By Steve Sucato Modern office life has been a source of humor and consternation for decades, featured in everything from novels like Sloan Wilson’s TheMan in the Gray Flannel Suit and Joseph Heller’s Something Happenedto TV series like The Office and the comic strip Dilbert. Award-winning Japanese writer-director Toshiki Okada gives us his take on the subject in the movement-theater work Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech. The show is … Continue reading Japan’s chelfitsch Theater Company sends up office life

By Steve Sucato Elizabeth Streb is a mad scientist. How else would you describe a woman who devises diabolically dangerous-looking scenarios for her group of “action heroes” (a.k.a. “action engineers”), who dodge swinging cinder blocks, fall flat to the ground from multiple-story heights and run for their lives inside a monster-sized hamster wheel — all in the name of entertainment? In truth, Streb is an … Continue reading STREB: Forces is part dance, part circus, part stunt show

By Steve Sucato In the past few years, Pittsburgh audiences have been introduced to award-winning dancer/choreographer Camille A. Brown and her work. In 2010, she performed at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater’s newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival; this past March, the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble performed an excerpt from her 2006 work New Second Line. This weekend, audiences can watch Brown’s New York-based dance troupe, Camille A. … Continue reading Acclaimed choreographer’s new work explores the history of African-American humor

By Steve Sucato Old favorites and slew of bold new works highlight Pittsburgh’s new dance season. Here’s a sampling of what will be on stages through year’s end: Move over Pinocchio, as CorningWorks presents a different kind of puppet experience in The Life & Death of Little Finn, an adult puppet dance-theater production continuing through Sept. 16 at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. To read the full article … Continue reading Fall dance in Pittsburgh ranges from classic ballet to edgy modern dance, flamenco and more

Little Finn is the life-spanning tale of a man abandoned by his mother at a young age for an unscrupulous lover. The lonely Finn grows up to be a bean-counter (literally) whose colleagues commit suicide because of the tedium of the work, and who finds happiness with a Russian mail-order bride. As the story is enacted, the performers will be visible on stage, but the focus … Continue reading Beth Corning talks about smart adult puppet dance-theater, getting the shit scared out of her and more

By Steve Sucato So you think you know what jazz dance is? Think again. People’s conception of jazz dance often falls short of the reality. It’s not the clichéd “jazz hands” dancing of TV sitcoms, but an art form with a multitude of layers. There is no one look or sound to it: It is influenced by the times while still maintaining a link to … Continue reading Jazz Dance World Congress brings diverse performers to Pittsburgh

By Steve Sucato It’s not quite Spanky, Alfalfa and the Our Gang troupe coming together to put on a show. But in speaking with Texture Contemporary Ballet artistic director Alan Obuzor about the company’s second-anniversary program, Blur, I sense some of that same anticipation. Texture, too, is assembling a group of friends to perform for audiences. To read the full article click here. Continue reading Texture Contemporary Ballet marks its second anniversary

By Steve Sucato As part of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater’s performance series East Liberty Live!, five performances of dance works-in-progress will cap a summer of artist residencies. The showings will preview evening-length programs that the theater will present in the coming year. To read the full article click here Continue reading A Kelly-Strayhorn works-in-progress dance series showcases a wide range of choreographers and companies

By Steve Sucato There are casual dance fans, and there are those who buy season subscriptions. And then there are superfans like Richard Parsakian, whose love of dance counts as an obsession. To read the full article click here Continue reading 2012 PrideFest to Showcase 100 Minutes of Pittsburgh Dance