The second company of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, may be chamber-size, but its young dancers possess enough exuberance to fill a stadium. (Hubbard Street 2); No reference here to the legendary Elssler’s sensuous allure. No nod even to the lush waltzing that’s the national dance of Straussville. (The Ballerina Fanny Elssler) Village Voice 11/19/03
POST-MOD WEATHER REPORT
Rosas (Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker) / BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, NYC / November 12-17, 2003 Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s Rain, performed by her Belgium-based company, Rosas, draws upon defining devices of early postmodern dance—the inventions and innovations of the late 1960s and the 1970s—and gives them a sleek, forceful theatricality. Indeed, it makes them […]
Noche Flamenca; “Black Burlesque (Revisited)”
Flamenco dance is flourishing on New York’s stages. Soledad Barrio remains the incarnation of the form.
DANCE TO THE PIPER
George Piper Dances / Joyce Theater, NYC / November 4-9, 2003 George Piper Dances, at the Joyce through November 9, is named for the conjoined moniker-in-art of Michael (middle name: George) Nunn and William (Piper) Trevitt. The pair of Brits with charm to spare and an unexpected taste for austere, ostensibly cerebral choreography are also […]
PATCH WORK
American Ballet Theatre / City Center, NYC / October 22 – November 9, 2003 American Ballet Theatre’s annual fall season at City Center, now expanded from two weeks to three, looked foolish even before the curtain went up. A new marketing ploy organized the repertory being offered into four set programs. The most misguided of […]
KISSING COUSINS
Susan Marshall & Company / BAM Harvey Theater, New York City / October 21-25, 2003 In our current climate of branding, dance concerts must have titles. The choreographer Susan Marshall, already branded as a genius by her copping a MacArthur Fellowship 2000, slyly called her latest program, part of BAM’s Next Wave series, Sleeping Beauty […]
SNAKE EYES
Merce Cunningham Dance Company / BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, New York City / October 14-18, 2003 Dancing usually hangs out with music—and with good reason. Think rhythmic, structural, and atmospheric support. Think Tchaikovsky-Petipa; think Stravinsky-Balanchine. Merce Cunningham, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his company at BAM this week, was a pioneer in disconnecting the […]
OZU MOVES
Dance fans have just this week between summer festivals and outdoor city performances before the onslaught of the fall season. Time to go to the movies. I favor vintage films and think Yasujiro Ozu tops even Jean Renoir in capturing the subtleties of human feeling. In the past, one usually had to wait for the art houses to hold an Ozu festival. Though it takes a big screen to do this director full justice, some of his best work is now available on DVDs. Try “Late Spring.” I dare you not to cry. Here’s what I wrote about Ozu on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
BACK STORY
This week’s performances of Ballett Frankfurt at the Brooklyn Academy of Music mark a critical stage in the career of William Forsythe, who has shaped the company according to his singular aesthetic. I’ve invited the dance writer Roslyn Sulcas, our New York expert on Forsythe, to provide some background. Here is her report: William Forsythe […]
AFTER THE FACT
Ballett Frankfurt / BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, NYC / September 30 – October 5, 2003 I wish I liked William Forsythe’s work more. After Ballett Frankfurt’s opening night at BAM, I felt an inch closer to appreciating it – as the enthusiastic audience, peppered with dance-world celebrities, clearly did. But no more than an […]