Tetsuya Kumakawa, In the Comfort Zone
For a man considered an icon in Japan’s performing arts world, Tetsuya Kumakawa, in person, is surprisingly down-to-earth.
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The last time I saw Michelle Dorrance perform in person was in her breakthrough production of “Soundspace” (2013). I remember my view from the risers at the short end of St. Mark’s Church, where she had gathered what seemed surely every available tap and body percussion artist in NYC. I remember the generosity with which she showcased her fellow artists—and also, socks. Imagine rhythm tappers wearing socks! It was an experiment that both paid tribute to the tap great, Jimmy Slyde, and protected the wood floors of the historic building. That show raised Dorrance’s star. She had already been recognized with the Princess Grace award. But soon came the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and a Jacobs Pillow residency. At the Joyce this week, I was happy to see both generosity and slide still in evidence—if not actual socks. This program of three premieres doesn’t so much break new ground as celebrate what has led to this moment. Dorrance both looks back in homage and pays it forward by opening a door for a new artist collaborator, musician and vocalist, Aaron Marcellus.
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Claudia Rahardjanoto, Michelle Dorrance in ““45th & 8th.” Photograph by Steven Pisano
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For a man considered an icon in Japan’s performing arts world, Tetsuya Kumakawa, in person, is surprisingly down-to-earth.
Continue ReadingAmelie Ravalec is a London-based French film director and producer, photographer, publisher and colourist. Her internationally screened films include Art & Mind, Paris/Berlin: 20 Years Of Underground Techno and Industrial Soundtrack For the Urban Decay.
Continue ReadingA stool, a clothesline, a hanging sheet. But for these three things, the stage set for “Woolgathering” was largely empty. “Woolgathering” is a ‘spoken word opera’ directed and composed by Oliver Tompkins Ray with choreography by John Heginbotham, inspired by the poetic memoir by Patti Smith.
Continue ReadingThe American Ballet Theatre’s opening bill was not a hole-in-one, but the ideas behind the programming were sound: feature a new work that builds upon company traditions (Gemma Bond’s “La Boutique”), push the dancers in a different style by a hot choreographer (Kyle Abraham’s “Mercurial Son”), and show off the troupe’s prodigious technical chops in a grand manner (Harald Lander’s “É tudes”).
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