By Steve Sucato The Joffrey Ballet, co-founded in 1956 by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, is proudly described on the company website as “America’s Company of Firsts.” It was the first dance company to appear on American television, the first to grace the cover of Time magazine, the first to perform at the White House, and the first classical dance company to use multimedia and a rock music … Continue reading Gerald Arpino: His time to be celebrated
By Steve Sucato for Dance International Magazine The crown jewel in Grand Rapids Ballet’s 50th anniversary season, artistic director James Sofranko’s Romeo and Juliet, was decidedly a traditional classical ballet take on Shakespeare’s famous tale. The three-act production plus epilogue, the first full-length story ballet the former San Francisco Ballet soloist has choreographed, premiered on February 17 at home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the DeVos Performance Hall. … Continue reading Grand Rapids’ Romeo & Juliet: James Sofranko’s first full-length story ballet [REVIEW]
By Steve Sucato for Dance International Magazine Kyle Abraham has come a long way from his early days as a rave dancer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to now choreographing for the world’s most prominent dance companies. His latest, The Weathering, for London’s Royal Ballet, is set to premiere as part of a triple bill on March 24 at the Royal Opera House. Abraham grew up in a middle-class African American neighbourhood. … Continue reading Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Kyle Abraham: From raves to the Royal
Reviewed by Steve Sucato Charlotte Ballet’s 50th Anniversary Celebration program, delayed from 2020 because of the global pandemic, was worth the wait. The final production for outgoing artistic director Hope Muir (now artistic director at the National Ballet of Canada), the program cast a wide net in terms of audience tastes, with four topflight works that not only celebrated the company’s past, but also how … Continue reading Charlotte Ballet: Celebrating 50 years / Stuart, Pite, Caniparoli, Aiello [REVIEW]
Like a Picasso cubist painting among Monets and Rembrandts, ‘Real Life’ was an aesthetic jolt. Continue reading BalletMet’s Orrante Takes Final Bow in a Program Brimming with Memorable Moments
Reviewed by Steve Sucato It’s a tale of two cities when it comes to summer dance in Northeast Ohio; two marquee, municipally run performance series, one in Akron and the other in Cleveland, count for the bulk of the region’s professional dance by local and nationally touring companies. Billed as the oldest, free summer dance series in the United States, the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival … Continue reading Northeast Ohio Summer Dance in Review
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