Dancing and Screaming Against the Sky
“Profanations,” created by choreographer Faustin Linyekula and music artist Franck Moka, is not a “just” dance piece: it’s a live concert, a cinematic séance.
Continue Reading
World-class review of ballet and dance.
“Profanations,” created by choreographer Faustin Linyekula and music artist Franck Moka, is not a “just” dance piece: it’s a live concert, a cinematic séance.
Continue ReadingMarie Antoinette is not an entirely sympathetic character. Her penchant for luxury and extravagance—and the degree to which she was out of touch with the lives of the majority— made her a symbol of the wealth disparity that prompted the French Revolution.
Continue ReadingAscending the Guggenheim Museum's rings through Rashid Johnson's retrospective, “A Poem for Deep Thinkers,” is a dance in of itself.
Continue ReadingA lone musician stands at the corner of the darkened stage. His shakuhachi (bamboo flute) echoes, melancholy, as the sound of an ominous wind rises.
Continue Reading“Birth + Carnage” is a fantastic title. The premise behind this show, which premiered at LaMama Experimental Theater Club at the end of December, was exciting too.
Continue ReadingIn 2017, David Bintley—Birmingham Royal Ballet’s then-director—adapted Sir Peter Wright’s much-loved 1990 production of “The Nutcracker” for London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Continue ReadingThis program of three works by William Forsythe set to the music of James Blake has special meaning for La Scala Ballet.
FREE ARTICLEWill Tuckett’s new production of the “The Nutcracker” for the National Ballet of Japan serves up a holiday feast for the senses. Sweetly invigorating, it’s also a warm toddy for the soul. From start to finish, Tuckett’s “The Nutcracker” is truly a dream.
Continue ReadingBetween New York City Ballet’s “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®” and “The Magic Flute” at the Metropolitan Opera, it’s hard to compete with the Upper West Side’s holiday kid offerings.
Continue ReadingThe Sun King not only invented ballet in its modern form but in 1713 also founded the oldest ballet academy in the world.
Continue ReadingThe Choreographic Platform Austria (CPA) held in Salzburg from 20–22 November 2025, has become a biennial focal point for contemporary dance in Austria.
Continue ReadingIt’s “Nutcracker” season at San Francisco Ballet—36 performances packed into three weeks—which means that the company is currently serving two distinct audiences.
Continue ReadingWatching Matthew Bourne's reworked version of the “star-cross'd lovers,” I was briefly reminded of Veronica, played by Winona Ryder, in the dark 1988 comedy by Daniel Waters and Michael Lehmann, Heathers, and her line, “my teen angst bullshit has a body count.” Yes, this is the darker side of Bourne's repertoire,...
Continue ReadingThe choreographer Alexei Ratmansky reflects on the war in Ukraine, the connection between geopolitics and ballet, and joining the house of Balanchine.
Continue Reading
Beneath blue California skies, manicured trees, and the occasional hum of an overhead airplane, Tamara Rojo took the Frost Amphitheater stage at Stanford University to introduce herself as the new artistic director of San Francisco Ballet.
Continue ReadingAfter a week of the well-balanced meal that is “Jewels”—the nutritive, potentially tedious, leafy greens of “Emeralds,” the gamy, carnivorous “Rubies,” and the decadent, shiny white mountains of meringue in “Diamonds”—the New York City Ballet continued its 75th Anniversary All-Balanchine Fall Season with rather more dyspeptic fare.
Continue ReadingAn “Ajiaco” is a type of soup common to Colombia, Cuba, and Peru that combines a variety of different vegetables, spices, and meats.
Continue Reading