Features > Dance NewsHappenings in the Field

Dance News: Symphony Space Presents "Selected Shorts: Dance in America"

Starring Carmen de Lavallade, Bebe Neuwirth, Tony Shalhoub, Tony Yazbeck, Patricia Kalember and Gabrielle Lamb

Legendary dancer and choreographer Carmen de Lavallade, Bebe Neuwirth (Madam Secretary), Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), and Tony Yazbeck (On the Town) perform rich, eloquent, and humorous works about the beauty and magic of American dance, inspired by the newest Library of America collection, Dance in America: A Reader’s Anthology. Hosted by Patricia Kalember (The Tick) and featuring the debut of a commissioned dance piece inspired by Ben Loory's short story "The Cape," choreographed by Gabrielle Lamb of Pigeonwing Dance.

Photo credit: Symphont Space.

Selected Shorts is produced by Symphony Space and broadcast on more than 150 stations around the country. The Selected Shorts podcast consistently ranks as one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes. The series began in 1985 and enjoys sold-out performances to this day. Selected Shorts was conceived with a simple premise: take great stories by well-known and emerging writers and have them performed by terrific actors of stage and screen. Featuring stories around a lively theme, the favorite works of a guest author, or a special collaboration, each Selected Shorts event is a unique night of literature in performance.

Spanning two centuries, 100 selections about the beauty and magic of American dance—from ballet and Balanchine to tap and swing.

Dance in America: A Reader’s Anthology is a landmark collection edited by dance critic Mindy Aloff, who brings together an astonishing array of writers—dancers and dance creators, impresarios and critics, and enthusiastic literary observers—to tell the remarkable story of the artistry, innovation, and sheer joy of a great American art form. Here is dance in its many varieties and locales: from tap and swing to ballet and modern dance, from Five Points to Radio City Music Hall, and from the Lindy Hop to Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk. With 100 selections spanning three centuries, this is the biggest and best anthology on American dance ever published. The Dance Enthusiast extends our congratulations to the former dance enthusiast contributor on her remarkable accomplishment!