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Dancing Into a New Decade

"Historias rotas" "The Reflective Surface" "Radical Impact"
AXIS Dance Company
Z Space
San Francisco, CA
May 4, 2018

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano 2018

AXIS Dance Company entered its fourth decade with a new staff and new dancers, six of them. Performing Radical Impact Tour at Z Space in San Francisco finally gave the company a decent-sized stage and good lighting possibilities. The program offered a world premiere by former company member Nadia Adame, “Historias rotas;” a reworked version of Amy Seiwert’s 2017 ”The Reflective Surface;” and Artistic Director Marc Brew’s 2017 “Radical Impact.” Changes as extensive as those AXIS went through lately, can raise unrealistic expectation or nostalgia for the past. None of these proved to be the case. The company has weathered its transition excellently; it can look forward to whatever challenges it makes for itself and, hopefully, become part of “main stream” dance. 

AXIS Dance Company dancers in Amy Seiwer's "The Reflective Surface"
Photo: David DeSilva

Taking it Easy

"The Four Seasons", "Circus Polka", "Easy", "A Suite of Dances", "Something to Dance About"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
May 3, 2018

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2018 by Mary Cargill

New York City Ballet's Spring gala celebrated Jerome Robbins' 100 birthday with three of his works, a premiere by Justin Peck, and a lavish compilation of Robbins' Broadway choreography.  Maria Kowroski introduced the evening with a gracious speech and reminded the audience that she is the only dancer at NYCB who actually worked with Robbins. She remembered him in rehearsals stressing "easy does it", not, she insisted, that the choreography was easy, but that the dancers should make it look easy and spontaneous.

New York City Ballet in "The Four Seasons" photo © Paul Kolnik

Six Complete the Dozen

Program C: "Bespoke" "Your Flesh Shall be a Great Poem" "Guernica"
Program D: "The Infinite Ocean" "Let's Begin at the End" "Bjork Ballet"
San Francisco Ballet
War Memorial Opera House
April 24 and 26, 2018

by Rita Felciano
© Rita Felciano 2018

Program C. The third evening of unbound’s premieres felt like an example of the direction contemporary ballet is taking. It also probably offered at least one example that everyone could like in this program. Beautifully danced, each of the works highlighted the excellence and versatility of these dancers who often had to radically switch gears more than their bodies might be comfortable with. Stanton Welch’s “Bespoke” showed him as a skilled and experienced choreographer who, hopefully, will be inspired by premieres from his more adventurous colleagues. Trey McIntyre’s slipper ballet “Your Flesh Shall be a Great Poem” is a tribute to his deceased father, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s fiercely dramatic “Guernica” looked at Picasso’s painting as a specifically Spanish work of art.

Benjamin Freemantle in "Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem
Photo: Erik Tomasson