On Criticism
On rare occasions, a dance seems to speak directly to me—often to my experiences as a dancer, sometimes to my humanity.
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Latest
Limón, Past and Present
I can’t take my eyes off the men. Stephen Haley, Joey Columbus, and Ian Debono each have solos in “Mazurkas” that emphasize the Limón posture full of elegance and pride.
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Weird and Whimsical
While the dancers traveled up from Florida, the Sarasota Ballet presented a taste of British sensibilities in its week-long engagement at the Joyce Theater.
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Dance as Duration
“This resting, patience” has been danced in cities ranging from Helsinki to Porto to Venice, and in all of them the crooning vocals of its most-repeated music, Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” must have been instantly familiar.
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Swooping In
In the Chunky Move Studios, for Caroline Meaden’s “Immacolata,” presented as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival, two banks of seats, on the diagonal, hold a room.
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On the Fringes
Upon arrival, two tall screens reveal a kaleidoscopic, fluid slither of serpents, as I find a seat in the downstairs Sylvia Staehli Theatre at Danceshouse, for Weichen Cui’s “In Green, In White—Metamorphosis of The White Snake,” presented as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival 2026.
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Fashionable Fall
In approaching a New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala commission, choreographers have two choices: make a dance that hinges upon the fashion, or make a dance regardless of the fashion, and hope that the costumes enhance rather than detract from the steps.
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Shakespearean Twist
It’s a drag to report that I had the urge to walk out of my first performance back in NYC after a long summer break.
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Dance with Defiance
As much as it is a cliché to reference, there is something special in finding a work that so aptly fits that famous quote from George Balanchine: “See the music. Hear the dance.”
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Wild Things
Wei Wang begins as any faun does: alone and center stage, awakened from a reverie and looking a touch wobbly.
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The Screen is Always Greener
Coming in hot off their premiere at the Paris Opera Ballet, rising creative duo Jess & Morgs present “Deepfake.”
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Subversions of the Ideal
There’s a palpable intent to the swerving compositions of Pam Tanowitz’s “Pastoral:” the mannered choreography, with its long, soft angles and consciously discursive phrasing.
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Firebird Rising
Long before the dancers take the stage, Dance Theatre of Harlem’s season at New York City Center feels like one of the most energizing cultural events of the spring.
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Rare Birds
It is rare for George Balanchine’s grand, bedazzled “Symphony in C” to open a program. Its champagne-popping finale for 52 dancers tends to be a nightcap.
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The Spring is Blooming festival, by Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, now in its fifth year, has become a highlight of the spring dance circuit.
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Jack of Hearts
As the audience come to their feet at the end of this ballet there is a noted difference to be seen on stage. Three women stand with joined hands, taking their call as the romantic leads of a loud and proud lesbian ballet.
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School Report
One of San Francisco Ballet’s greatest assets is its home venue, the Beaux-Arts style War Memorial Opera House, with four rings of seating that require performers to project their energies practically to the exosphere.
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