Foot contributor and Infinite Body blogger Eva Yaa Asantewaa saw the tango show I previewed here. She writes: Saw the show this afternoon. It's about twice as long as it needs to be, but, lord, how those kids can dance! Outrageous choreography! What footwork! What acrobatics! And the musicians--especially the pianist (Gustavo Casenave, stepping in this afternoon for musical director Gabriel … [Read more...]

The one nifty thing about this featurette for Newsday on Estampas Portenas, the fantastic tango troupe to hit the Joyce tomorrow in "Tango Fire" (and then tour the country), is the connection the artistic and musical directors make between the strife inherent in Argentine tango (the top vs. the bottom) and the state of being in exile. Here's music director and pianist Gabriel Clenar: "In the … [Read more...]

Oh, we are such a gang of grouches! It turns out my colleague and occasional seatmate Tobi Tobias got to this subject of the trials and tribulations of finding a companion for dance a long while ago--and was advised by her editor to kindly shut her trap, as she reports here in a very entertaining essay on why when you're reviewing, two can be a crowd. Plus, Tonya Plank (aka Swan Lake Samba Girl), … [Read more...]

From Foot contributor Eva Yaa Asantewaa's blog, Infinite Body (thank you, Eva!): As I sat in City Center last night, writing some notes about the Ailey show, the fellow sitting to the left of me leaned over and laughingly asked, "Is it work? Or is it fun? Or is it both?" "Oh, both!" I quickly chirped. "If not," he replied, "poor you!" Poor me, indeed. Sometimes, it is indeed work with no fun. … [Read more...]

Foot contributor Eva Yaa Asantewaa had her attitude on--but this dance got her to take it off. The performance is only through this weekend--so check it out! (I've snatched the whole glorious review from Eva's website, Infinite Body. It's got a short video of the dance and many necessary links.) … [Read more...]

I promised to write something about Matthew Neenan-- showcased in Pennsylvania Ballet's one week, two-program visit to City Center last month. So before I forget any more, this: It probably tells you less about Neenan than about the current state of ballet choreography that his "Carmina Burana"-- to the gorgeous and dense Carl Orff cantata about fickle Fortune-- could cause me such pleasure and … [Read more...]

Here's the whole incredible paragraph... "They pay us," Nureyev once said, "for our fear." Sure, vanity, self-indulgence and cruelty ran rampant throughout his short, tempestuous life. But he faced death with defiance not only when he was dying. In daring to be so vehemently, disobediently alive, he faced it, for us, every time he stepped onstage. Great dancing, unlike good dancing, is an … [Read more...]

The European philosopher-choreographer-king Maurice Bejart died on Thanksgiving (in case you live in a cave), and a week later the Alvin Ailey troupe premiered his "Firebird" at their gala. Which meant even at Newsday, where reviews have come to be frowned upon, a piece was in order. What a hapless task! What was I going to do if I didn't like the dance--which seemed more than likely, given how … [Read more...]

The opening chords of Tchaikovsky's "Serenade in C" are a beginning and end in one. Like a prince descending the marble steps of the palace to be crowned king, the progression of chords moves with stately dignity--but not just downward. For every couple of steps down, there's one up, and even an abrupt pause to take in the full measure of the occasion. Tchaikovsky does not begin in medias res but … [Read more...]

Not to beat a dead horse--okay, to beat it--here's Jennifer Homans' review for the New Republic of the Nureyev bio that Foot in Mouth loves to hate. It's not that Homans agrees with ME-- that Nureyev was one of the greatest dancers--because she doesn't. It's that she both identifies the many problems with Julie Kavanagh's humongous and silly book, and proposes her own fascinating reading of … [Read more...]