Merce Cunningham Dance Company: Nearly Ninety / BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, NYC / April 16 - 19, 2009 Merce Cunningham Photo: Mark Seliger Yesterday, April 16th, was Merce Cunningham's 90th birthday. Long may he wave! The event was celebrated at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House with the world premiere of his new full-evening piece, Nearly Ninety. It's only natural that the viewer would attribute a futuristic mindset to the piece--exploring space, because of the scenery, and a subtextual reminder of the Heaven that awaits … [Read more...]
Why I Live in New York: Personal Indulgences No. 13
April 1, 2009 by 26 Comments
Why I live in New York. New York City, that is. Manhattan, to be exact. Dirty. Dangerous. Expensive (so much so today that people who once thought of themselves as middle class now fear they're only a few ladder-rungs above the have-nots. And the number of have-nots is heart-rending. But still . . . I was born and raised in Brooklyn, in a neighborhood and time suited only to people with a deep tolerance--or even need--for boredom. (Boredom precludes risk and can be very soothing.) I was not one of them. Even before I had two numbers to my … [Read more...]
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Very well thought out and well written, as usual, Tobi. Many thanks.Daniel Benton on Youth in Bloom
Very nice! You manage to capture the spirit of the performance and give us a larger context in which to...Michael Noga on Keeping Count
I saw this performance and enjoyed it. I have seen three of Justin Peck's works and noticed that he...Leo Greenbaum on Dvorovenko Moves On
Superb Classical technique. Beautiful woman. Will miss her.Richard Chang on Keeping Count
I so agree with you, Tobi: "... dance is not made of ideas but rather of people moving to music...Martha Ullman West on Keeping Count
"frosty abstraction that offers very little to see..." does seem to be the order of the day for a lot...Mary Cargill on Dvorovenko Moves On
"Enigma Variations", certainly, would count for married love in a ballet.Jann Parry on Dvorovenko Moves On
Apropos Onegin's mature love pas de deux: can you think of any other ballets in which a married couple express...Shelley KOLIN on Dvorovenko Moves On
I was introduced to Irina and Maxim during the Southern Ballet Theatre days with Vadim Fedotov and Irina Depler. We...Alice Helpern on Dvorovenko Moves On
I've seen a number of performances with Irina and Maxim and each of them with other partners but in the...