Testing Assumptions
The current global zeitgeist of uncertainty and the tendency to jump to judgment inspired veteran dancer-choreographer Beth Corning's latest dance-theater work, “Foolish Assumptions.”
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World-class review of ballet and dance.
This is historical,” Ballet22 co-founder Theresa Knudson told the audience between works on the company’s latest program, “Momentum.” It may seem a big claim for a small company, but as the young people like to say these days, she’s not wrong. Launched in 2020, Oakland-based Ballet22 is the only company in the world with a mission to present men and non-binary dancers en pointe, not as a drag joke (as in Les Ballets Trockadero), but in earnest. And it’s doing so at a time when the rights of transgender and non-binary people are under unprecedented political attack in the United States. As “Momentum” co-artistic director Lorris Eichinger added in his plea for support, “It’s really bad out there.”
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The current global zeitgeist of uncertainty and the tendency to jump to judgment inspired veteran dancer-choreographer Beth Corning's latest dance-theater work, “Foolish Assumptions.”
Continue ReadingAt 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.
Continue ReadingJust as The Wizard of Oz to the United States or Pinocchio to Italy, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the coming-of-age novel of English childhood. The reception of Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet of the same name depends heavily on this legacy.
Continue ReadingDirector and choreographer Naoya Homan’s reimagining of “Aleko,” a one-act ballet where art takes center stage, dazzles the eye with a tragic meditation on the limits of freedom.
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