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DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: These Are the Winners of The Dance Enthusiast Fall 2024 Audience Review Contest

I started the Audience Review Section on The Dance Enthusiast soon after the site launched. At first, being the only one writing about dance made me uncomfortable — not that I don’t have opinions or a history and expertise in this art form — it’s just that I have, for better or worse, never been comfortable being seen as a sole authority. I prefer conversation to proclamation. I prefer encouraging curiosity to delivering my tastes as THE tastes.

Our Audience Review Section is an unedited area that invites any and every dance-goer in. We welcome their thoughts and questions, and, hopefully, publishing them encourages more writing. I have learned about artists, programs, and presenters new to me while reading these reviews. I have also seen familiar groups through new eyes. I treasure this education.

It takes a special dedication to commit dance to words. The thought process, the note-taking, the search for the perfect turn of phrase to describe what you’re seeing and what you think about it requires time and patience. Today, with instant communication prized and attention spans growing shorter and shorter, spending time to publicly articulate one’s feelings about dance performance could almost seem a lost cause. This is why I am particularly grateful to the participants of our Fall 2024 Audience Review Contest.

These participants are champions, generously giving their words to support the art and artists of dance. What they share here are not merely “reviews” but windows into dance history.

— Christine Jowers, Founder/ Editor/Writer

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2024 Dance Enthusiast Audience Contest Winners & Special Mentions 

With excerpts of their writings

For complete reviews, CLICK HERE

 

Winner:

Rush Johnston writes about:

• The Power of Perspective by Finleigh Zack Dance

• Estia Day Fest 2024 by Estia Creative Home

 

“…what Finleigh Zack Dance did was transform this gallery into a watering hole for arts and culture for an evening, using dance and movement to animate the space in a unique and memorable way […] There is a causal air that puts me at ease, and suddenly the space is brought to life…We watch as their calculated, gestural movements carve out a landscape of duet. There is an intimacy both between the dancers and between us as viewers, close enough to see the sweat generating on their brows. The dancers begin to alternate and watch each other, reflecting back the viewership that we as audience members hold. And just as quickly and quietly as it started, the first piece is over. The dancers rejoin the crowd and casual conversation takes over. We are given just enough to be left wanting more.”

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“To attend is to submerge oneself in art of many forms and to resurface different than you were before. It is a truly immersive experience, allowing the viewer to awaken all their senses and experience art in a myriad of ways all in one remarkable evening. Founded by Artistic Director Lydia Perakis and Production Director LOLA, ESTIA Day Fest is an extension of ESTIA Creative Home, a platform and arts hub that draws inspiration for the Greek goddess of the home […] Each of the main stage pieces created worlds and many of them crafted homes as well thorough scenery and subject matter alike.”

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Winner:

Marine Fox writes about:

• RIZOMA by choreographer Cecilia Fontanesi in collaboration with visual artist Fred Hatt

• David Appel's The Unfolding Scene (each time we meet)
   

“What I found most inspiring was how "RIZOMA" elegantly bridges the gap between art and science, drawing from neuroscience and environmental philosophy to tell a story about cooperation, predation, and natural harmony. It made me think about intelligence in a new way — not as something hierarchical but as a web of interactions, all crucial to survival and balance. Ethically, the piece is strikingly relevant. It reminds us of our responsibility to recognize and protect the interdependence that exists within ecosystems — between species, plants, and even us humans.”

“Ultimately, The Unfolding Scene is an invitation to observe how we move through life, balancing our personal trajectories with those of the people around us. Appel’s piece asks us to consider the ways in which we meet others, both physically and emotionally, and whether we can, even for a moment, step out of time to truly engage with the present. This meditation on human connection was made all the more poignant by the intelligence and artistry of the dancers, particularly in those duets that felt like conversations taking place in motion.”

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Winner:

Layla Barber writes about:

• An Evening With Ballet X

• Healing with Bill T. Jones’ Still/Here
   

“This piece was an explicit display of the company member’s excellent technical facility and complex partner work. [Jodie]Gates’ partnering choreography […] relied on challenging shifts in weight placement, which was interesting to see. In combination with the heartening music scheme, the movement quality of the dancers expressed a type of optimism and hope; albeit occasionally interrupted by corny hugging that could have had more depth…Following a short pause, the audience was catapulted away from Gates’ hopefulness, and into the stern world of Takehiro Ueyama’s piece, Heroes. The start of the work unfolded with a slow duet between a female and male presenting dancer, both in striking red suits. While extremely grounded through the entire runtime, there was a sense of urgency in the group section following the duet which made it quite an interesting watch […] Ending the evening was a peculiar and subversive piece by Loughlan Prior, set to the musical score by Claire Cowan. Every element […] was an unexpected and fascinating celebration of queerness.”

“Bill T. Jones’ Still/Here, staged on the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company provides a raw and captivating account of human illness. Though it’s premiere 30 years ago was met with major controversy, the complexities of the work do not just echo the distant cries of the AIDS epidemic; rather, audiences are thrust into the reality that sickness is inescapable and intertwined in everyone’s life in some way.”

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Honorable Mentions:
 

Best Quote:

By John Gillespie about Maureen Fleming's The Alchemists Veil 
 

“She is equally choreographer, danceographer,” photographer, lyricist, and coordinating master of the multiple aesthetic aspects of performance, reminiscent of an orchestral conductor. Restated, she doesn’t “do” dance, she is the dance; she doesn’t merely perform, she’s the total performance.”

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Best Intro:

Daniel Williams on Alison Cook Beatty Dance in Take Root at Green Space

 

“The word that comes to mind is captivating.”

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Best Visual Art Representing Dance:

Chuck Schultz on Terry Back’s return to Tomlinson Theater, presented by Temple University Dance Department
 

Mentioned in Four Reviews Below:

• Writer  Nicholas RiesGerzog on Elements of Life starring Umami Playground Dance Company at Sparkfest in Texas

“But it was Dahyun Kim's nuanced performance that added an extra layer of expressiveness and connection. Her ability to embody the essence of each element, from the moon's tranquility to the sun's fiery power, left a lasting impression…”

• Writer Jaden Lee on Club Caucus at WADE Pride Residency featuring Fever Dream Dance Collective

“Among the talented ensemble, Dahyun Kim's performance shone brightly, offering a captivating and nuanced interpretation of the work’s biting critique.”

• Writer Yiran Shu on Joy by Dahyun Kim at Queensboro Dance Festival 2022

“In 흥|Joy, Dahyun Kim offered a fresh, invigorating perspective on Korean culture, challenging the often one-dimensional view of it as reserved or melancholic. Her performance was a vivid expression of resilience and the ability to find exuberance even in the face of life's struggles.”​

• Writer Chaewon Jeong-Review on Dahyun Kim and Miaotian Sun (X & Y Quadrant Dance Company)'s DUMBO Performance 

“Choreographed by Dahyun Kim and Miaotian Sun, Blooming | 绽放 | 개화 was a standout piece at the Dumbo Dance Festival, offering a visually and emotionally compelling exploration of growth, transformation, and cultural fusion.”

Dahyun Kim. Photo shared on  The Dance Enthusiast's Audience Reviews section

 

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The Dance Enthusiast’s DAY IN THE LIFE covers the stories behind dance/performance and creates conversation. For more behind-the-scenes stories from NYC and beyond, click here.

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