Here's my feature for Newsday on the lovely pomo choreographer Trisha Brown. The focus is on nature in her life and work. (Newsday has become very Long Island-focused, and Brown has a cottage in the woods on the island, so it was a natural direction to take.) She's one of those interview subjects you want to kiss afterwards, because she keeps handing you these great quotes. In her case, I could … [Read more...]

The Martha Graham company's artistic director, Janet Eilber, believes modern dance needs to have a plan for its past--and the fact that modern dance is as much about throwing out the old and embracing the new as any modern art movement is no excuse. Here's the feature I wrote for Newsday. (For those of you who have been following the trials--indeed--and tribulations of the Graham company, some, … [Read more...]

I've got a busy month coming up and won't be around here much, so I thought I'd leave you with some shows to see (those of you in New York, at least). For a long time, New York City Ballet has begun its winter rep season just after New Year's, so January has long been rich in ballet. What's a recent development is downtown theaters bringing back some of their best work from the past year. (No … [Read more...]

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...]