intended as a showcase of or for the Royal Ballet, this program, created by the designer – and former dancer – Jean-Marc Puissant, a frequent collaborator with Christoper Wheeldon at the Royal and in New York, seemed a strange way to show it. Members of the company did

"Asphodel Meadows pas de deux", "Dance of the Blessed Spirits from 'Orpheus and Eurydice: Dance in the Elysian Fields,'" "Concerto pas de deux", "Within the Golden Hour (two duets)", "Obsidian Tear," "Qualia pas de deux," "Jojo," "Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan"
Ballet Festival Program A
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
August 6, 2019

Once upon a time, the Royal Ballet was a reliably frequent visitor to New York City. The locals knew its dancers,

“The Day”
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
August 3, 2019

“THE DAY” was the brainchild of cellist Maya Beiser, but by the time it was finished it was a genuine gesamtkunstwerk involving nine creative people, including choreographer Lucinda Childs and dancer Wendy Whelan. The work was given its world premiere this past week at Jacob’s Pillow.

“THE DAY” was inspired by two pieces of music written for Beiser by composer David Lang: “world to come,

“state,” “INDY,” “The Quiet Dance,” “Show Pony,” “Drive”
A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
August 1, 2019

Kyle Abraham is everywhere these days, or almost everywhere. He is so busy creating dances for such companies as New York City Ballet and the Paul Taylor Dance Company, he rarely has time to perform with A.I.M., his own group. Jacob’s Pillow audiences are fortunate this week to be able to see Abraham

“Sport,” “Prelude and Prelude,” “Words (excerpts),” “Grand Duo”
Mark Morris Dance Group
Jacob’s Pillow
Becket, MA
July 21, 2019

In recent remarks about his working process, Mark Morris said he almost always starts with a piece of music that interests him, then creates choreography for it. That is not surprising, considering Morris’s longstanding dedication to music, from his insistence on live music at his concerts to his forays into orchestral conducting. In last week’s performances at Jacob’

"Verses" "Otra Vez, Otra Vez, Otra Vez" "All I Ever Knew"
Sketches 9: Perspective
ODC Theater
San Francisco, CA
July 17, 2019

Choreographers need commissions. After all, without dancers they are like pianists without instruments. But all too often a commission entails two weeks in a studio and, probably, just a few rehearsals before the world premiere. After awhile, San Francisco choreographer Amy Seiwert figured, this way she wouldn’t be able to sustain her creative impulses; and she probably

“POWER”
Reggie Wilson/Fist & Heel Performance Group
Ted Shawn Theater at Jacob’s Pillow
Becket, MA
July 13, 2019

When Reggie Wilson gets curious, the rest of us start to learn. Wilson’s ongoing choreographic research has delved into his African and Caribbean dance roots through multiple lenses including 20th century modern dance idioms, fractal math, and the Jewish Bible, among many. At heart, the Fist & Heel Performance Group starts with its name – the power of the fist

“Harlem on My Mind,” “This Bitter Earth,” “Valse Fantaisie,” “Balamouk”
Dance Theater of Harlem
Jacob’s Pillow
Becket, MA
July 13, 2019

It is hard to believe it was fifty years ago that Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook founded the ground- breaking Dance Theater of Harlem. Since then the company has had its ups and downs, including an eight-year hiatus from 2004 to 2012. But under the direction of Virginia Johnson, one of its first ballerinas, the company has

“Swan Lake”
American Ballet Theatre
Filene Center, Wolf Trap Park
Vienna, Virginia
July 13, 2019

Of the characters in “Swan Lake”, Odette and Odile fascinate because they are opposites as well as being similar. Suffering has given Odette her allure. Force is Odile’s magnet. However, Siegfried is just a routine prince. Perhaps he has a domineering mother, yet he both manages the courtiers and mixes with them to some extent. Like all princes who have just come of age,

“Grace and Mercy”
Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE
Sosoff Theater, Fisher Center at Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
July 5, 2019

What follows “Grace,” for Ronald K. Brown? Mercy, of course. In the world premiere of a well-balanced two-part performance at Bard College’s Fisher Center, Brown and his company, EVIDENCE, combined the 20-year old classic “Grace” with a new work, and added live music, to make for a beautiful full-evening length combination. Brown’s original

The Bournonville Legacy
"La Sylphide, Act II", "A Bournonville Square: pas de trois from 'The King's Volunteers on Amager', Jockey Dance from 'From Siberia to Moscow', the street singer from 'Napoli', pas de deux from 'Kermesse in Bruges', pas de six and tarantella from 'Napoli'
Members of the Royal Danish Ballet
Joyce Theater
New York, New York
July 9, 2019

Ulrik Birkkjaer, formerly with the Royal Danish Ballet and now dancing with the San Francisco Ballet, has put together