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REVIEWS | By Gracia Haby

Fold In, Over

Last night, in the Upstairs Studio of Dancehouse, Emily Bowman and Joey Lehrer performing as [ two for now ] became an ocean conveyor belt in “Weathering.” ‘You be the warm shallow current, and I’ll be the cold and salty deep current,’ Bowman might have said to Lehrer before they ran in a clockwise direction. ‘Together, we’ll feel what it is like to be an ocean gyre in the Northern Hemisphere. We’ll run in a spiral like the currents formed by wind patterns and forces created by the Earth in rotation.’ Together, a thermohaline circulation was revealed. Together, [ two...

REVIEWS | By Sophie Bress

Ballet West in the Garden

There’s something about an outdoor venue that fills a performance with possibility, ease, and the right energy for change and open mindedness. Maybe it’s the open air—which pops the confines of the proscenium like a bubble—that creates a place where dance-goers can relax: stretching out on a blanket, feeling their toes in the grass and the sun on their skin.

FEATURES | By Cecilia Whalen

Reflections

At dawn on September 11th, the Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center was quiet and still. Only the fountain glistened in the subtle light of morning, and the tan and gray stone ground was cool to the touch. All of a sudden, at 8:15am, the stone began to heat up. The sun had risen, but the warmth was coming from somewhere else: A call was made from a pink conch shell whose sound expanded into the atmosphere and summoned a hurricane of white to encircle the plaza. Hundreds of bare feet dashed around and around the fountain, surrounding the space...

REVIEWS | By Emily May

You Just Had to be There

I have to admit, I’ve been putting off writing this review for quite a while. I’ve tried multiple times, but each attempt has only resulted in me staring at the blank, white expanse of my Google document, failing to figure out how to put the experience of watching American choreographer Faye Driscoll’s “Thank You For Coming: Space” into words. Even straight after the show, its intense absurdity still fresh in my mind, I had to try very hard to refrain from resorting to the phrase no critic should ever use—“you just had to be there”—when my boyfriend asked me what...

TALKING POINTES | Claudia Lawson

Steven McRae, Full Throttle

Today I am speaking with Steven McRae, principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, London. Steven grew up in Western Sydney, in a suburb called Plumpton, 45kms West of Sydney. His Dad was a drag car racer, and no one in the family had ever learnt to dance. But somehow, dance found Steven, And at the age of 7, he asked his mum and dad if he could start dance lessons and he enrolled in a local studio around the corner from home. It was a life changing decision. By 17, he had not only won the Genée International Ballet Competition...

REVIEWS | By Gracia Haby

Forces of Nature

Explicit content may refer to a parental advisory warning label used by the music industry, but add an ‘s’ to ‘content’ and it is more likely that the explicit contents choreographer Rhiannon Newton is referring to come from the physical act of unfurling something to reveal what lies within.

REVIEWS | By Emily May

United in Intention, Individual in Execution

With the house lights still raised, renowned American dancer and choreographer Trajal Harrell stands downstage left, just across from two lines of slick, black piano stools. Wearing a white shirt and black trousers, as well as a frilly, floral dress that is hung around his neck, Harrell waits calmly and patiently as audience members clumsily try to find their allotted seats, smiling and nodding at people who catch his eye. At one point, he reaches into his pocket and grabs a tissue to wipe some sweat off his nose.

BOOKSHELF | FEATURES | By Sophie Bress

New Narrative

Meg Howrey isn’t interested in clichés. The professional dancer turned novelist’s approach to writing, especially when it comes to portraying ballet, is rooted in authenticity, nuance, and honesty. Her latest book, They’re Going To Love You, set to be released on November 15, 2022, is filled with these qualities.

REVIEWS | By Lorna Irvine

Poetry and Pain

Alan Cumming has never been one for half measures—whether taking on the iconic Emcee in “Cabaret” in 1993, garnering him a Tony award, Dionysus in a gospel tinged version of “The Bacchae,” or portraying every single role in his much acclaimed, raw and visceral one man Macbeth in 2012 (an absolute triumph of ambition and ideas.)

TALKING POINTES | Claudia Lawson

Dana Stephensen's Triple Bill

Today I am speaking with the divine Dana Stephenson. Dana grew up in Brisbane learning tap, jazz and singing, and never dreamed of being a ballerina. But ballet had a way of finding her. And strangely enough, it was a rejection letter from the Australian Ballet School and the disappointment that followed that awakened her passion and changed the trajectory of her life. In this beautifully courageous and candid interview, Dana speaks about her career with the Australian Ballet, managing her thyroid condition and the affect that had on her body image, and being promoted to Senior Artist after becoming...

REVIEWS | By Victoria Looseleaf

This Just In

After the pandemic shutdown, it felt so good to be back in REDCAT’s beautiful black box space for its annual three-week New Original Works Festival (NOW). Currently in its 19th edition—a feat in and of itself, the theater having opened in 2003—the celebrated series features nine premieres by some of Los Angeles’ foremost dance, theater, music and multimedia artists.

REVIEWS | By Emily May

Dancing Mania

I am sitting at a bar with a glass of wine waiting to watch Danish choreographer Mette Ingvarsten’s “The Dancing Public” as part of Tanz im August festival. Part dance party, part spoken word concert, the piece, according to press materials, aims to consider the 14th-17th century phenomenon of dancing plagues in our current post-pandemic context. “I hope there’s not going to be audience participation,” says one of the friends I’m attending with. Of course, from that moment, our fates were sealed.

Featured Reads

REVIEWS | Lorna Irvine

Teenage Angst and Institutions

Watching 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,...

INTERVIEWS | Marina Harss

The Me of Today

The choreographer Alexei Ratmansky reflects on the war in Ukraine, the connection between geopolitics and ballet, and joining the house of Balanchine.

REVIEWS | Rachel Howard

Starry Nights

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.

REVIEWS | Faye Arthurs

America, F**K Yeah

After 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.

REVIEWS | Emily May

Acosta Danza’s Choreographic Soup

An “Ajiaco” is a type of soup common to Colombia, Cuba, and Peru that combines a variety of different vegetables, spices, and meats.