Phoenix Rising
The traditional striped kabuki curtain of black, persimmon and green hangs tattered and faded. It’s our first hint of destruction.
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World-class review of ballet and dance.
At a time when the roots of toxic masculinity are still being hotly debated within society (I'd argue nature and nurture aren't necessarily mutually exclusive bedfellows) the excellent “Boys Don't Dance” arrives, fully formed at a festival for children, but with enough layers to appease any audience. Frankly, it could be the antidote to it all. Never mind recent discourse in schools around Andrew Tate and the ‘manosphere’ et. al, show some kids this and watch as jaws drop and developing little minds are blown.
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The traditional striped kabuki curtain of black, persimmon and green hangs tattered and faded. It’s our first hint of destruction.
PlusOn the final weekend of August, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park presented Anna Sperber’s Bessie award-winning dance “Bow Echo” during the opening day of its 2026 Annual Festival.
PlusThere is site-specific dance—think Trisha Brown’s 1970 groundbreaking work, “Man Walking Down the Side of a Building”—and then there’s Sarah Gordon Butler’s “Hay Rake Ballet.”
PlusThis summer, hidden within the red brick warehouses and graffitied construction panels of industrial East Williamsburg, Brooklyn lay a secret garden.
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Enjoyed this vivid review very much, and as someone who followed Brew when he led Axis Dance Company out in California, it’s good to see what he’s up to!