Author: artsair

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

Cacalano & Cooper to debut new works in Pittsburgh before UK Tour

By Steve Sucato Gia Cacalano says it was the lure of the ocean’s smell and distant sound that beckoned her and her 7-year-old daughter to continue a long hike that led them to an as-yet-unseen Atlantic. The pair’s nature adventure this past summer, in Bangor, Maine — coupled with the anticipation of her daughter seeing the ocean for the first time — inspired the dancer-choreographer’s … Continue reading Cacalano & Cooper to debut new works in Pittsburgh before UK Tour

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Press Releases

LINES Ballet to Perform in Cleveland as Part of 30th Anniversary Tour

By Pam Barr CLEVELAND (Jan. 7, 2013) – The acclaimed LINES Ballet, led by visionary choreographer and artistic director Alonzo King, will come to the Ohio Theatre for two performances, Jan. 26-27, presented by DANCECleveland and PlayhouseSquare. The LINES Ballet program will include two recent King dances: Scheherazade, created in 2009, and Resin from 2011. Scheherazade is a re-envisioning of the ancient collection of Persian, … Continue reading LINES Ballet to Perform in Cleveland as Part of 30th Anniversary Tour

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Uncategorized

2012 annual visitor report for Arts Air

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for Arts Air. See who else has checked this site out. Here’s an excerpt: 600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 10,000 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 17 years to get that many … Continue reading 2012 annual visitor report for Arts Air

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Pittsburgh City Paper

Dance troupe explores notions of order and structure via the lives of service workers

By Steve Sucato In 2010, a JetBlue flight attendant who had argued with a passenger got fed up with his job, grabbed a beer, deployed the emergency slide and exited the plane. This well-publicized incident illustrated what a social psychologist might term a “deviation from structure.” The kind of emotional structure flight attendants and other service workers adopt for the sake of commerce is among … Continue reading Dance troupe explores notions of order and structure via the lives of service workers

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Pittsburgh City Paper

Hear Us Roar: Murphy/Smith Dance Collective Celebrates a Century of Women’s Social Progress

By Steve Sucato “Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.” The line is from “The Good Wife’s Guide,” a widely circulated list attributed to a 1950s women’s magazine. Though the list itself is likely apocryphal, it reflects that era’s gender norms. And for choreographers Jamie … Continue reading Hear Us Roar: Murphy/Smith Dance Collective Celebrates a Century of Women’s Social Progress

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Dance Reviews 2012, Pittsburgh City Paper

Contemporary Choreographers program is a triumph

Reviewed by Steve Sucato A clap of thunder and the sound of howling winds hailed the four dancers who appeared out of darkness, emerging into the spotlight upstage at Point Park University’s George Rowland White Performance Studio. The startling opening of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre corps de ballet dancer Cooper Verona’s “Very Instinctual” set the tone for an impressive ballet packed with surprises. The work opened … Continue reading Contemporary Choreographers program is a triumph

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The Buffalo News

A Captivatingly Magical ‘Nutcracker’

By Steve Sucato News Contributing Reviewer Perhaps more than just another holiday tradition, “The Nutcracker” ballet is for many like a dear old friend you see once a year or so who, remarkably, never ages and whose warmth never fails to conjure fond memories. For a child seeing “The Nutcracker” for the first time, it is an enchanting experience like no other – one whose … Continue reading A Captivatingly Magical ‘Nutcracker’

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Dance Reviews 2012

Spellbound Contemporary Ballet Opens First U.S. Tour with a Program Showing Brilliance but Lacking in Variety

Reviewed by Steve Sucato The old adage about too much of a good thing being undesirable was evident in the program Italy’s Spellbound Contemporary Ballet presented to open their first “official” U.S. tour at Cleveland’s Ohio Theatre at PlayhouseSquare Center. Without equivocation the 9-member troupe from Rome was breathtaking in artistic director/choreographer Mauro Astolfi’s exquisite contemporary ballet choreography for each of the works on the … Continue reading Spellbound Contemporary Ballet Opens First U.S. Tour with a Program Showing Brilliance but Lacking in Variety

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Pittsburgh City Paper

Relationship Expectations Explored in the U.S. Premiere Luke Murphy’s ‘Drenched’

By Steve Sucato Romantic relationships are fragile creatures. Fantasy, and expectation of what is desired of them, can cloud partners’ thinking, or simply unravel in the light of reality. That’s the premise of dancer/choreographer Luke Murphy’s Drenched. The 60-minute multimedia work is coming off a successful run this past September as part of Ireland’s Absolut Fringe Festival. Drenched makes its U.S. premiere at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater on … Continue reading Relationship Expectations Explored in the U.S. Premiere Luke Murphy’s ‘Drenched’

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Press Releases

Pittsburgh’s Kelly Strayhorn Theater accepts applications for 2013 dance residency and performance

The Next Stage Residency, created by the Kelly Strayhorn Theater five years ago, is designed to support talented choreographers by giving them the opportunity to explore and develop new material and get feedback during a one-week creative residency that culminates with a showing at the end of that week. Choreographers are invited to submit an application to participate in the 2013 Next Stage Residency program. … Continue reading Pittsburgh’s Kelly Strayhorn Theater accepts applications for 2013 dance residency and performance

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