World-class review of ballet and dance.
Dominica Greene makes snow angels in a small pool of light. As the audience chatter at Danspace Project quiets down, she revs to life. Rocking and talking about a rickety fan found in her grandparents’ house in Guyana, her shakes and shudders illustrate the pleasure her body derives from the appliance’s particular rhythm.
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“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.
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When Alban Lendorf was four, he became attentive to the piano. When his lessons advanced to the learning of a Chopin waltz, his piano teacher suggested he take dance classes to help open up the music.
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Marie 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.
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Ascending the Guggenheim Museum's rings through Rashid Johnson's retrospective, “A Poem for Deep Thinkers,” is a dance in of itself.
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A lone musician stands at the corner of the darkened stage. His shakuhachi (bamboo flute) echoes, melancholy, as the sound of an ominous wind rises.
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“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.
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In 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.
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This program of three works by William Forsythe set to the music of James Blake has special meaning for La Scala Ballet.
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Ushering in the ninth season of Dance at the Odyssey, which takes place January 8–February 16 at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and features a number of cutting-edge choreographers and world premieres, curator, producer and festival co-founder Barbara Müller-Wittmann adores her job.
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Around this time of year, we can all use a little cheer. The early darkness, the cold, the state of the world alone can send one into a spiral.
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Will 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 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.
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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.
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