I review Frederick Wiseman's La Danse … [Read more...]
Archives for 2009
Coming to a big screen near you…
Frederick Wiseman's La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet--soon it will be all up and down the West Coast and in select cities in other parts of the country. Its stay at the Film Forum here in New York has been extended for at least another two weeks. Agnès Letestu and Mathieu Ganio rehearse Genus, choreographed by Wayne McGregor. Photo courtesy of Zipporah Films and Film Forum. Here is a chunk of my … [Read more...]
Friday November 13 (oooh, spooky):
Tere O'Connor's miraculous Wrought Iron Fog … [Read more...]
Go: Tere O’Connor and company’s “Wrought Iron Fog” at Dance Theater Workshop
Treat yourself, if you're so lucky: you only have till Saturday, and Wednesday, the house was packed. Some critics have been ambivalent--Gia Kourlas in the NY Times and Kathleen O'Connor at Danceviewtimes. I was enthralled, and set free for flashes of insight, from blast off to lights out. O'Connor is a brilliant choreographer, but his Mommy and Baby dances (2006 and 2004, respectively) … [Read more...]
Thursday November 5
Horrendous Karole Armitage premiere; lovely Han Tang Yuefu drama … [Read more...]
Armitage toys with Africans; Han Tang Yuefu Music and Dance Ensemble brings ancient debauchery to life
Karole Armitage is a choreographer who misses more than she hits, but even that bumpy track record didn't prepare me for Itutu, playing BAM for a mercifully short run this week. Here are the first few paragraphs of my Financial Times review, out tomorrow: If cultural appropriation didn't already have a bad name, Karole Armitage's Itutu (until Saturday) would give it one. That the choreographer … [Read more...]
Saturday October 31:
A subdued Garth Fagan season at the Joyce this year … [Read more...]
A subdued Garth Fagan
Mudan 175/39 by Garth Fagan. Photo by Paula Summit.I don't think this year's Joyce season is the best showing of Fagan's work. There's only one premiere--the lovely Mudan--but even that wouldn't be a problem if the rep didn't also fall on the minimalist end of the Fagan scale. Still, I admire the Rochester choreographer's aim and method enough to not much mind if one year is less revelatory than … [Read more...]
Monday October 26
Spooky shows from two gay icons: Bill T. Jones and Joe Goode … [Read more...]
Spooky shows from Bill T. Jones and Joe Goode
I asked my friend and Foot colleague Paul Parish whether I could paste some of his review last week of Bill T. Jones's and Joe Goode's latest shows--Jones's is the big Lincoln fete we New Yorkers will be getting some side dishes from later this month at the Joyce--and he said, yes, please. There's all sorts of observations Paul makes that have me starting up with excitement--the unusual way … [Read more...]