“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’

“Signs,” “Red Angels,” “Zakuski,” “Heatscape”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 4, 2025

Although the program was titled Eclectic NYCB, the combination of “Signs,” “Red Angels,” “Zakuski,” and a new to the company this season Justin Peck ballet – “Heatscape” set to Bohuslav Martinů’s music – registered more as an assortment of stripped-down, thematically minimalist styles than an eclectic curation.  The takeaway: this type of dance is comfort-territory for the company, even

"Shadowboxing in Blue"
Danse Theater Surreality
Directed by Lauren Hlubny and Kyra Hauck
Haven Boxing, Brooklyn
October 4, 2025

No one who has watched a championship boxing match, and seen the fighters fall into each other's arms at the final bell, can doubt the emotional range and depth of boxing.  No sport is a better metaphor for life, in all its glory and humiliation. 

Shadowboxing is something else.  It's punching the air, the only target

“Confetti,” “L’air d’Esprit,” “Round of Angels,” “Birthday Variations”
Arpino Dance Festival, Program 1
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
October 1, 2025

Two years after Gerald Arpino’s centennial celebration, New York audiences got a chance to delight in the works of this co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet.  Though the company he helped build decamped to Chicago decades ago, the Arpino Dance Festival's opening program brought his distinctive spirit home through dancers assembled from companies

“Swan Lake”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 17 and 19, 2025

In a move full of risk and opportunity, American Ballet Theatre bookended its Met season with two blocks of its production of “Swan Lake,” now in its 25^th year.  The immortal classic, even in ABT’s flawed rendition, remains a tried-and-true blockbuster, but more crucially serves as an unforgiving vehicle for showcasing and assessing a company’s talent. While all