Beyond the Clouds
When the lights for “Opal Loop/Cloud Installation #72503” come up on four dancers silhouetted by refracted light of a billowing cloud of fog, the scene rivals halftime at the Superbowl.
PlusWorld-class review of ballet and dance.
The Martha Graham Dance Company filled some of the Metropolitan Museum’s most impressive spaces for two full days with pop-up performances of six Graham solos choreographed in the 1930s. The works were presented in dialogue with the current exhibition “Art for the Millions: American Culture and Politics in the 1930s,” an exploration of how artists expressed political messages and ideologies through a range of media. The nation, during that period─much as it is today, was polarized with political division and social upheaval, and artists used their craft to connect with the public and transmit ideologies. Martha Graham held strong opinions on social issues and the human condition. These inspired much of the work she created in the 1930s, not long after founding her company in 1926. Many of the solos presented at the Met were either lost or forgotten after a period of not being performed and are skillful reconstructions by former company members from photographs.
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When the lights for “Opal Loop/Cloud Installation #72503” come up on four dancers silhouetted by refracted light of a billowing cloud of fog, the scene rivals halftime at the Superbowl.
PlusOn a bright spring afternoon, as Paris basked in long-awaited sunlight and the city frantically moved in the heat, the Opéra Garnier opened a portal to another world—a realm of eternal forms, ethereal beauty, and blue distances: those trembling horizons where the sea dissolves into sky, and the eye reaches toward the infinite.
PlusWhat does it mean to devote your life to dance? Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino’s new streaming series, “Étoile,” which debuted April 24 on Prime Video, attempts to answer this question in a way that resonates with both dancers and general audiences. Not an easy task.
PlusJennifer Archibald’s choreography credits extend from ballet companies to commercial work, reflecting her signature ability to blend classical dance with hip hop.
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