In 2017 Virginie Mécène reimagined the lost Martha Graham solo “Ekstatis.” A review from that Martha Graham Dance Company premiere ended with a strong vote of confidence from critic Gia Kourlas: “Ms. Mécène should keep going.”
Vous les voyez, les étoiles dans la salle?” the woman next to me whispered as the lights dimmed. And indeed, the stalls glittered with former stars of the Paris Opéra Ballet— dancers I recognised, visibly moved and deep in conversation during the interval.
On one of the first spring-like days this year in NYC, I arrive at Barnard College to observe rehearsal for John Jasperse’s new piece, “Tides,” which will open the LaMama Moves! Dance Festival on April 10.
Vous les voyez, les étoiles dans la salle?” the woman next to me whispered as the lights dimmed. And indeed, the stalls glittered with former stars of the Paris Opéra Ballet— dancers I recognised, visibly moved and deep in conversation during the interval.
In 2017 Virginie Mécène reimagined the lost Martha Graham solo “Ekstatis.” A review from that Martha Graham Dance Company premiere ended with a strong vote of confidence from critic Gia Kourlas: “Ms. Mécène should keep going.”
On one of the first spring-like days this year in NYC, I arrive at Barnard College to observe rehearsal for John Jasperse’s new piece, “Tides,” which will open the LaMama Moves! Dance Festival on April 10.
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“Lists of Promise,” a new work currently in a two-week run from March 13- 30 at the East Village cultural landmark, Theater for the New City, promised more than it delivered, at least for now.
“State of Heads” opens with a blaze of white light and loud clanking onto a white-suited Levi Gonzalez, part Elvis, part televangelist addressing his congregation. A pair of women sidle in—Rebecca Cyr and Donna Uchizono—dressed in ankle-length white dresses and cowered posture.
The late John Ashford, a pioneer in programming emerging contemporary choreographers across Europe, once told me that he could tell what sort of choreographer a young artist would turn into when watching their first creations.
Last weekend, the Royal New Zealand Ballet hosted two nights of performance in collaboration with the Scottish Ballet at the St. James’ Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand. The bill included two works by choreographers affiliated with Scottish Ballet, and two by RNZB choreographers. There was welcome contrast in timbre and tempo, and common themes of self-actualisation and connection, through a love of dance. As RNZB artistic director Ty King-Wall announced in the audience address, the two-night only performance was in the spirit of “bringing the companies together in mutual admiration and respect.”
Who knew that a PB & J sandwich could conjure Proust’s madeleine? Certainly not this writer. But it’s not farfetched to think that Lincoln Jones, the artistic director, choreographer and...
Performance
American Contemporary Ballet: “Homecoming”
Place
Bank of America Plaza, Los Angeles, California, March 8-29, 2025
The Korean Cultural Center New York presented the ChangMu Dance Company this past week and treated the public to an artistic gem. ChangMu Dance Company, currently with fourteen dancers, was founded in 1976 by Kim MaeJa, a pioneer of Korean “creative dance.”
At the New National Theatre in Tokyo last week, the National Ballet of Japan’s (NBJ) triple bill, “Ballet Coffret,” indeed offered up three jewels of dance: the traditional, the modern, and the multi-faceted.
Bangarra Dance Theatre first brought this cross-cultural work to the main stage of the Sydney Opera House in June 2024. “The Light Inside” is a wondrous collaboration between leading Māori choreographer Moss Te Ururangi Patterson and Bangarra choreographer, Deborah Brown.
Today I have the immense privilege of speaking with Dr. Sue Mayes. She's the current director of the Australian Ballet's globally recognized artistic health team. Sue was born in Victoria, and like many physios who work with dancers, Sue learned classical ballet in her youth and studied full-time under the formidable Gailene stock. It was while she was completing her diploma of dance that Sue’s started to think about her future. Her love of dance combined with an interest in anatomy led her to physiotherapy, and as we say, the rest is history. In this most fascinating episode, Sue shares...
Tamara Rojo’s ambitious “Raymonda” was the last thing she did at English National Ballet before assuming the directorship in San Francisco three years ago, so it was natural that she...
Performance
San Francisco Ballet: “Raymonda” by Tamara Rojo
Place
War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, CA, March 1 and 7, 2025
With each dance season’s new ballets, some become memorable with audiences and critics for their artistry and emotional connection, fewer reveal themselves as hits, and even fewer have the potential to become box office record breakers. Tulsa Ballet's new “Alice in Wonderland” is the rare gem that does all three.
Dreadlocks are not the first thing that come to mind, looking at UK artist Nicola Turner’s fibre sculpture currently installed at Carvalho Park gallery in East Williamsburg. But I hesitate to open a review with a vision of the poop emoji.
Inspired by breaking, neo-classical ballet and dance theater, Rubberband, founded in Montreal in 2002 by Victor Quijada, presented two works at BroadStage over the weekend in what was seen as a homecoming of sorts for Quijada.
The Batsheva Dance Company returned to the BAM Opera House this week bringing their latest evening length work, “Momo.” This was the ninth Batsheva production that BAM has presented since 2002. New York City dance lovers packed the venue amid tight security and outdoor protestors to see this foremost contemporary dance company perform a masterpiece of haunting and reflective beauty.
Today I have the immense privilege of speaking with Bangarra Dance Theatre’s James Boyd. James is a proud Aboriginal man with connections to the Kunja and Muruwari people of southwest...
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