Seattle’s Whim W’him’s Virtual 11th Season Led Off With A Pair Of Brilliant Dance Films [REVIEW-Arts Air]

Reviewed by Steve Sucato Seattle contemporary dance company Whim W’him entered its 11th season under the COVID-19 pandemic with the plan to move all their performance online. The experimental season featuring original dance films by some of the world’s most in-demand contemporary dance choreographers kicked off August 13 with the virtual production XALT. Originally planned for live performance, June 2020 at the Cornish Playhouse at Seattle … Continue reading Seattle’s Whim W’him’s Virtual 11th Season Led Off With A Pair Of Brilliant Dance Films [REVIEW-Arts Air]

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

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

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

Caruso Triumphs in the Career-Defining ‘Metamorphosis’

Maria Caruso and Maria Caruso’s Bodiography – Metamorphosis The Factory – Pittsburgh, PA February 29, 2020 Part (intended) local stage farewell for company founder Maria Caruso and part Gala revealing Bodiography‘s future as an organization, Metamorphosis, February 29 at Pittsburgh’s The Factory, carried with it a heightened sense of excitement for those lucky enough to attend. And while announcements of Bodiography’s new studio/office facilities, new artistic leadership … Continue reading Caruso Triumphs in the Career-Defining ‘Metamorphosis’

Verb Ballets’ All-Female Choreographer Program Delivers Mixed Results

Verb Ballets – 4X4: Four Works by Female Choreographers Breen Center for the Performing Arts Cleveland, OH February 8, 2020 Reviewed by Steve Sucato No doubt Verb Ballets production of 4X4: Four Works by Female Choreographers is to be commended for giving more opportunities to female choreographers. As a production however, it delivered mixed results with those opportunities. Dedicated to the memory of Millie Carlson, … Continue reading Verb Ballets’ All-Female Choreographer Program Delivers Mixed Results

Bodiography’s ‘Unveiled’ Revealed Caruso’s Entertaining Forward Vision

Bodiography Contemporary Ballet Company – Unveiled Byham Theater Pittsburgh, PA February 7, 2020 Reviewed by Steve Sucato A greater diversity in its repertoire and a showcasing of the organization’s many performance troupes is what Bodiography Contemporary Ballet Company founding artistic director Maria Caruso says is driving the current direction of the organization. That path forward was on display for all to see in Bodiography’s latest … Continue reading Bodiography’s ‘Unveiled’ Revealed Caruso’s Entertaining Forward Vision

Compagnie Hervé KOUBI’s ‘What the day owes to the night’ takes Audience on an Unforgettable Dance Journey [REVIEW]

Reviewed by Steve Sucato The second to last production of DANCECleveland’s 2019-2020 season, French troupe Compagnie Hervé KOUBI arrived in Cleveland to a sold-out show last Saturday, February 15 at Playhouse Square’s Mimi Ohio Theatre.  Those attending got what they came for as the all-male company (for this production) of 15 mostly former street dancers from Algeria, Morocco France, Italy, Israel and Slovenia eagerly lived … Continue reading Compagnie Hervé KOUBI’s ‘What the day owes to the night’ takes Audience on an Unforgettable Dance Journey [REVIEW]