World-class review of ballet and dance.
This provocative double bill showcases contrasting approaches to the body, and perceptions of how and why they take up and transform the space. It's also a meditation on art as an act of resistance, a form of political liberation.
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The Pilobolus troupe took over the Joyce Theater for three weeks this August with a rotating pair of programs: one was called “Dreams,” the other, “Memory.” Both titles were good catchalls for the company’s signature brand of surrealist, muscular theatricality.
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A unique cooperation by New York City’s five largest dance companies, BAAND Together Dance Festival was conceived as an effort to restart live dance performance after the pandemic.
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Bookending my first day at the Edinburgh Festival are two very different but beautiful performances at the wonderful Dance Base venue in the Grassmarket, Matthew Hawkins’s “Ready” and Christine Thynne and Robbie Synge’s “These Mechanisms.”
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Bharatanatyam soloist, Christopher Gurusamy, describes his practice as purely based on his traditional dance training, Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu in southern India.
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On a sultry day like this, it might be easy to imagine we’re somewhere in the south, rather than the urban confines of Hearst Plaza, where a small group has gathered, curious about a free event. We’re not quite sure where to sit.
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One night, three premieres, and a mixture of tradition and originality. Queensland Ballet’s “Bespoke” presented new works that playfully experimented with the classical technique in a contemporary setting.
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When viewing a work by Pam Tanowitz, it pays to look closely. Beyond the precision and fleet feet of her Cunningham-trained dancers, there is often another layer to discover. She refers to pre-existing works of art and literature (recently T. S. Eliot’s “Four Quartets” and the biblical Song of Solomon) using movement to reveal and remix their elements.
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The crowning ornament of Lincoln Center’s India Week was the collaborative creation and performance of “Samsara” by Aakash Odedra and Hu Shenyuan. India Week, the weeklong summer curation of events celebrating India’s culture, elevated the concept of performing arts with this journey to the sublime.
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On a steamy July evening, the arty fashionistas of Bushwick seem remarkably crisp and refreshed, wine spritzers in hand, as they gather for a rare showing by two rock stars of dance at Carvalho Park gallery in Brooklyn.
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Smuin Contemporary Ballet is a different company than when it last came to New York in 2012, five years after the sudden death of its popular founder. Michael Smuin was known for his highly accessible works full of musical theater splash. While his San Francisco based company continues to perform his repertory, it has commissioned a broad range of new work under succeeding director, Celia Fushille.
PlusLong 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.
PlusIt 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.
PlusAs 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.
PlusOne 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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