Author: artsair

International arts writer/critic for newspapers, magazines and websites.
Dance Reviews 2020

Seattle Dance Collective’s Dance Film Series ‘Continuum: Bridging the Distance’ is Satisfying Viewing

Reviewed by Steve Sucato Seattle may have been ground zero for the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., but it was also ground zero for one of the more ambitious dance projects to stem from the global pandemic’s aftereffects on the dance world. Seattle Dance Collective’s (SDC) Continuum: Bridging the Distance was a free month-long virtual series of world-premiere dance works/films performed by members of SDC and … Continue reading Seattle Dance Collective’s Dance Film Series ‘Continuum: Bridging the Distance’ is Satisfying Viewing

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Airings

The Stages are set this Weekend for ‘The City is Our Stage’, a Live Performance Arts Tour of Cleveland

By Steve Sucato The first large-scale citywide arts event since the global pandemic hit, The City is Our Stage on Saturday, August 15 from 1-6 p.m., is a tapas-crawl-style drive-to sampler of a variety of local music, theater, poetry, dance, and circus performers’ work throughout greater Cleveland neighborhoods. The brainchild of nationally known lighting and production designer Trad A. Burns, MorrisonDance founder/director Sarah Morrison and … Continue reading The Stages are set this Weekend for ‘The City is Our Stage’, a Live Performance Arts Tour of Cleveland

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Dance Reviews 2020

DANCECleveland’s Virtual Dance Festival a Soul-Nourishing Stand-In for Live Dance

Reviewed by Steve Sucato Another outcome of the global pandemic, DANCECleveland’s Dance On! Virtual Dance Festival 2020 that began Saturday, July 25 and ran for a week, replaced its planned annual in-person American Dance Festival in Cleveland (ADF in CLE). The online event treated virtual audiences to four exclusive pre-recorded dance performance videos along with virtual artist chats and a variety of differently styled dance … Continue reading DANCECleveland’s Virtual Dance Festival a Soul-Nourishing Stand-In for Live Dance

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Airings

New Look Chamber Dance Project Takes to the Virtual Stage for its Annual Summer Season Production

By Steve Sucato The familiar quote, “If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain,” takes on new meaning for Washington, DC-based Chamber Dance Project’s annual summer performance series, New Works. “Because of the pandemic” — a phrase now firmly rooted in the global lexicon — the company had to cancel its in-theater performances this summer in favor of a virtual experience for audiences. New … Continue reading New Look Chamber Dance Project Takes to the Virtual Stage for its Annual Summer Season Production

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Airings

New summer dance program ‘nextSPACE’ one of a few recent developments for GroundWorks DanceTheater

By Steve Sucato (with Jimmy Schlemmer) Amid uncertainty over the global pandemic and the ways forward for arts organizations, Cleveland’s GroundWorks DanceTheater is making the best of the uncertainty by doing what dance companies do best; getting creative. Their new summer dance program nextSPACE, running now – August 22 is an interconnected series of activities and performances in both live and virtual spaces around Cleveland … Continue reading New summer dance program ‘nextSPACE’ one of a few recent developments for GroundWorks DanceTheater

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Press Releases

Dancers Responding to AIDS 2020 Virtual Fire Island Dance Festival

July 14, 2020 Watch an unforgettable evening of world-class dance with the Virtual Fire Island Dance Festival this Friday, July 17 at 7 pm Eastern. Register for the free stream. The evening is set to include three world premieres: Celebrated modern tap dancer Ayodele Casel’s Oscar Joy, an effervescent solo performed by Casel from her home dance studio, Original Tap House in the Bronx. KEIGWIN + COMPANY artistic director Larry … Continue reading Dancers Responding to AIDS 2020 Virtual Fire Island Dance Festival

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Airings

Verb Ballets Wades into the Uncertain Waters of Performing under Pandemic

By Steve Sucato Verb Ballets‘ in-studio performance of The Cleveland Havana Ballet Project Return Celebration on March 13 was the last in-person performance I attended and one of the very last given in Northeast Ohio before pretty much the entire dance world shutdown operations because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Now more than 3-months later Verb along with the rest of the state of Ohio … Continue reading Verb Ballets Wades into the Uncertain Waters of Performing under Pandemic

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Press Releases

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces Pittsburgh Dance Council Spring 2021 Season

The 51st season begins in January 2021 and will hostContemporary Dance, U.S. and World Premieres and Outdoor Ice-Dancing Spectacle! The Pittsburgh Dance Council also announces Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater rescheduled performance date from the 50th anniversary 2019-2020 season! By Diana RothNow in its 51st season of presenting contemporary dance, the Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, is proud to continue this long-standing and distinguished support of … Continue reading The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces Pittsburgh Dance Council Spring 2021 Season

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Dance Reviews 2020

Grand Rapids Ballet’s ‘Virtual Program II: An Evening with Penny Saunders’ Shows the Beginnings of a Programming Way Forward |REVIEW

By Steve Sucato Welcome to dance’s new reality. The COVID-19 global pandemic has spawned many changes in our lives including how dance is being created, shown, viewed and now reviewed. It is in some ways as if the familiar dance-on-film genre had suddenly become the performance medium of choice for dancers and dancemakers to create and stage works and audiences to view it. For the … Continue reading Grand Rapids Ballet’s ‘Virtual Program II: An Evening with Penny Saunders’ Shows the Beginnings of a Programming Way Forward |REVIEW

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Airings, Pointe Magazine

Gabriel Gaffney Smith Says Farewell to BalletMet for Careers in Visual Art and Music | Steve Sucato – Arts Air

By Steve Sucato In addition to cancelled shows, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted final performances for many retiring dancers. Pointe is giving several retiring principals and soloists a chance to reflect on their careers and offer advice to the next generation. For 35-year-old Gabriel Gaffney Smith, retiring from BalletMet is more about switching focus than a bona fide farewell to dance. A modern-day Renaissance man, Smith is … Continue reading Gabriel Gaffney Smith Says Farewell to BalletMet for Careers in Visual Art and Music | Steve Sucato – Arts Air

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