Lifted Spirits
Even at his most straightforward, Paul Taylor often imbued his dances with a sardonic wit. Whether invoking darkness or light, he did so with a wink.
PlusWorld-class review of ballet and dance.
Sadler's Wells first started appointing associate artists a decade ago, and the prestigious title has evolved into a distinct badge of influence: Sadler's associates don't simply add to the landscape of contemporary dance; they decide where its borders will extend to next. This bill features new commissions from Kate Prince, Crystal Pite and Hofesh Shechter—three current associates whose bodies of work vary wildly in tone but each place a premium on wit and seeking out the humanity in the subjects they cover. The showcase is an illuminating snapshot of the mutable nature of contemporary dance and the diverse territories the scene’s top crop are exploring to continue reshaping it.
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Crystal Pite's “A Picture of You Falling.”. Photograph by Michael Slobodian
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Even at his most straightforward, Paul Taylor often imbued his dances with a sardonic wit. Whether invoking darkness or light, he did so with a wink.
PlusTalk about Gesamtkunstwerk! Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s “SCAT!...The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar,” is just that—a total work of art: operatic in scale, replete with stellar musicians and singers, and the glorious dancers of Urban Bush Women, the troupe that Zollar founded in 1984, is also storytelling at its best.
PlusOf all of Shakespeare’s plays, “Hamlet” might seem the hardest to adapt into dance. Its long soliloquies and a titular character stymied by indecision do not immediately scream movement potential.
PlusComplexions Contemporary Ballet turned 30 this year, and their two-week residency at the Joyce Theater was a party.
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