Author: artsair

International arts writer/critic for newspapers, magazines and websites.
Pittsburgh City Paper

Pittsburgh’s Pillow Project to create art amidst ash in ‘The Jazz Furnace’

By Steve Sucato Call it site-specific dance on a gargantuan scale. The Pillow Project takes its improvisational “Postjazz” movement style and video wizardry to a whole new level when it invades the Carrie Blast Furnaces, in Rankin, on Oct. 12, for a daylong extravaganza titled The Jazz Furnace. Built in 1907, the Carrie Furnaces number 6 and 7 tower 92 feet over the Monongahela River. Until 1978, … Continue reading Pittsburgh’s Pillow Project to create art amidst ash in ‘The Jazz Furnace’

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Dance Reviews 2013, The Plain Dealer

BalletX opens DANCECleveland season with engaging program

By Steve Sucato Special to The Plain Dealer  DANCECleveland hit a home run with its season opener of BalletX Saturday night at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall. The contemporary ballet troupe from Philadelphia, in its Northeast Ohio debut, presented a memorable mixed repertory program of three engaging ballets performed adroitly by its versatile dancers. To read the full review click here Continue reading BalletX opens DANCECleveland season with engaging program

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Pittsburgh City Paper

Pittsburgh’s acclaimed newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival Biggest Yet

By Steve Sucato When Kelly-Strayhorn Theater Executive Director Janera Solomon was putting together the theater’s inaugural newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival, in 2009, few dance artists outside of Pittsburgh had heard of the theater. Now, in its fifth year, the annual festival and the theater are becoming known nationally. That led to a record 40 emerging-choreographer applicants from around the country seeking to take part. “This … Continue reading Pittsburgh’s acclaimed newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival Biggest Yet

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Airings

Airings: Dancer/Choreographer Jasmine Hearn goes ‘Swimming’

By Steve Sucato No, dancer/choreographer Jasmine Hearn’s that’s what she said doesn’t refer to the punchline of some crude joke. Rather, this site-specific dance series explores the rites of passage that females of color experience in America. The monthly series funded by The Pittsburgh Foundation continues Sat., Sept. 28, with three performances of “Installment 4: Swimming,” at Assemble gallery. Hearn is a Point Park grad who has worked … Continue reading Airings: Dancer/Choreographer Jasmine Hearn goes ‘Swimming’

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Pittsburgh City Paper

Montreal’s Compagnie Marie Chouinard stages U.S. premieres in Pittsburgh

By Steve Sucato Canadian choreographer Marie Chouinard says she has butterflies in her stomach over her latest work, “Gymnopédies.” That’s because when I spoke with her recently about the work that premiered in Lisbon, Portugal, this past June, she was still revising it. “I am sure it will turn out good, but my stomach doesn’t know that yet,” joked Chouinard, by phone from Montreal. With … Continue reading Montreal’s Compagnie Marie Chouinard stages U.S. premieres in Pittsburgh

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Pittsburgh City Paper

Prolific Texture Contemporary Ballet goes ‘Nearly Wild’

Texture Contemporary Ballet dancers Amanda Summer and Alan Obuzor. Photo by Katie Ging. By Steve Sucato To say that Texture Contemporary Ballet’s Alan Obuzor and Kelsey Bartman are prolific dance-makers might be an understatement. Since founding the Pittsburgh-based troupe in 2011, the pair has had a hand in creating more than 30 new ballets for it. For many choreographers, that would be a decade’s worth … Continue reading Prolific Texture Contemporary Ballet goes ‘Nearly Wild’

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Airings, Dance Reviews 2013

‘Rite of Spring’ Highlights Joffrey Ballet’s Program at Blossom Festival

The Joffrey Ballet in Nijinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”. Photo by Roger Mastroianni. Blossom Music Center Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio August 17, 2013 Reviewed by Steve Sucato Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet continued its longstanding relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra that began in 1971 with two performances at the orchestra’s summer Blossom Music Festival. Since 2009 the company has made annual appearances with the orchestra in the Cleveland, … Continue reading ‘Rite of Spring’ Highlights Joffrey Ballet’s Program at Blossom Festival

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Pittsburgh City Paper

Pittsburgh’s Fall dance season brings everything from showcases of local talent to international touring companies

By Steve Sucato Pittsburgh’s dance scene has seen lots of changes of late, including the addition of new dance troupes Geeksdanz, Maree ReMalia/merrygogo and Yes Brain Dance Theater. Most recently there is ReedDance, the retooled successor to the now-defunct August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, still headed by Greer Reed. The fall dance season includes both the new and the familiar. Texture Contemporary Ballet goes Nearly Wild in its … Continue reading Pittsburgh’s Fall dance season brings everything from showcases of local talent to international touring companies

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Dance Reviews 2013

GroundWorks’ Program Proves Intriguing and Entertaining

Cain Park – Alma Theater Cleveland Heights, Ohio August 18, 2013 By Steve Sucato For the 11th straight summer GroundWorks DanceTheater presented a program of repertory works at Cleveland Heights, Ohio’s Cain Park. The 5-member troupe, which for the past 15-years has been the Cleveland-Akron area’s most consistent in quality continued that trend with a trio of works performed in the Park’s intimate Alma Theater. … Continue reading GroundWorks’ Program Proves Intriguing and Entertaining

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Dance Reviews 2013, The Buffalo News

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre delights at Chautauqua Institution

From a prior performance in March 2013: Luca Sbrizzi & Alexandra Kochis in Antony Tudor’s “Jardin Aux Lilas (Lilac Garden)”. Photo by Rich Sofranko. By Steve Sucato News Contributing Reviewer  Following in the footsteps of the many Pittsburghers who annually make the Chautauqua Institution their summer retreat, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre lit up the institution’s amphitheater and the spirits of those in attendance Wednesday night with a marvelously … Continue reading Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre delights at Chautauqua Institution

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