The L.A. dance scene of late has felt a fresh momentum. And the decade-long accumulation -- of new companies, new venues, new academies and institutions, prestige teachers and choreographers -- took a leap in cumulative power this past month, thanks to the debut of an elegant digital source called Dance Map L.A. Simple census taking can be a … [Read more...]
Equal Parts Hip-Hop and High Art, Seattle’s Amy O’Neal Tours “Opposing Forces”
At quick glance, the dance lineup for this year’s Off Center Festival at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa might appear underwhelming. There’s the Barcelona-based performance group Agrupación Señor Serrano, which advertises “minimalist choreography” among its many attributes. And then, as the concluding act of the festival, there are … [Read more...]
Top 10 Must-See Dance Concerts in L.A. this Year
If you count carefully, you'll actually find 16 concerts listed here. I expanded the roundup I wrote for the OC Register -- which highlights the great companies that Orange County's deep-pocketed Segerstrom Center and Irvine Barclay can bring in -- to add a few more affordable offerings in Los Angeles and beyond. It's a good year for dance: read … [Read more...]
Great Moments in L.A. Dance in 2013
With strong flavors of Stravinsky, Balanchine, and Trisha Brown, 2013 was a satisfying year for iconic dance, and dance music, in Los Angeles. The centennial of Stravinsky’s game-changing “Rite of Spring” for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes delivered unto us both the Joffrey’s faithful reconstruction of the nervy Nijinsky choreography and, earlier in … [Read more...]
Bruno Beltrão’s Grupo de Rua in “H3″
[First published on Seattle Dances.] I have been waiting all fall for the Seattle debut of Bruno Beltrão’s company, Grupo de Rua. From what I read, I expected to see dark, volcanic Brazilian street dancers performing hip-hop without the accompanying loud, rapping pulse -- to thus feel time stilled and movement writ large. Though hip hop started up … [Read more...]
Bruno Beltrão’s Grupo de Rua
At On the Boards, Fri - Sun Jan 28 - 31, 2010 @ 8pm. This ghostly, washed-out photo of Grupo de Rua, the contemporary Brazilian troupe run by Bruno Beltrão that's performing at On the Boards this weekend, is actually a good indicator of the luminous cinematic quality of H3, a 50-minute dance work for nine men. (Check Seattle Dances soon for a full … [Read more...]
2009: Five Best Moments in Dance
In Seattle and otherwise... 1) "Esplanade" at the UW Meany Hall World Dance series. The dance that I saw as a young child that hooked me forever. It looked a little off-balance with a full-size woman in the jumping-over-bodies role (Lila York, for whom it was created, told me once that it indicated Paul Taylor's belief that the meek shall … [Read more...]