Dance-Enthusiast.com Features

IMPRESSIONS: Raquel Almazán “La Paloma Prisoner” at Chelsea Factory

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

"As a work of interdisciplinary theater, La Paloma Prisoner participates in the essential work of activism through embodied storytelling drawn from authentic and sustained community engagement." Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, New York City

IMPRESSIONS: The Living Earth Show and Post:Ballet Present "Lyra" at 92Y

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

"The Living Earth Show’s Lyra emphasizes this power by harmoniously weaving together the digital and physical world through a seamless integration of dance, film and live music." — Cecly Placenti, New York

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Duke Dang on the Exciting Evolution of Works and Process at the Guggenheim

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

"I’m most excited about the Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival [...] Over the course of five days we will feature 15 companies, all of whom have received Works & Process LaunchPAD residency support. Many are actually coming directly from their Works & Process residencies so the work will look GREAT!" — Duke Dang, Executive Director of Works & Process at the Guggenheim, NYC

IMPRESSIONS: "Here Now" Presented by LaneCoArts and Abarukas at Peridance Capezio Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"The two dances presented in Here Now offer multiple perspectives on how we fall into social patterns [...] Both works remind us to listen to each other, our moral conscience, and our planet." — Kristen Hedberg, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Danspace Project Presents “Ayano Elson + Wendell Gray II: A Shared Evening”

The Dance Enthusiast — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Last month at Danspace Project, choreographers Ayano Elson and Wendell Gray II shared an evening-length program infused with mystery. Gray offered in the port’s mouth while Elson brought Part Song/Immortal Life. None of the dancers touch." — Catherine Tharin

IMPRESSIONS: Dorrance Dance’s "The Nutcracker Suite" at New York City Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"I came away wanting to go back and treat myself to the whole thing all over again. Here’s hoping Dorrance Dance’s Nutcracker becomes an annual New York holiday tradition!" — Lisa Jo Sagolla, New York

IMPRESSIONS: "FRONTERA" by Animals of Distinction at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Despite the length of the surveillance scanning, Frontera certainly has many arresting images..."— Henning Rübsam, New York

IMPRESSIONS: PAGEANT Presents "Cavity" by Amelia Heintzelman with Dorothy Carlos

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Cavity is a work in response to Heintzelman’s emergency surgery for a ruptured ovarian cyst some years ago. I was drawn to her description: “a violence inside my body invisible to everyone except my surgeon.” I experienced her and Carlos’s performance with questions about inhabitance and authority." — Hannah Leiberman, Brooklyn, NY

IMPRESSIONS: "Obsessed with Light," a Documentary on Loie Fuller at Quad Cinema

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

IMPRESSIONS: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre at New York City Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Neither conjuring the sexy virility of the early Ailey dances, nor the athleticism of later ones, this solo has a wistful quality, danced as though love is out of reach. In A Song for You, we appreciate both Ailey’s and Gilmore's abilities to share vulnerability." — Deirdre Towers, New York

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Guest Writer Pia Catton Introduces Us to the Remarkable Lili Tewes

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

" When I was 10, a Hawai’ian dance company came to Hamburg to perform, and I joined one of their workshops. My feet just knew where they were going! At one point, my now kumu hula (master teacher) said, “Are you sure you are not Hawai’ian?” — Lili Tewes, New York

IMPRESSIONS: "A Very SWING OUT Holiday" at The Joyce Theater

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"The curtain rises to reveal festivities already in full swing and the owners of those feet Lindy-Hopping alone and in pairs. The show, created by dancers Evita Arce, LaTasha Barnes, Nathan Bugh, Caleb Teicher and bandmaster Eyal Vilner, is more jubilee than standard performance, and its boisterous energy is infectious." — Cecly Placenti, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Ismaël Mouaraki's "Le sacre de Lila" at New York Live Arts

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"The dancers explore trance by drawing inspiration from the Lila (“night” in Arabic) ceremonies of North Africa traditionally practiced among Maghreb communities." — Kristen Hedberg, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Kyle Abraham's “Dear Lord, Make Me Beautiful” at Park Avenue Armory

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

“Beautiful” is not a word I use..." — Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Paul Taylor Dance Company's Fall Season at Lincoln Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"But what a “welcome back” it was! From the moment the curtain went up on Taylor’s Aureole (1962) – kicking-off the first of four performances I attended — the old sensations came pouring back. The familiar Taylor vocabulary... The lively Baroque music, and those elegantly simple costumes, usually variations on a unitard that reveal the dancers’ every move. And the dancers were spectacular." — Lisa Jo Sagolla

IMPRESSIONS: Slowdance and Lucia Gagliardone Present “while I was homegrowing” in Association with The Tank

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Colorful clothing, an extremely varied yet traceable soundscore, and evocative memories spoken by Gagliardone’s father contributed to this rich and nuanced process, but it was the performers’ palpable care, respect, and admiration for one another that anchored the work in earnest compassion." — Hannah Lieberman, New York

IMPRESSIONS: "The Stranger" by Yang Sun & Poets, A Work in Process at Hi-Arts

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"These questions and themes surrounding identity linger with me after witnessing Yang Sun’s riveting work in process, The Stranger, at Hi-Arts.The interdisciplinary, immersive work set on Sun’s collective Yang Sun & Poets unites dance, dramaturgy, installation, music and text to compellingly capture immigration stories." Kristen Hedberg, New York

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: David Parker on the 22nd Consecutive Season of The Bang Group’s “Nut/Cracked”

The Dance Enthusiast — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"I would just go right for the essence of what the winter holidays have meant to us in American culture and in dance culture. Because there's really no place besides the United States where the Nutcracker is so unavoidable. It's the one ballet that most Americans have seen. So I decided to dispense with the story and present it as a vaudeville." — David Parker, New York

POSTCARDS: Jayda Hazelett of Ballet Hartford on the Company's “A Ceremony of Carols” Winter Tour

The Dance Enthusiast — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"We dove into choreography right away, and I’m thrilled with the many opportunities I have to dance. Some pieces, like Weihnachtsbaum, choreographed by Claire, are new, and it’s been exciting to be part of the creative process, with choreography tailored specifically to the dancers." — Jayda Hazelett, Hartford Ballet

IMPRESSIONS: Nadia Beugré's "Quartiers Libres" Revisited at New York Live Arts

The Dance Enthusiast — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Beugré, who in an interview with Bill T. Jones admits she has a hard time placing her art in a box, does not specify the work as any one “type of dance or art.” Rather, the performers create an open, exploratory experience, which challenges us to ponder each scenario and action." — Kristen Hedberg, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Omar Román De Jesús and Boca Tuya at 92NY Harkness Dance Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Just a couple of minutes into artistic director Omar Román De Jesús’ group work Los Perros del Barrio Colosal, I feel my shoulders relax. This guy knows what he’s doing. While the dance might not always gel with its program notes, it not only stands on its own, but, better yet, it shows a sense of humor." — Henning Rübsam, New York City

IMPRESSIONS: Dances We Dance Presents "Acqua"

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"This corny opener proves to be one of only a few missteps in Acqua, an otherwise engaging program honoring the harmonious confluence of body, mind, and spirit, as exemplified in the works of modern dance’s pioneers and
founders." — Henning Rübsam, New York

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

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"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-Founding Editor-in-Chief

IMPRESSIONS: Reflections on "Still/Here" 30 Years Later, Performed by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company at BAM

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Traumatized by the effects of the AIDS epidemic when I first saw the piece in 1994, I needed two additional viewings, thirty years later, to comprehend that the work is not limited to dealing with HIV, but that it addresses and inspires everyone facing terminal illness." — Henning Rübsam, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Dual Rivet’s "Subscript" Choreography by Chelsea Ainsworth, Jessica Smith and Cast at 92NY

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Dual Rivet’s compelling new evening-length work Subscript speaks to control and shifting power structures. It combines detailed and imaginative set designs with visceral dancing and compelling characterizations." — Kristen Hedberg, New York