Ohio Contemporary Ballet Celebrates Visionary Choreographer Heinz Poll’s Legacy in Program at Akron’s EJ Thomas Hall [PREVIEW]

By Steve Sucato It’s been 19 years since former Ohio Ballet co-founder and choreographer Heinz Poll died at age 80 from kidney disease. Since then, Ohio Contemporary Ballet (formerly Verb Ballets) has been the primary force behind keeping Poll’s legacy and his ballets alive. The company has several of Poll’s ballets in its repertoire that are performed regularly.  This Friday, April 25, at E.J. Thomas … Continue reading Ohio Contemporary Ballet Celebrates Visionary Choreographer Heinz Poll’s Legacy in Program at Akron’s EJ Thomas Hall [PREVIEW]

CorningWorks’ ‘Stand By’ Proves a Clever Allegory for our Divisive Times [REVIEW]

CorningWorks – Stand By — an allegoryCarnegie StageCarnegie, PAMarch 28- April 6, 2025 By Steve SucatoThe marquee work on CorningWorks 15th Anniversary Season, Stand By — an allegory, conceived by company director, choreographer, and performer Beth Corning, continued her string of recent productions that have reflected on the world around us.  An allegory, defined by the Oxford dictionary as “a story, poem, or picture that … Continue reading CorningWorks’ ‘Stand By’ Proves a Clever Allegory for our Divisive Times [REVIEW]

Classic Literature Meets Hip Hop in Raphael Xavier’s Brilliant ‘Skiff’ [REVIEW]

Raphael Xavier – SkiffThe John P. Murphy Foundation TheatreCuyahoga Community College (Tri-C)Cleveland, OHApril 13, 2025 By Steve Sucato Our eternal battle with Father Time was brilliantly explored in Philadelphia-based hip hop dancer/choreographer Raphael Xavier’s new work Skiff, this past Sunday at Tri-C Metro Campus’s John P. Murphy Foundation Theatre. Presented by DANCECleveland and Tri-C, Skiff was a hip hop dance theater contextualization of Ernest Hemingway’s … Continue reading Classic Literature Meets Hip Hop in Raphael Xavier’s Brilliant ‘Skiff’ [REVIEW]