Debra Cash
Screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre on October 2nd, the Bolshoi’s Bolt is a curiosity worth exploring, a meditation on the Russian past that could only be produced after the nightfall of Stalinism. After all, in some eyes composer Dimitri Shostakovich may have been a stooge, but he was never an obtuse one. Reviewed by…
Read MoreWhat is a Judicial Review? It is a fresh approach to creating a conversational, critical space about the arts. The aim is to combine editorial integrity with the community—making power of interactivity. This is our second session. Hear Ye! Hear Ye! For dance critic Debra Cash, Serenade/The Proposition, the first of Bill T. Jones’s investigations…
Read MoreIn Serenade/The Proposition, the first of Bill T. Jones’ investigations into the myth and legacy of Abraham Lincoln, the choreographer looks at history and history looks back. By Debra Cash Cash was the professional critic on the Judicial Review panel reacting to Bill T. Jones’ Serenade/The Proposition at Jacob’s Pillow, July 21 through 25. She…
Read MoreKarole Armitage, once known as a “punk ballerina,” brings her dance troupe to the Berkshires. By Debra Cash Where has dancer Karole Armitage gone? Is “gone” a verb or adjective? Why has she put an exclamation mark smack in the middle of her new company’s name? The articulate choreographer with A-list artist friends, sweethearts and…
Read MoreThe time is right for the revival of ballet about a country mouse who becomes a Parisian courtesan. The Royal Ballet’s production of “Manon,” presented by the Bank of America Celebrity Series and the Wang Center for the Performing Arts. By Debra Cash We’re living in a gilded age when everything and everyone seems to…
Read MoreBy Debra Cash From the hype, you’d think that ten years ago British choreographer/director Matthew Bourne was the first person to develop a post-Freudian “Swan Lake” or cross-dress a ballet production, and you’d be wrong. You’d be right, however, to call Matthew Bourne’s “Swan Lake” a phenomenon. In 1996-97 the work became the longest running…
Read MoreA Mark Morris world premiere is turning the attention of the national press to the state of the Boston Ballet Company under new director Mikko Nissinen. By Debra Cash Choreographer Mark Morris once said something to the effect that after George Balanchine died, people started to believe that every work Balanchine had ever choreographed was…
Read MoreBy Debra Cash Rusty Frank sent this note last night… Our friend, our legend, our hero, our idol, our humanitarian Fayard Nicholas passed away peacefully at home tonight at 8:30pm, January 24, 2006. He was surrounded by friends and his loving wife, Katherine Hopkins Nicholas.
Read MoreBy Debra Cash Only medical skill, the support of friends and family and perhaps the prayers of his fans can help Fayard Nicholas recover from the stroke the gentlemanly 91-year old African-American dancer suffered on November 22, 2005. But those of us who thrilled to the virtuoso tap dancing of the Nicholas Brothers in the…
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Dance Commentary: Dance Giant Martha Graham — Genius at Risk
Years of bitter and expensive litigation as well as the challenging nature of her work have put the artistic legacy of dance giant Martha Graham in crisis. By Debra Cash Imagine, for a moment, that the only people who could experience Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings were those who had lived during his lifetime. Future generations…
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