NEWS | CHARACTERISTICS | PREVIEWS | EVENTS By Brent Johnson, JerseyArts.com originally published: 08/14/2019 It started, of course, as a 19th-century whimsical children’s book. In the 1950s, it was made into a Disney cartoon. And 60 years later, Tim Burton has turned it into a piece of modern cinema. Now “Alice in Wonderland” is reimagined […]
Click to enlarge Marc Simpson Photography Dancers and choreographers Madeline Kendall and Alan Obuzor Ultramodern dance choreographed to modern pop takes center stage in fly and fall, the first performance of Texture Contemporary Ballet’s ninth season. New, expanded and reformulated choreography will be performed during the season opener at the New Hazlett Theater July 18-21. […]
Alexandra Tiso (Photo: Mark Simpson Photography) By Steve SucatoPittsburgh Current Dance Writerinfo@pittsburghcurrent.com Home cooking has been a staple of Texture Contemporary Ballet and its menu of dance works has been served to local audiences for the past decade. For its ninth season opener fly and fall, July 18-21 at the New Hazlett Theater, the company […]
To create “Star Dust”, a love letter to david bowie, choreographer Dwight Rhoden immersed himself in the music of the man. He listened at home, in the car, at the gym as he sifted through decades of songs, personalities and styles to select just a fraction of the works for the Complexes Contemporary Ballets production. […]
Adults are invited to immersion classes at Ballet Tennessee Imagine gliding across the stage in a series of bourrées – steps so small that you appear to be moving while remaining still. Looks like you’re not quite touching the surface. Of course, you say to yourself, if I were ten (or fifty) years younger, ten […]
Marc Simpson Photography The unknown dancers Alexandra Tiso and Alan Obuzor Alexander Graham Bell’s adage “When one door closes, another door opens” came true for Alexandra Tiso of Texture Contemporary Ballet. to earn a place in the professional company. When that door closed, Alan Obuzor, one of her instructors at PBT, opened the door to […]
The Joyce Theater catapults its scintillating 2019 season that encompasses an array of contemporary international movements with the celebrated and acclaimed COMPLEXIONS Contemporary Ballet. The company and its creators — founding artistic director/choreographer Dwight Rhoden (responsible for 80 ballets for COMPLEXIONS) and co-artistic director Desmond Richardson (ABT’s first African-American principal dancer who also performed on […]
During a recent rehearsal, 69-year-old choreographer William Forsythe jumped and sprinted with gusto, modeling elaborate footwork for dancer Lia Cirio. The choreographer, one of the world’s most influential, frowned, muttered split-second vowel sounds – “Dah”, “Dee”, “Ooh” – as he demonstrated the precise steps that wanted Cirio. Sometimes if he was inspired by Cirio’s own […]
NORTH ADAMS — In tutus, toe shoes and stage make-up, the dancers of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo are gorgeous and hard-working. The bodies are muscular, broad-shouldered and tall, with unabashed body hair. No wraith-like waifs in this company of men. Saturday night, Jacob’s Pillow brings The Trocks to the Mass MoCA for an […]
The world premiere of ‘The Jungle Book’ presented by Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater features headpieces designed by Tentacle Studios, whose clients include Lady Gaga, Kesha and the Royal Ballet. Axelrod’s new Contemporary Ballet Theater will kick off its first full season with an innovative take on “East Meets West” of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale about […]
Smuin Contemporary Ballet celebrates its silver anniversary with the annual Smuin Gala, hosted by Co-Chairs Patti and Jerry Hume and Athena and John Konstin along with the Smuin Board of Directors and Friends of Smuin Committee. Honoring 25 years at the forefront of contemporary ballet, San Francisco’s artistic, civic and philanthropic leaders will mingle with […]
Before participating in the Alonzo King LINES Ballet summer program at age 18, Maya Harr did not have much experience in improvisation. In fact, she was so introverted that even the word sounded scary. “The teacher came into the studio, turned off the lights, put on some music and told us to dance,” says Harr, […]
Hot off the heels of last weekend’s Anchorage Concert Association “Nutcracker” extravaganza, every production company in south-central Alaska is taking a turn in the classic Christmas ballet. Pulse Dance Studio is there this weekend, as is the Glenn Massay Theater down the valley, but let’s not forget that ‘The Nutcracker’ is at the heart of […]
Saturday 24 – 25 November After last year’s success, Erie Contemporary Ballet Theater is sweetening the east side by returning to the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center in Mercyhurst for their fourth annual performance of Nutcracker. Although the location and well-known story of the Christmas season’s favorite ballet remains the same, viewers can still expect […]
Smuin dancers Valerie Harmon (bottom), Max van der Sterre (middle) and Peter Kurta (top) with company in Ben Needham-Wood’s ‘Echo’. Photo: Keith Sutter / Dance Smuin Smuin Contemporary Ballet opened its silver anniversary season on Friday, September 21, and founder Michael Smuin would surely be proud of what his namesake company has achieved since his […]
Award-winning ballerina, choreographer and artistic director Shoko Tamai returns with her company of five dancers and martial artists for the 2018 season of NINJA BALLET at The Secret Theater, 4402 23rd Street, Long Island City, NY. The company will present five performances, from Thursday June 28 to Sunday July 1. The company’s new work, “MA”, […]
Embracing artistic director Victor Quijada’s unusual journey from the streets of Los Angeles to the helm, Montreal-based RUBBERBANDance uses the spontaneity of hip-hop, the sophistication of ballet and the expressiveness of contemporary dance to create fresh and dynamic. A reflection of the freedom and openness of Montreal’s bubbling dance scene, the March 24 show entitled […]
There’s something remarkably charming about the mix of the traditional and the contemporary – as if two completely different cultures and eras were merged into one. “Jangala” by the Oakland Ballet Company is an example. The production is the brainchild of Graham Lustig, Artistic Director of the Oakland Ballet Company, who wanted to bring the […]
On the eve of International Women’s Day, renowned Canadian company Ballet BC presents an electric trio of performances led by women Sadler’s Well March 07, 2018 On the eve of International Women’s Day, Sadler’s Wells invited BC Ballet, Canada’s premier contemporary ballet company, to present a captivating triple program – one by Emily Molnar (the […]
The studios reflect a traditional Russian ballet academy, with senior instructors who received their Vaganova ballet training at top professional institutions and danced in professional ballet companies. “I want to show the beauty of ballet, and my goal is to have my students create visual art for the public,” says Nikolai Morschakov, Artistic Director and […]
Music takes center stage in the seventh season of Texture Contemporary Ballet, resounding soundJuly 20-23 at the New Hazlett Theater. The three-act program features seven works performed by members of Texture Company and guest dancers from Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Quad Cities Ballet, Butler University and Point Park University. Two major premieres will close the program, […]
High above downtown Los Angeles, in a cavernous room with almost as many mirrors as windows, the dancers of the American Contemporary Ballet and seven valiant musicians used short pieces to explore one of the most depths of human culture: the influence of the past on the gift. Almost all companies that dance 19th century […]
Texture Contemporary Ballet closes its home season with Speed, a program of new ballets by members of the company, from March 17-19 at the New Hazlett Theatre. As usual, the production includes premieres from Artistic Director Alan Obuzor and Associate Artistic Director Kelsey Bartman, starting with Bartman’s “When a Fairytale Ends.” Set to music by […]
LONDON — As an African-American soloist with the UK’s Royal Ballet, Eric Underwood says he’s often asked why the ballet world isn’t very diverse. It’s complicated, says Underwood. Race, income, social hierarchies, and other factors often conspire to create a situation that excludes people of color from the serious pursuit of dance. “I think because […]
Entering its 15th season, Bodiography Contemporary Ballet, like many dance companies, has gone through a number of changes in its lifetime – changes in dancers, repertoire and, to some extent, vision. One constant, however, has been the affable, Energizer Bunny presence of founder/artistic director Maria Caruso. The face, heart and soul of Bodiography, Caruso was […]
Dwight Rhoden called on more than a dozen dancers to gather online to review some choreography. He would check a handful of points in his ballet before running through it. Each revealed a stylized outline of the movement and an excerpt from a David Bowie song, nine of which form the score for Stardust, a […]
The Festival Ballet Theater will open its 28th season this week with a production that combines dance, multimedia stage projections, an original musical score and a well-known children’s novel from 1911. “The Secret Garden”, choreographed by Josie Walsh, invites the public to see Movement of the 21st century interpreted by dancers who study an art […]
Back-to-school season is in full swing and as many young dancers across the country prepare for another big season of dance training, Miami has started its school year without one of its oldest dance schools. and the most prestigious. Ballet Concerto School founders Martha del Pino and Sonia Diaz announced to their student body in […]
Forget an elaborate scene and get ready to watch up close dancers in action as the American Contemporary Ballet performs a new show on the top floor of a downtown Los Angeles skyscraper with majestic views of the city in the background. The Los Angeles-based company, which is known for performing in unusual intimate venues […]
Complexions Contemporary Ballet is known for tackling current social issues through music and movement, and the New York-based company’s next three nights in Los Angeles are no exception, especially a piece inspired by Maya Angelou . The Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center series is set to host Complexions when it returns to […]
How are music and movement linked in contemporary ballet? Music can be composed for dance moves, dance can be created for music, and sometimes they are created independently – coming together on stage. Susan Lewis of WRTI has more. JohnKingMusicinDancerev041116SLLF.mp3 Composer John King chats with WRTI’s Susan Lewis about his new work with choreographer Kevin […]
For his latest production, reflections, Texture Contemporary Ballet adds a bit more texture. The company, whose programs for five seasons have been dominated by the ballets of artistic director Alan Obuzor and associate artistic director Kelsey Bartman, will include works by three other choreographers, including a performance by guest dancer and quadruple amputee Kiera Brinkley. […]
Choreographers are often fueled by the last dance they did, so for the watchful viewer, watching how one bleeds into the next can be an exciting way to follow an artist’s career. Dwight Rhoden, who, along with Desmond Richardson, is founding artistic director of Dyed Contemporary Balletsmothered that notion on Tuesday with his two-part “chronicle,” […]
Melancholy. Fiery. Sensual. Piano Trio in A minor by Tchaikovsky, Op. 50, a monumental work composed in 1882, covers the whole emotional range. Add a balletic element, and it flies away. He is the rare choreographer capable of materializing this haunting and haunting work. Lincoln Jones, artistic director of the American Contemporary Ballet, rose to […]