“RedWhiteBlueBlack&Orange -
the Art and Dance of Resistance”
Maida Withers Dance Construction Company
Center for Contemporary Political Art
Washington, DC
January 20, 2019
The performance took place in the main room of a downtown art gallery, a space with windows on one long side and art work hung on the inside walls. Through the windows came the sunlight of a clear winter afternoon, illuminating the space and its pictures. All the art was of actual, recognizable things but
Fresh 2019
"Hot Mess(Sage)", "Rock e Malta: Orientamento (a collage /study)". "1880-2015", "Queent"
Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
January 11, 2019
For the last decade the “Fresh Festival” has become a month-long January event of “experimental” dance, music, performance and workshops. It started out modestly as a project by La Alternativa, the artistic team of dancer/choreographer Kathleen Hermesdorf and musician/composer Albert Mathias. This month it includes participants from Germany and Mexico. Coincidentally, the Festival’s ten-year anniversary
"The Nutcracker"
Oakland Ballet Company
Paramount Theater, Oakland
December 22, 2018
Even if you are not a dance aficionado, you can’t miss “Nutcracker” floating through the holidays in a way the “Messiah” and “A Christmas Carol” never will. Bay Area audiences’ choices of this Tchaikovsky masterpiece are almost unlimited. San Francisco Ballet’s is super elegant, Smuin Ballet’s both sentimental and saucy, while Mark Foehringer Dance Projects’ finely articulate one-hour version boasts of a small live orchestra. Each
"The Nutcracker"
Miami City Ballet
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Miami, Florida
December 20th, 2018
Miami City Ballet’s Thursday, December 20th second casting of George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker" was packed for the mid-week showing of the 2018 reformat of the Balanchine classic. The new sets and costumes by Ruben and Isabel Toledo were gorgeous, and they anchored the MCB production to the Hoffmann short story, deepening the ballet. Add to that a cast
"Les Patineurs", "Enigma Variations", "Diamonds"
The Sarasota Ballet
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Sarasota, Florida
December 14, 2018, December 15, 2018 matinee and evening
A triple bill is a complicated balancing act, needing an inviting opener, a solid middle, and a bravura finish. The art of putting them together seems to have been lost in a number of companies, but Iain Webb, the director of the Sarasota Ballet, created a magical combination for his "Victorian Winters" program. The opening
“We Choose to Go to the Moon”
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company
Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium
National Portrait Gallery
Washington, DC
December 12, 2018
For thousands of years, people have stared up at the night sky in wonder — naming constellations and tracking stars as the cosmic landscape changed with the seasons. The advancements made in science and engineering during the space race in the 1960’s only elevated humanity’s fascination with the uncharted territories of the ever-expanding universe.
Catherine Galasso
"Of Iron and Diamonds V3: Alone Together"
ODC Theater
San Francisco, CA
December 7, 2018
In 2011 Catherine Galasso finished a residency in San Francisco with the ODC Theater’s commissioned “Bring on the Lumiere”, an intricately structured evocation of the Lumiere brothers and their innovative working with light. It’s a piece that engaged with wit, imagination and some Gallic charm rarely seen on our stages. Then Galasso left for greener pastures. Now she has returned with
“The Nutcracker”
Ballet West
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
December 6, 2018
Ballet West’s splendidly refurbished “Nutcracker” is as warm and welcoming as a cup of holiday spiced tea on a cold winter evening. This company's version of the holiday classic is no stranger to Washington audiences (having visited in 2012 and 2014), but this year’s production boasts a lofty $3 million overhaul that delightfully blends the old and
“The Call,” “Shelter,” “In/Side ” “Revelations”
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York City Center
New York, NY
December 4, 2018
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continued its long-running tradition of beautifully choreographed and danced gems, with the addition of an homage to its founder. Ronald K. Brown’s “The Call,” premiering at Ailey’s winter season at New York City Center, was a soulful addition to a program that packed power from beginning to end — what Brown called a
"The Dream" and "Being and Nothingness"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
November 10, 2018
The National Ballet of Canada's fall mixed program featured two contrasting and complimentary one act works. First was a revival of Sir Frederick Ashton's "The Dream", arguably one of the most successful dance adaptations of Shakespeare's work. This provided a wonderful chance to see a new generation of dancers in this timeless piece. Next was principal dancer
“Minimalism and Me,” “Eight Jelly Rolls,”
Twyla Tharp Dance
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
November 15, 2018
In a charming two-part evening at the Joyce Theater, Twyla Tharp has joined the parade of excellent retrospectives of post-modern giants who are being heralded at MoMA’s current Judson Dance exhibition. Although she took a turn at Judson, Tharp’s path was different than the Judson group (including Yvonne Rainer, Deborah Hay, Trisha Brown and others,) but, like them, she has quite
New York City Ballet
"Theme and Variations", "Concerto Barocco", "A Suite of Dances", "Todo Buenos Aires"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 14, 2018
The final program of New York City Ballet's fall season celebrated Joaquin De Luz's retirement, though it was certainly a bitter sweet celebration as the ageless charmer proved he could still thrill an audience. Indeed, the opening work, Balanchine's "Theme and Variations", has one of the most challenging of male