« May 2003 | Main | July 2003 »
June 25, 2003
School of American Ballet 39th Annual Workshop
[Nikolaj] Hübbe managed to instill in his protégés a command of the [Bournonville] choreography's unique charms: the calm upper body riding the fleet action of the feet; the space-grabbing leaps with their invisible preparations and pillow-soft landings; the maverick timing; and, no less important, the pervading sense of unquenchable joy. Village Voice 06/25/03Posted by at 4:10 AM
June 18, 2003
Chamber Dance Project; Zig Zag Ballet
Classical ballet, with its appetite for space and grandeur, calls for opera-house scale. Does that make the concept of chamber ballet a contradiction in terms? Two mini-troupes at the Kaye Playhouse in May argued persuasively that intimacy has its own charms. Village Voice 06/18/03
Posted by at 9:22 AM
June 16, 2003
Flesh: "Talk to Her"-- Almodovar's Anatomy of Women
The gaudy, bizarre twists and turns of the film's plot, influenced perhaps by the magic realism of the Latin American novelists Borges and Garcia Marquez, are extravagant even for this film maker, who thrives on flamboyant, unlikely extremes. But there's a sober, well reasoned, and calmly paced subtext operating here too, and it has a special appeal for the dance observer. Using this trio of female figures representing three different generations, Almodovar examines an anatomical spectrum that runs from the peak of natural physical blossoming through the stages in which the body is transformed -- deformed, if you will -- in service of a vocation. Dance Insider, Vignettes 10/17/02
Posted by mclennan at 2:14 PM
June 11, 2003
Johannes Wieland
Since he relocated to New York three years ago, the German-born Johannes Wieland . . . has developed a singular, striking body of work. Concise and abstract, though hinting at mood, situation, and relationships, his dances are visually handsome in a stern Bauhaus style. Their movement is tightly controlled, with ferocious outbursts that read as frustration and rage at the human condition. Village Voice 06/11/03
Posted by at 2:18 AM
June 4, 2003
Ben Munisteri Dance Projects; Compañia de la Danza Narciso Medina
Facing the viewer straight-on with a clear-eyed gaze, handsome athletic bodies made large, clear, energetic moves that looked like metaphors for optimism. (Munisteri) The evening's most unselfconscious and engaging number, Música del Cuerpo (Music of the Body), [had] the dancers providing the audible as well as the visible rhythms. (Medina) Village Voice 06/04/03
Posted by at 3:39 AM