“I believe artists create a safe space for unsafe ideas in our world.”
Dance
Dance Review: Magic Afoot
Energizing, joyful, expert, close to sure-fire, Chasing Magic was a great choice to reopen A.R.T. after the long pandemic shutdown.
Short Fuse Podcast #44: Bloodlines, Punk, and Other Delights
Elizabeth Howard talks to Stephen Petronio, choreographer, dancer, and the artistic director of the Stephen Petronio Company, about what plans forward-thinking artists have for the future.
Dance Review Flashback: The Irrepressible Dorrance Dance at Jacob’s Pillow
I can still feel the exhilaration, the rush of the opening of things, from that day.
Classical Album Review: François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles — “Stravinsky: Ballets Russes”
Texturally, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles’ serve up diaphanous performances.
Dance Review: LA’s Contra-Tiempo — An Ecstatic Dance for Justice
Contra-Tiempo sees the pandemic as an invitation for transformation: the performance questioned who we are, how do we move among each other, and what gives us joy.
Dance Review: Paris Opera Ballet’s “Body and Soul” — Dark and Potent Boogie
Body and Soul generates a whirligig of passions — joy, frustration, pleasure, and rage.
Dance Review: Abilities Dance Boston’s “Firebird Ballet” — Taking Inspiring Flight
Re-envisioning and performing this beloved classic ballet with dancers that identify as disabled seems to me to be the definition of courageous.
Classical CD Review: Elliott Carter Ballets
Bottom line: these are excellent performances and a valuable documentation of Elliott Carter’s early work.
Classical CD Review: A Ballet of Human Sacrifice — Set in Ancient Mexico or Post–World War I Germany?
Egon Wellesz’s Weimar era critique of the cruelty of nations that are victorious in war still rings hauntingly true.