The problem with the Beatitudes is that in this regard it falls flat. You leave with exactly what you came in with, minus about 45 minutes. The best thing about the show, which is a type of modern dance but mostly ballet really, is that it’s set to some of the spoken word poems red out loud by Ginsberg, but that’s a small redeeming value.

Rather than stealing from those who actually did create something new 40 years ago, the choreographers of The Beatitudes would have been better off trying to create something themselves. Rather the performance ends up feeling like something we have seen before, maybe in a high school performance.
By J. Gonthier

The season includes tantalizing attractions like access to lobbies,gift shops and food/beverage concession stands one hour before performances; 45 minute live jazz set performed by members of the NYCB Orchestra n the theater’s Promenade (how cool is that?); look as well for "Meet the Artists" discussions in the first ring.
In an effort to go easy on the pocketbook tickets are priced at $50 for the first performance on September 14 at 7:30 p.m. all (orchestra, first, second and third rings) and $25 (fourth ring).
At the September 14 performance audiences are invited to take pre-performance tours of the David H. Koch Theater and enjoy a special complimentary champagne toast at the first intermission. Ooh la la!
The program for the evening will feature George Balanchine’s exquisite "Serenade", Peter Martins’ Grazioso, set to music by Glinka and Jerome Robbins’ The Four Seasons.
On Friday, September 17, NYCB will inaugurate a performance series called See the Music which will provide an inside look at NYCB’s unparalleled musical repertory and 62-piece orchestra. For each See the Music performance Peter Martins and NYCB Music Director Fayçal Karoui will introduce the program with a brief discussion, followed by the NYCB Orchestra performing an excerpt from one of the ballet scores on the program.

Children’s Workshops
Family audiences are treated to two Children’s Workshops focusing on George Balanchine’s Who Cares? during the first week of the fall season. Designed for children ages four and older, the first workshop will be held at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, September 18, and is free for NYCB’s Family Fun subscribers, with $10 tickets available for non-subscribers (performance tickets music be purchased separately).
The second workshop on Sunday, September 19 will include both the workshop and a performance ticket to see Who Cares?, the final ballet on NYCB’s matinee performance that afternoon. Both Children’s Workshops will take place in NYCB’s rehearsal studios in the Rose Building (165 West 65th Street) at Lincoln Center.
Tickets www.nycballet.com, or call 212-870-5570.

In a rectangular area bound by the street and Manhattan Bridge rose a cement wall with women pinned to it like butterflies in a case. Eight physically attractive women were perched on metal braces across the wall. Bodies glowed as if wrapped in cellophane (sculptural beeswax and lanolin costumes by Lafrance) and filmy torso tunics. Between the summer evening’s glow, glistening bodies, and amiable atmosphere, the dancers hardly had to do anything more than just hang there. But they did do more—much more.

At first the movements resembled a form of anguished meditation. Eyes searched the crowds, as they swayed in unison. Suddenly one person would break out, extending arms overhead, reaching diagonally up to the sky and then settling back down. Minimum action yielded maximum impact, like a haiku moaned out loud.

The mesmerizing performance continues through Sept. 12.
www.sensproduction.org
C. Ipiotis

The premieres of “Summer,” “POI Solo,” and “Basa Nova” certainly held up to expectation. With a beautifully odd duet between dancer Zoë Schieber (balancing on a green exercise ball), and rollerblade-clad George Hirsch opening the show, the focus was impressive. Lighter moments entertained like Cristal Albornoz scurrying around to “Spider” Pig by Hans Zimmer while holding green glow-in-the-dark balls as eyes.

“Bounce Surfing (Wave, Dolphin & Surfing),” which first premiered in 2002 was utterly mesmerizing. The dancers rolled swiftly over the large neon blue exercise balls, their bodies contouring with them. The swishing sounds and repetitive dives onto the balls emulated the sea. “Samba POI” spiced things up with sultry hip shakes as the three dancers swung glow-in-the- dark red, blue and white balls at their sides, leaving slices of colorful light in the air. The beauty of UBA Bounce is not necessarily one piece in particular, rather the total package. The exploration of balls as toys, accessories, obstacles, even dance partners in quirky, comical ways highlights Dean’s creativity. Each piece introduces balls into dance in a new, unassuming way. It’s so powerful that once the world of non-stop spinning, swinging and gliding comes to a close, it seems odd to simply walk out of the theatre.

UBA Bounce will be presented at Dixon Place as part of the Fringe NYC Festival from August 15th-28th.
J. Thompson

Andrea Martin’s premiere “Wonderland” proved one of the most intriguing as performed by her very strong company, Gallim Dance. Miller communicates through what resemble mysterious communal/tribal ceremonies and an innovative architectural sensibility. Stylistically, “Wonderland” nods to Ohad Naharin, but does not undermine Miller’s own voice.

Snips and snaps of African American culture jazz up Camille Brown’s energetically playful, but somewhat predicatable fare. The theatrical “New Second Life” performed by Camille A. Brown & Dancers—draws on broad character studies and aesthetically “waves” to Ronald K. Brown.

With a splash of wit, Monica Bill Barnes’ “Another Parade” danced by her company, resembles those limited ingredient recipes that promise enhanced flavor and deliver.

Pulling from the deeply resonant roots American folk dance tradition, Kate Weare’s “Brightland” proves old forms can sprout contemporary dimensions without compromising either form.

Uniformly good dancing animates the stage (especially Bret Easterline) and the commissioned score to Weare’s “Brightland” performed live by Jeff Kazor, Lisa Berman, Collin Gallahue, Charlie Rose and Rose Sinclair echos the American pioneering spirit.

Playing to near capacity crowds, these four artists delivered enticing fare.The four dance companies Kate Weare Company, Monica Bill Barnes & Company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and Gallim Dance alternate days except for the shared Sat. Aug. 14 matinee performance.
C. Ipiotis

To read Alastair Macaulay’s June 23 New York Times review of Savion Glover’s latest extensions of the tap-dance genre, one would have thought Glover mugged him in a dark alley. See for yourself if it doesn’t read, even a little, like an old-fashioned grievance against modernity (at best): (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/23/arts/dance/23glover.html?scp=2&sq=Savion%20Glover&st=cse)

Glover, in turn, was the one who felt mugged by Macaulay’s review, having opened that night’s performance at the Joyce Theater by invoking Macaulay’s name with saturnine disdain. (Few in the audience seemed to acknowledge his barbs. Don’t people read reviews anymore? Oh, right. They don’t read newspapers either.) He did this, as with everything else in the show’s lengthy first half, with his back to the audience. If this stance was reminiscent of Miles Davis, then the fusillades of syncopated footwork resounding throughout the theater brought to mind the “sheets of sound” attack of Davis’ greatest band mate John Coltrane.

It was enough to make you wonder whether a jazz critic would have been a better choice to review “SoLE PoWER.” Macaulay’s comparisons of Glover’s long-form cadenza to woodpeckers, electric drills and dental equipment were themselves reminiscent of the peevish reactions hurled more than a century ago against modernity in the arts. Glover’s “make it new” impulse to stretch and, if possible, pierce the parameters of tap dance doesn’t seem all that unreasonable; if anything, his sense of adventure seems almost archaic in what we’re supposed to believe is a totally post-modern cultural universe.

This isn’t to say that everything worked. There were times during the first half, (especially when Glover had all the stage lights dimmed except for the starry-sky backdrop), when his efforts to answer his riffing query, “What does sound look like?,” lost their bearings and scattered the energies he was trying to coalesce. But based on this one night’s performance, I’m guessing that “SoLe PoWER” intends to be elastic enough to accommodate whatever dare Glover wishes to take.

“We play what the day demands,” Miles Davis was fond of saying and Glover”s program asks (warns?) its audience to make its own adjustments to the imperatives of the moment. As with the modernist innovators of the past, Glover is acknowledging risk and accepting whatever consequences or rewards may come from defying conventions – even those that made him a star. You may not want to go with him. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not onto something.
By Gene Seymour

In ‘Mirage” conducted by Salonen, Martins’ choreography took a back seat to the set and music--both of which were impressive. Santiago’s moveable kinetic sculpture was integrated into the overall choreography. Swirling underneath, the dancers spun in space, arms and legs splalyed to look like creatures in flight. By keeping the vocabulary minimal, Martins allows the viewer to spread concentration over the stage taking in all the visual elements.

Calatrava’s sphere, slits in the center, spreads out like the wings of a pterodactyl and then presses them back together asit moves up and down in space. In response to the set, the choreography consists mainly of bodies floating in space and appendages outstretched wing-like driven by spins and arabesques. Salonen’s beguiling score combines dramatic atmospheric colors with classical violin passages layered with vibrant syncopated jazz patterns---reminiscent of another modern classical composer from Holland – Louis Andriessen. The fine violin soloist was Leila Josefowicz.

At times, it's impossible to stop watching Calatrava’s remarkable animated sculpture, as the thin metal spines reverberate until the finale when the object contracts and is sprayed in a glory of neon colors. Seeing the last image is as surprising as looking up to the sky and spotting the aurora borealis.

Committed as the dancers were, the choreography, in its minimalist simplicity, never fit comfortably on bodies that could not fully embrace the stiff technical demands. It will be interesting to see another cast negotiate “Mirages’ finer choreogrpahic points.

Balanchine’s Prodigal Son opened the evening with a convincing performance by Joaquin DeLuz as the Prodigal and the towering Maria Kowroski as The Siren. Ending on a galloping upbeat, Balanchine’s “Western Symphony” knocked off a few fun performances by Megan Fairchild, Craig Hall, Sara Mearns, Robert Fairchild, Lauren King and Austin Laurent.
C. Ipiotis

The afternoon opened with a vibrant performance of Balanchine’s “La Source.” A romantically styled ballet, Megan Fairchild floated over the music, her head perfectly coordinated while de Luz executed long cushioned leaps. Completely in tune with each other, DeLuz’s clean positions and beats complemented Fairchild’s ease and completed by Lauren King’s bright entries.

“The Lady With The Little Dog” by Alexey Miroshnichenko to music by Rodion Shchedrin and based on Anton Chekhov, remains impenetrable. A confusing story ballet led by the attractive Sterling Hyltin and Andrew Veyette, the visuals by Philipp Donstsov and lighting by Mark Stanley upstage the choreography.

And then, to a swell of applause, Albert stepped out with Wendy Whelan in William Forsythe’s “Herman Schmerman Pas De Deux” created as part of The Diamond Project in 1972 when Forsythe was still making dances. Forsythe extended the neo-classical ballet vocabulary and discovered outstanding interpreters of this style in the New York City Ballet dancers.

A meditative start explodes in abrupt changes, popping into wild off-center penches (leg up in back as torso pitches to the ground), snapping the head upwards, all fueled by windmill arms and isolated joint action. Whelan enters and exits using a “home girl” strut only to see Evans re-enter with a short, bright yellow skirt to howls of laughter and applause. Evans loved it as much as the audience and had a chance to knock off a club moves and hip pops.

Besides his performance aplomb and visible devotion to dance, Evans is a committed and energetic partner. During bows, Evans kissed Whelan on the mouth and while the audience roared, Whelan continued to take her single bows facing Evans.

For the final event, Balanchine’s 1946 “The Four Temperaments” to music by Paul Hindemith featured Albert Evans in an emotional interpretation of the “Third Variation: Phlegmatic.” Clear lines and musical sensitivity completed Evans’ tenure with the New York City Ballet.

Now to the final bows; well that turned into a performance of a whole other dimension. Flowers and streamers flooded the stage, as Evans grabbed dancers by the waist, whirling them around, pumping his fists in the air, channeling a little Michael Jackson and basically just dancing for joy!

Even the usually reserved Peter Martins got into the act by standing next to Evans and demonstrating the correct way to do a Ronde de jambe (leg raised to the side, with a bent knee circle underneath) at which point Albert did it one more time to prove he could. When the stage groaned under the mass of flowers, Evans plopped behind the floral mound, and struck a pose on his side like the “Dance Playboy of the Month.” Albert Evans’ will be missed, and he will move forward embraced by many friends.
C. Ipiotis

Since June 10, an adoring crowd at BAM has embraced the company. Two programs “Ailey Spirit” and “By Popular Demand” roll through many Ailey highlights.

Program I opens with “Mass.” Ten years after Alvin Ailey choreographed the American classic, Revelations, he collaborated with jazz pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams on the “Mass.”

Pinned to traditional church music trimmed with jazz and New Testament stories, Ailey focuses more on large group, congregational choral formations. Literal dance movements mirror the storyline driven by the central figure, a pompous minister. Woven into the homage to God, the piece is gently peppered with devilishly witty asides, poking fun at some of the pious characters.

Many of the movement riffs developed in “Revelations” re-emerge, not to mention one moment when dancers run across the stage, hand-cupped to the forehead in true Martha Graham-angst style (I have to believe that was Ailey’s inside joke). One finds a constant underscoring of the power found in the unity and cooperation of a community.

A deep regret—the music was not performed live, something Ms. Williams, a fierce jazz pianist and mentor to many jazz artists, would have wanted.

Sandwiched in-between Mass and Revelations came Ronald K. Brown. As much as anyone, Brown has become the company’s spiritual choreographer in residence. This work starts on a very slow burn.

A man in white begins the airy arm curves and torso sways. This builds with an additional dancers that take the first impulse and build on it by adding more intricate sequences of traditional African based steps—legs jutting out in wide stances, body hovering low and isolating contractions—to contemporary dance sequences laced with club rhythms and attitudes. One thing seems apparent, the dancers like to perform Brown’s choreography, or at least their faces and bodies projected that sentiment.

The evening closed with the all-time favorite, Revelations set to African American spirituals. Evidently, the audience knew the piece well enough to applaud when their favorite sections approached and could hardly wait to clap and dance in the aisles during the forthcoming encore.

Although the company fared well throughout the evening, it lacked a level of clarity and energy one always comes to expect from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. That said BAM is a good fit for the company and the Brooklyn community.
C. Ipiotis

Underneath, dancers move with a fierce intensity at once suggesting the heat and tension found in flamenco. Ruffled black dresses swirled around the sharp leg attacks, and spins forward and back as outspread fingers unfurl like fans or the pose associated with Nijinsky’s “Afternoon of a Faun.”

Rather than supporting women in a conventional way, men come in contact with their partners slipping through intricate sequences. Everything conveyed an edge of immediacy.

It’s interesting to see Bigonzetti constantly trying on different choreographic challenges while employing his signature, open-legged, off the edge style.

All the dancers charge through the choreography with abandon, starting with the fearless Ashley Bouder plus Maria Kowroski, Tiler Peck, Teresa Reichlen, Tyler Angle, Gonzalo Garcia, Amar Ramasar, Jonathan Stafford.
C. Ipiotis

Tall and lean, Jasperse is a natural, unassuming comic. He starts by attempting a single pirouette, only to be “corrected” by a teacherly “voice” and later moves into an inane magic trick that involves an egg. Four dancers stretch across the stage executing a raised -leg to the side sequence. Instead of gracefully holding their positions, they fall off balance revealing the difficulty level of the exercise. Throughout the piece, technique is seen as an invisible element in a dancers’ arsenal and as a clumsy predictor of a dancer’s caliber.

In the first half, stage right is draped in a floral covering. The pattern, repeated in the dancers undergarments suddenly creates the illusion of ladies picnicking in the park. Part two is doused in white offset by black silhouettes. A chamber group, the International Contemporary Ensemble, is seated on the side as the dancers arrive with doilies on their heads looking like grandmotherly lamp shades and move silently and minimally until a fight breaks out between Jasperse and Erin Cornell. Nearly choking her, it ends with a slap across the face. This particular section offended two girls who exited the theater.

Although he constructs relatively simple movements, they are combined in fresh, appealing ways. The primary movement sequence --bent raised leg, quick rolling disco arms, rapid butt squeezing action hops, and torso sways are smartly recombined and performed with different energy levels: slow motion, fast, sweet, harsh.

The evening includes original music by Hahn Rowe plus lighting by Jasperse and Joe Levasseur and costumes by Jaspers and Deanna Berg MacLean. The choreography by John Jasperse in collaboration with his company: Neal Beasley, Eleanor Hullihan, Kayvon Pourazar and Cornell.
Two quotes appear in the program: “MARTHA:Truth and illusion, Geroge. You don’t know the difference.
GEORGE: No, but we must carry on as though we did. MARTHA: Amen.”
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? By Edward Albee
“As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.” Josh Billings.
By C. Ipiotis

A winsome backdrop by Santiago Calatrava offers rolling hills reaching up into a light blue sky and down into the earth’s rich soil. Out of the pastoral scene, come the gauchos—charging in unison, knees snap-up in a hard prance position. And look, here come the women, donning day dresses and aprons, hands dipping down in a scooping motion.

The chorus of men and women swirl around the two central characters, the feisty country gal, Tiler Peck and City guy, Tyler Angle. She wants to wrangle a wild horse and he wants to tame her. When the horses stampede into view, the stage is covered in bodies draped in tight, brown unitards, pawing the dirt with pointed feet and toe shoes and releasing visions of equus.

Tyler Peck was engaging as the peppy, independent girl and her beau, Tyler Angle struck a fine balance of desire and determination.

A pleasant enough excursion across the romantic gaucho terrain, it remains a two-dimensional composition inside a pretty frame well danced by New York City Ballet.
C. Ipiotis

This century’s Graham Company led by Janet Eilber, dipped back into that era of social awareness and activism for its season at the Joyce Theater. One result was a collaboration with theater director Anne Bogart and playwright Charles Mee on Graham’s American Document (1938).

Scraps of film documentation, hand written notes and photographs provided a dance map--but rather than try to reproduce “American Document” the way Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer unearthed Nijinsky’s original “The Rite of Spring” Bogart integrated original source material with contemporary views to make a new work that salutes Graham’s concept.

Accustomed to employing physical theater, Bogart’s Siti Company of actors blended effortlessly with the Graham Company dancers. For the most part, actors delivered the spoken text, but they all shared in Graham’s stiff-legged walks, contracted torsos, cupped hands and clipped turns. In the original, Graham employed shards of text from various sources including Walt Whitman’s poems, the Declaration of Independence, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to forge a view of what it meant to be an American starting with the Native Americans. Mee’s script retains dabs of the original text but reshapes it with company members’ impressions and contemporary points of conflict. At the heart of the piece rises a sensual duet originally created for Graham and her first male dancer Erick Hawkins—later to be husband.

What is most important about this project is Eilber’s thinking: extend Graham’s ethos through contemporary visions. Bogart felt like such a natural, it will be interesting to see the success of future collaborations.

Clean and well rehearsed, Graham company members exuded a sense of determination and commitment, particularly in Graham’s 1936 “Sketches from ‘Chronicle,’” which closed the program. The vibrant season runs through June 13.

The Saturday matinee was packed with an enthusiastic audience as the program rolled out one excellently rehearsed piece after another. Not to take away from the students, but the professionals responsible for staging the works got as much, if not more applause than the performers. Suki Schorer staged “Valse,” Susan Pilarre stage “Bouree” and Katrina Killian and Garielle Whittle were responsible for “Scenes.”

All in all, the dancers were assured and well-disciplined with a strong, lyrical performance by Claire Kretzschmar and Peter Walker in Balanchine’s bright “Valse Fantaisie.”

After seeing “Scenes de Ballet” you understand why people got excited by Wheeldon’s promise. The ballet cleverly follows students as they grow up inside the confines of a ballet room.

What really came as a deep pleasure was seeing Balanchine’s “Bouree Fantasque.” Filled with mystery and glamour, the ballet, set to music by Emmanuel Chabrier, tests the dancers’ charm and technique.
C. Ipiotis

Of course, despite their desire to rebel against their teachings, Eiko and Koma introduced Americans to Japanese movement sensibilities.

At Danspace, the married couple, Eiko(female) and Koma(male), presented “Retrospective Project I: Regeneration. The evening opened with a film documenting the couples’ process in the making of a dance performed in a river (brrrrr) called “River” (2009).

Robert Mirabal, a Native American musician, accompanied Raven (2010), evoking sacred rituals embedded in a culture’s ties to nature.

In an interesting twist, the excerpt from one of the first pieces performed in the States, “White Dance” (1976), evoked a post modern vaudevillian air and humor spoke to the traditional (and less than acceptable) male/female relationships.

You are left with the idea that Eiko & Koma view dance as a part of the continuing arc tying nature to the cosmos.
C. Ipiotis

Thoughts like what does the future hold? And who do you trust? filter through the mind as elegant dancers gather in grand unison passages in counterpoint to an individual--Sean Suozzi. Is Suozzi in search of a perfect moment, or has he fallen into a fantastical nightmare?

Employing the gifts of rising NYC Ballet stars, including Sara Mearns, Kathryn Morgan and Amar Ramasar, these questions fall to the wayside due to the fully committed performances.

Executed to a commissioned score by Thierry Escaich, teh dancers surge through and round the kinetic sculpture by Calatrava that fans out in the middle of the stage.

Thin metal spokes change colors and flutter like butterfly wings. At times, the set exerts a greater presence than the choreography, but Millepied continues to stride towards his pursuit of a career as a modern ballet choreographer of note.

Of course, the challenges are mighty when it comes to creating a new piece, and those challenges are compounded when a choreographer shapes the movement on unknown dancers.

Performed to an enthusiastic audience, McGregor’s “Outlier” is a shape based piece that contrasts tension and release. Hyper extended limbs, upper body waves and arm joint articulations form skeins of energy fields.

The music by Thomas Ades elicits a sense of apprehension, as does the lighting by long-time collaborator Lucy Carter. A series of lighting plots from targets on the floor and scrim, to grey and white TV color bars that spring into bright white light and silhouettes, frame each movement section.

Duets engage in power equivalency and connect through “assisted dancing” rather than traditional partnering. One part of the body retains constant contact with another part of the body, not unlike vertical “contact improvisation.”

While some passages feature an underwater quality, others jauntily surge on stage in insouciant scamperings—(mainly by men)—not to mention cartwheel body revolutions. But above all, “Outliers” is angular.

As much a modern expressionist visual experience as a modern ballet event, “Outliers” mashes contrasting movement qualities into a brash rush of motion. A snappy, intellectual work-out, “Outliers” exercises the brain, not the heart.

The fully committed cast looked wonderful and included Ashley Bouder, Sterling Hyltin, Maria Kowroski, Tiler Peck, Wendy Whelan, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Joaquin DeLuz, Robert Fairchild, Gonzalo Garcia, Craig hall and Amar Ramasar.
By C. Ipiotis

The work is built schematically with ballet choreography and with narrative dialogue and numerous, interactive electronic media visuals played on software - Final Cut Studio's time line.

Lesser's creation of animation, stick-figure dancers gives new meaning to the plumb line. When they morph into duplicates, pirouette perfectly in place or float through space in the steps' motion, it is every dancer's dream realized, to be so centered, albeit sans spine flexion or épaulement.

This entertaining and lighthearted drama cleverly comments on a very harsh reality, that being, funding for the arts, in the USA, "the most inhospitable place in the world to host dance," as one of the characters says.

Veteran dancers, Debra Zalkind on stage as Natasha, ex-KGB agent who hunts moose and squirrel and concocts poisonous potions, and Gus Solomons Jr on camera as the foppish mayor with a fat wallet held tightly, are fabulous in their comedic roles. The entire cast was at its best.
C.A. Dobush

His newest piece, “Namouna, a Grand Divertissement” for New York City Ballet set to a lyrical score by Edouard Lalo, runs close to an hour. Highly inventive, the dramatic, abstract construction conjures images of a man stumbling upon an animated aquatic fantasy full of fanciful figures.

A dramatic narrative follows the man; Robert Fairchild (decked in sailor shirt and pants) as he falls in allure with Wendy Whelan—Namouna—queen of the watery underworld perhaps? He beats his legs and sails past obstacles and distractions that includes, but are not limited to, a vigorously leaping Daniel Ulbricht, hilarious cigarette smoking-vamp Jennifer Ringer and seductress Sara Mearns.

When the curtain opens, a chorus of women in matching shorthaired brown wigs and gold dresses move as if engaged in an ancient ritual. Adept at juicing up unison phrases (in the manner of Busby Berkley), Ratmansky establishes a sense of community within a monumental cosmos.

Inside each phrase, he upends a typical turn with a hand flip or odd head spot. When Jenifer Ringer appears smoking (also seen in Lifar’s “Suite en Blanc”) her hand waves the smoke away as her foot shutters and her erect body shouts “come hither!” Strong and generous in her leaps and arched torso, Sara Mearns draws applause for a blazing solo and humorous seduction section where a male corps competes to touch her, and support her body so she walks on air.

Beautiful, albeit puzzling, the ballet’s costumes include nautical looking white wigs, or swimming caps and flowing dresses or post-modern tutus resembling sheer outlines of a wave.

Each character speaks with a particular movement phrase in the manner of Peter and The Wolf. As a result, the audience can devise their own story. The choreography employs traditional steps in whimsical patterns and gloriously simple, but intricately musical statements.

However, even if the interior choreographic cleverness keeps you wanting to see what's next, after around45 minutes, your eyes need a rest. Musical codas correspond to movement refrains---any chance of editing of the repeats?

That said the buoyant piece, clearly inspired by the New York City Ballet dancers, is sure to gild the New York City Ballet repertory for seasons to come.
C. Ipiotis

Inside these ballets are elements used by just about every choreographer alive. Familiar head snaps, angular arms, acrobatic insertions, off-center extensions and balances---theater and social dance, classical ballet, modern and folk-dance sentences line the ever fascinating choreography. That said, some fared better than others in the hands of its interpreters.

Sunny Concerto Barocco to Johann Sebastian Bach unravels in daisy chains and mirrored moves. Charles Askegard effectively partnered Ellen Bar and Maria Kowroski. Two very different performers, Kowroski floats in a dreamy wave next to Bar’s staccato approach. Set against a lackluster corps, Bar and Kowroski rarely connected. The music, Conducted by Faycal Karoui added to the heaviness by dragging the tempo.

In Duo Concertante, Sterling Hyltin and Robert Fairchild gave a peppy performance, steeped in youthful anticipation. Only when the dance demanded minimal movement, they did not fully grasp the deeper, quieter intent.

In general, Four Temperaments got a fine reading from its cast. The predatory steps, and sharp emotional tugs were particularly resonant in Craig Hall’s weighty “Melancholic,” Albert Evans’ “Phlegmatic” and Teresa Reichlen’s gutsy “Choleric.” Cosing out the program, the full cast got a mighty work out in “Symphony In Three Movements” to the bracing score by Igor Stravinsky. This reminded me of an actor who said that he seeks out the classics at least once a year to exercise his chops and deepen his theatrical skills. The same can be said for Balanchine’s impact on dancers.
C. Ipiotis

Lanky, lean, hangdog haggard face, he’s a postmodern vaudevillian engaged in daily Sisyphean tasks. Struggling against mind-numbing, identity-stripping, work-a-day drudgery, he’s caught on a revolving disc planted in the stage floor.

Round and round he goes, walking with and against the circling state of affairs. The daily cycle is mirrored by DJ de Perrot who sits off to the side spinning soft pop -- French harmonica, jazz-rock--from vinyl records encased in colorful sleeves.

Zimmermann’s physical skill is matched by the energetic, highly inventive set. Everything is shaped from cardboard. Buildings, desk, cell phone—everything. An urban skyline casts a shadow on the office of a lonely worker, exhausted by daily tasks absent content.

The genuine child-like quality of the production from the set (after all, cardboard boxes enchant children more than contents) to the “everyman” journey pulls the viewer into a simpatico dance with the performers.

“Gaff Aff” credits Zimmerman and de Perrot: concept, direction, stage design, and interpretation. The all-important rotating, rock concert style lighting is by Ursula Degen, and sound, electronics by Andy Neresheimer.
By C. Ipiotis

We sit in pitch dark for what feels like several minutes, listening to Mahalchick chanting behind us. Discomfort hangs thick in the air as everyone waits for a light to give some direction. Achugar enters from the side of the audience slapping against the wall. Hearing her approach closer, she is finally made visible by a spotlight downstage.

She repeats a sliding walking movement backwards away from the light and then towards it. While keeping a steady glare in our direction, her black cloak, designed by Walter Dundervill, sweeps across the floor with her. The space resumes to darkness until a geometric-shaped spotlight suddenly shines on her, sprawled on the floor.

We hear her moving in the dark to a new place and suddenly Achugar begins turning right and left through a new spotlight beam. It’s mesmerizing to watch her body appear from nowhere and fade away over and over again. Mahalchick, revealed to be sitting only feet away from us on the floor, intently moves his hand. He stares in disbelief at the spotlight.

Achugar’s cloak is taken off revealing a gothic-inspired shredded shirt and nothing but see-through fishnets from the waist down. The intimacy of her half-naked body is contrasted by the cutting in and out of light. We hear her thrash around and the momentary lighting seems to be triggered by her smacks against the floor. Panting fills the room.

Achugar and Mahalchick begin a duet chanting and moving their arms faster and faster. Separating, with arms bent in to their sides, the spotlight shifts on us and the house lights are turned on. The pair slowly walks backwards upstage, leaving only a sliver of light around their silhouettes visible to us.

Though parts of the piece are performed in silence, Stephen Cooper’s sound compilation of very stark noises such as clinking chains, bells, fussing with tape players, and subway rumbling, compliment its alienating tone.
J.Thompson

#3 (1986) is animated by a rippling and swaying upper body, anchored on a stationary spot, and illuminated by a single, conical spotlight. Partly disrobed in formal dress attire, and with continuous movement and facial action, the solo figure appears to be in conversation with himself, possibly about the circumstance he has just experienced. In post performance remarks, Petronio said when he made the piece, he hoped it wound be something he could dance for many years.

Love Me Tender (1993), another male solo, extends the animation seen in #3, by way of movement streaming through the entire body and covering space. Here the dancer, dressed in only a white silken dress shirt, reveals his desires. These two works with a third would make an arresting trilogy.

The much written and commented on MiddleSexGorge (1990) is by Petronio's own acknowledgement not a narrative work. It is a powerhouse of choreographic style propelled by the dancers' committed physicality.

Ghostown (world premiere, 2010) expands the language of MiddleSexGorge, adds a narrative, and demonstrates the choreographer's growth in his craft.

The work's choreographic architecture, with its configurations of multi angles, levels, group sizes and activities, results in beautiful placements of dancers on stage. Whether the dancers are moving in a group or individually, whether they are doing the same steps or portraying a contrasting dynamic, Petronio adheres to his disciplined, aesthetic intent. The ensuing pictorials are meticulously balanced. The dance's narrative is developed through posed pauses. These meditatively active vignettes give the viewer, and the dancer, space to absorb, reflect, and process all of the actions.

Foreign Import (2007) was also on the program.

The entire evening was complemented by superb production values and designs. And the dancers, Gino Grenek, Julian De Leon, Barrington Hinds, Mandy Kirschner, Tara Lorenzen, Natalie Mackessy, Emily Stone, Shila Tirabassi, Joshua Tuason, Amanda Well and guest artist, Reed Luplau, shined in their fantastic strength, technique, athleticism, control, self-expression, and respect for each other, and for Petronio and his work.
By C. A. Dobush

Acknowledgement and praise is due to everyone from Jim May, long time Sokolow devotee, and Founder of the Sokolow Dance/Theatre Ensemble in 2004, to an extended international dance community for preserving Sokolow's important contribution to dance. This is no small feat, especially for a small, independent, organization.

In her 20's Sokolow assisted Louis Horst in his dance composition classes and from him she learned the importance of constructing a dance, getting at its essence. For her work she wanted perfect construction and "nothing haphazard." Examples of these perfectly constructed movements are on view in this season's repertory. The reconstructed Murals (New York premiere, from 1980), portrays a spiritual folk dance of supplication and ritual offerings. In a passage, the group forms an upright, diagonal processional and each extends their downstage arm out onto the shoulder of the figure in front of them. This culminating intimation evokes the powerful image of supplicants united in their completed repentance.

Expressing the burden of love, in the dance September Song (1995), for solo male figure, followed by solo female figure, then their duet together, the assignment of the hand to the shoulder is the discriminate act. The gesture occurs in each solo and the dance ends with it. The humanity of acceptance, resolve, and compassion is expressed in the singular act of placing a comforting hand on a shoulder. This time the movement phrase is soft, rounded and sheltering.

Frida, (1997) the last dance Sokolow made, has many wonderful and beautiful moments. Sokolow used Kahlo's paintings as the set designs which seamlessly advance the story of this intriguing visual artist.

Towards the end of the piece and downstage, two dancer (two Frida's) lie sideways. Their lower bodies face each other in somewhat fetal repose. The figure on the left is colorfully dressed while the figure on the right is clothed in black. This arresting tableau evokes multiple images, of the beginning and of the end, of success and failure, of giving birth and the inability to give birth, and of life and death.

Regarding Sokolow's Frida, Horst would definitely agree, now "that's perfect construction."

A Short Lecture And Demonstration On The Evolution Of Ragtime (1952) opened the program.
C.A. Dobush

Unfortunately, none of this makes up for the fact that the choreography is just not that interesting. I’ve been finding this to be the fact more and more at the Joyce, as companies offer conventionally pleasing performances in lieu of anything that packs a little more punch.

Broken up into three separate pieces which vary night to night, the work hits upon a variety of genres, including Irish and Arabic dance as well as a fair amount of some unidentified folky peasant like skits.

The first piece, Ancient Airs and Dances choreographed by Stoner Winslet, is precisely what you might expect from a ballet troupe. The dancers start as a group then break up into duets, one seamlessly, if monotonously, following the other. Smiling and twirling the female dancers are born into the air again and again by their male counterparts- smile, lift, smile, lift, repeat.

The best of the pieces is To Familiar Spaces in Dream. Although the abstract, Dali-like scene was signaled by the use of John Cage and Philip Glass, probably the most grossly over-used music for the token “modern” piece, I settled into the familiar jarring strains and appreciated the temporary respite from flowing skirts and pliés nonetheless.

The choreography, this time done by Jessica Lang, improved somewhat during this piece, as more complex themes emerged including a subtle mirroring effect of two dancers opposite each other on the stage. The set is made up of white blocks which the dancers break apart and move around the stage, echoing a sense of fragility and breakability.

The piece ends with one of the female dancers, all in white on a platform, evoking a Greek statue with the added benefit of mobility. With jerky movements she suggests want and lust, emotions enhanced by juxtaposition with the free flowing movements of a nude-torsoed male dancer, spinning slowly, gracefully, just out of reach.
J. Gonthier

Coming downstage doing Giggly, wiggly, bubbly hip movements, Phillipina girl was pushed forward by a guy.

Faye Driscoll flooded the stage with bright light and the show was on! Dancers engaged in lighthearted sexual encounters, referencing reality shows, and joining in power plays between friends. Like children playing imaginary games in the backyard with neighborhood friends, the company spoke, sang, danced and interacted with the audience.

The appealing company members contributed enormously as did the lighting by Amanda Ringger.

One of the great images opened the show: a small woman edges downstage in wiggly, giggly, girlie, hip shaking motion pushed along by a man’s head in her back.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I could not stay until the end, but the opening 2/3 flew by. "There Is So Much Mad In Me" is choreographed and written by Ms. Driscoll in collaboration with the performers.

One of the clutch of rebel-rousing Judson Dance Theater artists from the 1970’s, Hay forms personalized dance universes. She appeared clad in a long white cotton shirt, above-the ankle black tapered pants, white socks, soft black shoes and a silk beret plus eyeglasses.

Starting out on an unlit stage, Hays' ensuing collection of dance episodes were marked by a series of lighting environments skillfully and subtly designed by Jennifer Tipton.

Hay traveled around to the sound of her squeaky shoes and miked voice. At times, she mouthed words, hips swaying side to side, shoulders rotating and as little skidding steps mount. Suddenly a moan emergee. Hay turned arms up overhead in the shape of an urn and ejects a vocal lament. At one point, she dropped softly to the floor on her side, lifting her leg straight up. Still limber, Hay’s dance training – turnout, balance and leg extensions – was visible.

As a choreographer, she might have thrown out traditional dance structures, but not her technical foundation. Back to my earlier thought. As a college student, I would find her stuff cool for dumping on convention. Two decades later, I still watch admiringly but wonder what her current explorations mean in the larger sea of conventional and unconventional forms populating this vast dance community.
C. Ipiotis

Located on in the west 30’s, the new theater is equipped with state of the art technical facilities, including some very sophisticated audio elements for the music concerts that will join the dance and theater roster. A nearly $13 million project, offers another “sight friendly” venue for performing artists.

The handsome theater includes a mezzanine viewing area plus a gathering area for receptions, gatherings, food and cocktails just behind the seating area. Speaking of which, the space is reportedly a “flexible” space, which allows for reconfiguring the audience in relation to the performance area.

A modest theater seating about 238, the cushioned bench-like seats are more comfortable than one might expect. There was some excitement about the space becoming a laboratory for the performing arts community. No question this was a mammoth undertaking by the Baryshnikov Arts Center staff, but the partners appeared to work sympathetically on a tricky project.

The parties included: Denham Wolf Real Estate Services Inc.; architecture and engineering firm WASA/Studio A,; theater and acoustical consultants Arup; structural engineers Gilsanz Murray Steficek; construction manager Alcon Builders Group. Yes, it takes a village to build a theater in NYC.

Even more exciting is the inaugural season that breaks open with the Wooster Groups’s revival of “North Atlantic, followed up by dance, theater and many surprises.

Because many of you are already familiar with EOD's contributions to our remembrance of dance, I know you will appreciate our deepening concern about safeguarding all the EOD elements for public consumption. As the archive’s value increases exponentially, so too does our responsibility as the archive’s stewards.

Our goal is to systematically assess, inventory and prepare the complete EOD Archive for public access within three years.

Each half-hour EOD program is built around extensive research yielding unduplicated source material including written notes, personal communications, clippings, press kits, programs, an assortment of videotapes, notated oral conversations, photographs, books, publications and organizational materials.

So you get an idea of the scope of the archive, a preliminary review conducted over that past year revealed the contents include: Over 1800 videotapes (of various formats from 1/2" reel-to-reel to DVD) documenting conversations with dance professionals, demonstrations, performances plus theater and music presentations; 7,000 photographic images; 75,000 sheets of production, research, promotional and educational print materials; 2000+ cultural books and publications. These numbers are rough and will likely increase after our in-depth appraisal of content stretching back to 1978.

Produced during the “dance boom,” EOD captured an era of enormous change: Institutionalization of the arts, gender politics, multi-culturalism, regional dance and the NEA “culture wars.” Our content unites dance and related arts issues with educational, historical and social themes, which makes it a provocative guide for educators and the public.

More than 40% of the EOD Video Archive includes African-American and Latino artists and themes not documented elsewhere. The strong concentration of programs focused on minority artists, dancers with AIDS and under-documented contributors no longer living, underscores its historical and educational appeal. Praised by The NY Times as “one of the liveliest and most intelligent programs on the arts,” there has been no comparable effort to record the viewpoints; achievements and creative approaches of dance related artists on video. This has resulted in a wealth of unexposed primary source information yet to be scrutinized by the public.

An enormously popular, easily consumable educational resource, EOD succeeded both as a broadcast series and educational archive because it is a scholarly resource with a populist’s heart. We are in “shovel-ready” mode, but here’s the rub: our limited resources could delay our process and result in the loss of an invaluable stream of dance information on decomposing videotapes and three-decades old unmatchable print and photographic materials.

We ask you to dip into your pockets of generosity and help us rescue this archive. The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation awarded EYE ON DANCE a $40,000 grant to launch the EOD Legacy Project and your support is crucial to this venture.

Please direct your tax-deductible contributions to: EYE ON DANCE, 123 W. 18 Street 7th Floor, NY NY 10011. PLEASE MAKE A DONATION

Excited by our progress, we recognize that this massive project demands major resources of our modest not-for-profit organization. However, digitization is a good thing. It ensures EOD’s currency and upgrades preservation, distribution and education options.

As time passes and we lose dance contributors EOD emerges as a priceless visual memory tapped by family members and professionals alike. It will take the goodwill and generosity of our supporters to successfully build a digital data bank to protect our dance community’s spirited voices.

Launched in 1981, the award-winning EYE ON DANCE series chronicles dance legends along with scores of minority artists, overlooked contributors and professionals no longer living or documented elsewhere. Every single day, dance enthusiasts and professionals tap into the primary source archive’s more than 400 titles.

For instance, in a bold move The Centre National de la Danse in Paris acquired programs for their multi-media library, making EYE ON DANCE one of the first English language educational tapes in stock. This year, due in part to the reach of the website www.eyeondance.org, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, Germany, Korea and Mexico expressed interest in programs not only for libraries, but also as background information for funders.

Going beyond dance, a psychiatrist running a drug rehabilitation center incorporated an EOD show on AIDS into his orientation program. And a high school history teacher insisted that playing our "Apartheid & The Arts" tape was a "super" way to sensitize students to racism.

We cannot express how much the public's tax-deductible contributions mean to us, particularly in light of shrinking funding sources. But we do know that your gifts add up to a circle of friends who cheer us on to new horizons and oversee the welfare of EYE ON DANCE.

Tax deductible donations for the EYE ON DANCE Digitization Project go to:
EYE ON DANCE
123 W. 18 Street 7th Floor NY NY 10011

Your contribution will be acknowledged with a written letter.

Not only did the Schwartz sisters raise generations of dancers articulate in ballet, modern dance, dance history, music and choreography, they raised the cultural literacy of Dayton’s citizens, publishers, politicians and educators.

Occasionally, I would get a note from Ms. Jo applauding my work on EYE ON DANCE announcing that she always expected me "to do something important" (she subscribed to a clipping service in order to keep track of her former company members). On her occasional visits to New York, she would call me to have tea with her and her friend who lived in Chelsea.

During those command meetings, I would sit erect, hold in my stomach, and hope she would not mention my less than balletish looking body. Invariably, she would mention my figure, chide me for not taking classes, and insist I keep choreographing while producing EYE ON DANCE. She wanted her students to be passionate about their work and tenacious in their pursuit of life goals.

A tall, slim, sharp faced no nonsense woman, with a bun perpetually screwed into the lower back of her head, Josephine Schwarz was a true American original, a woman with vision who knew that you had to educate your community if you were to going to raise potent arts professionals.

I will always remember and honor Josephine Schwarz.