danceviewtimes

Fashion Forward

"The Wind Still Brings", "Composer's Holiday", "Not Our Fate", "Pulcinella Variations"
New York City Ballet
Koch Theater
New York, New York
September 27, 2017

by Mary Cargill 
copyright © 2017 by Mary Cargill

New York City Ballet's Fall gala, with its now traditional spotlight on fashion designers, clocked in at an efficient two hours. There was a brief opening film with glimpses of the new designs, no speeches, no intermissions, and four new ballets. The first three shared a distinct family resemblance (opaque titles, young dancers, bare legs, and an energetic lack of structure) while the last one, by the resident choreographer Justin Peck, had a generous sampling of New York City Ballet's magnificent principals in an astringently formal mood.

New York City Ballet in "Pulcinella Variations" photo © Paul Kolnik.

Sameness

Kyoko Ruch’s “Erospace” and “”When Snails Collide”

Kennedy Center 2017 Local Dance Commissions

Millennium Stage North

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Washington, DC

September 28, 2017

 

by George Jackson

© 2017 by George Jackson

 

Ranging over varied dance terrain, Kyoko Ruch’s choreography gives the viewer no wild ride. In “Erospace”, a persistent female soloist balances barefoot on a leg and then ambulates on all four limbs, stretches  balletically and goes on to crouch in a callisthenic way against the video of an operator’s hand working plugs on an an electronic soundboard. The soloist keeps twisting, bending, unspooling fairly busily, projecting effort and endurance but investing her diverse motions with a uniform dynamic.

 

Photo: Kyoko Ruch’s "Eurospace." Photo courtesy of the Kennedy Center.  

 

 

The Heart of the Matter

"Swan Lake"
New York City Ballet
Koch Theater
New York, New York
September 27, 2017

by Mary Cargill 
copyright © 2017 by Mary Cargill

Peter Martins' "Swan Lake", for all its problematic moments, does leave the iconic black and white pas de deux reasonably intact, and, since they constitute "Swan Lake's" emotional core, a committed pair can wrest a moving performance from those dreary, blotchy paint drips. Even without Odette's mime to explain the situation (how is Martins' Siegfried to know that foreswearing Odette will doom her?) Tiler Peck and Chase Finlay, in their joint debuts, gave rich, moving, and enthralling performances.

Tiler Peck and Chase Finlay in "Swan Lake" photo © Paul Kolnik.

News flash! Martha Sherman has a new danceviewtimes blog!!

danceviewtimes is both pleased and proud to announce that Martha Sherman, who contributes to danceviewtimes as well as other publications, has a new blog, Martha's Dance Card. You'll find interviews, features and other articles about dance there.

Her first piece -- In Dialogue with a canary torsi about CAST/STAGE/AUTHOR -- is a two-part interview with a very interesting artist. Martha writes:

"The name of her company is an anagram, and Yanira Castro’s expectation is that the work is not in her name only. Castro’s insistence on collaboration is central to everything she makes, and includes not only the performers, but every other element of performance: the design, sound, light, script. And the audience."

read more -- click the link above 

 

 

Debuts in NYCB's "Swan Lake"

“Swan Lake”
New York City Ballet
Koch Theater
New York, New York
September 26, 2017

by Gay Morris
copyright © 2017 by Gay Morris

Megan Fairchild has long been known for a virtuosic technique that allows her to sail through demanding ballets like “Ballo della Regina” and “Allegro Brilliante,” making it look no harder than walking. But she has also been labeled “small” at New York City Ballet, a company that favors taller than average women. Until recently, Fairchild seemed to have accepted that description, taking it on as part of her persona, and it was not to her advantage. Even though she is far from short (5’ 4”), she played small, an eternal ingénue, excusing herself for being onstage with the grownups. Then, in 2014, she left the company to star on Broadway in “On the Town,” and when she returned, she was a changed dancer. She now attacks her roles with a ballerina’s authority. Critics took notice, and apparently so did NYCB director Peter Martins, because he cast her in the dual role of Odette/Odile in “Swan Lake,”  a far cry from her usual repertory.

Megan Fairchild as Odette and Gonzalo Garcia as Prince Siegfried in the first act of New York City Ballet's "Swan Lake." Photo by Paul Kolnik.

Changing Gears

"XO:Exquisite Orientation"
Paufve Dance
Joe Goode Annex
San Francisco, CA
Sept. 21, 2017

by Rita Felciano
copyright Rita Felciano © 2017

By weaving a series of duets about an evolving relationship into a fabric of the powers that hold us in thrall, Paufve Dance's "XO: Exquisite Orientation" inserted a hopeful note into a turbulent world. At a time when human folly appears to compete with natural catastrophes, such an enterprise might seem naïve or an act of blindness. But Randee Paufve is no Pollyanna; she calls her latest work an “act of resistance.” An eloquent, deeply considered piece,“XO” makes its points subtly, convincingly in terms of dance.

Dancer: Nadhi Thekke.Photo: Kaveri Seth.

 

Faustin Linyekula

“Banataba”
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, New York 
September 10, 2017

“In Search of Dinozord”(Sur les traces de Dinozord)
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
New York University
New York, New York
September 22, 2013

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2017 Gay Morris 

Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula has been bringing his work to New York for almost a decade, and each time he appears, he reveals something about himself and the questions he struggles with. This time he presented two pieces in separate venues that related to ideas of home and identity in very different ways.

“Banataba,” presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was the first. The Met’s policy dictates that artists performing in its galleries interact in some way with its collections. Linyekula found in the museum’s vast storage area a figure that came from his mother’s ancestral village. The Met staff, he said, was slightly embarrassed by the sculpture, saying that it wasn’t very important, perhaps even made for tourists, which is why it had never been on display. Nevertheless, Linyekula chose it. This led him on a journey back to his mother’s village, which he had not visited since childhood. His quest was to find another sculpture that he could bring back to New York to keep the Met figure company. “Banataba” documents that quest. 

Faustin Linyekula and Moya Michael in "Banataba" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Stephanie Berger. 

The Body Speaks

"Unwanted" 
Dorothee Munyaneza/Compagnie Kadidi 
Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York 
September 22, 2017

by Tom Phillips 
copyright 2017 by Tom Phillips 

Midway through "Unwanted," a woman steps forward and begins to sing "Ave Maria," in a sweet, clear soprano -- then suddenly rips the name of Mary into a horrific shriek. It's a heart-stopping moment that encapsulates the theme of this piece: the trauma of women raped in war, and the horror they experience bearing the children of their tormentors.   

Being and Belonging

MK Abadoo’s “youcanplayinthesun” and “LOCS”

Kennedy Center 2017 Local Dance Commissions

Millennium Stage North

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Washington, DC

September 21, 2017

 

by George Jackson

© 2017 by George Jackson

 

The choreographer Abadoo is a woman affiliated with Virginia Commonwealth University and The Dance Exchange, who has spent dance time in Ghana and performed with such modern/post-modern groups as David Dorfman Dance, Liz Lerman, Gesel Mason and Urban Bush Women. For this program she tied together her two distinct premiers, favored movement derived from body language and tasking, and had female casts. That all the dancers appeared to be “Black women” seemed less important to me than that they were of varied body types. That gave group work a home made flavor even though everyone looked well rehearsed and coordination was meticulous. The lessons illustrated in the “play” piece and the story enacted in “LOCS” supplemented each other subtlely.

 

Who is a Citizen?

 “Tides Tides Tides”
Jesse Hewit
“Ancient Children”
Embodiment Project
"OhMyEarthGoddess”
Monique Jenkinson
“Brilliant Alarm”
RAWdance
Yerba Buena Center for the Art
San Francisco, CA
September 14 and 15, 2017

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano 2017

The role of the citizen/artist or artist/citizen has always been a contentious one. Do artists have a responsibility towards the society of which they are part beyond the formal excellence of their work? Over the years, the answers have come down on both sides. But at a time when we cannot escape information about the world we live in, is there a particular urgency to re-visit the issue? The two-part Transform Festival, curated by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, YBCA’s Chief of Program and Pedagogy, makes an attempt by throwing out a challenge to local artists in the form of the wide-open “Why Citizenship?” The Fall Festival, with Giacomo Castagnola’s geometric multi-use sets, presented answers by designers, dancers and choreographers. Next May it will be the turn for theater, circus and multi-media artists.

Embodiment Project in "Ancient Children". Photo: David Wilson