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
New Look Chamber Dance Project Takes to the Virtual Stage for its Annual Summer Season Production
By Steve Sucato The familiar quote, “If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain,” takes on new meaning for Washington, DC-based Chamber Dance Project’s annual summer performance series, New Works. “Because of the pandemic” — a phrase now firmly rooted in the global lexicon — the company had to cancel its in-theater performances this summer in favor of a virtual experience for audiences. New … Continue reading New Look Chamber Dance Project Takes to the Virtual Stage for its Annual Summer Season Production
New summer dance program ‘nextSPACE’ one of a few recent developments for GroundWorks DanceTheater
By Steve Sucato (with Jimmy Schlemmer) Amid uncertainty over the global pandemic and the ways forward for arts organizations, Cleveland’s GroundWorks DanceTheater is making the best of the uncertainty by doing what dance companies do best; getting creative. Their new summer dance program nextSPACE, running now – August 22 is an interconnected series of activities and performances in both live and virtual spaces around Cleveland … Continue reading New summer dance program ‘nextSPACE’ one of a few recent developments for GroundWorks DanceTheater
Dancers Responding to AIDS 2020 Virtual Fire Island Dance Festival
July 14, 2020 Watch an unforgettable evening of world-class dance with the Virtual Fire Island Dance Festival this Friday, July 17 at 7 pm Eastern. Register for the free stream. The evening is set to include three world premieres: Celebrated modern tap dancer Ayodele Casel’s Oscar Joy, an effervescent solo performed by Casel from her home dance studio, Original Tap House in the Bronx. KEIGWIN + COMPANY artistic director Larry … Continue reading Dancers Responding to AIDS 2020 Virtual Fire Island Dance Festival
Verb Ballets Wades into the Uncertain Waters of Performing under Pandemic
By Steve Sucato Verb Ballets‘ in-studio performance of The Cleveland Havana Ballet Project Return Celebration on March 13 was the last in-person performance I attended and one of the very last given in Northeast Ohio before pretty much the entire dance world shutdown operations because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Now more than 3-months later Verb along with the rest of the state of Ohio … Continue reading Verb Ballets Wades into the Uncertain Waters of Performing under Pandemic
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces Pittsburgh Dance Council Spring 2021 Season
The 51st season begins in January 2021 and will hostContemporary Dance, U.S. and World Premieres and Outdoor Ice-Dancing Spectacle! The Pittsburgh Dance Council also announces Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater rescheduled performance date from the 50th anniversary 2019-2020 season! By Diana RothNow in its 51st season of presenting contemporary dance, the Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, is proud to continue this long-standing and distinguished support of … Continue reading The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces Pittsburgh Dance Council Spring 2021 Season
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
Gabriel Gaffney Smith Says Farewell to BalletMet for Careers in Visual Art and Music | Steve Sucato – Arts Air
By Steve Sucato In addition to cancelled shows, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted final performances for many retiring dancers. Pointe is giving several retiring principals and soloists a chance to reflect on their careers and offer advice to the next generation. For 35-year-old Gabriel Gaffney Smith, retiring from BalletMet is more about switching focus than a bona fide farewell to dance. A modern-day Renaissance man, Smith is … Continue reading Gabriel Gaffney Smith Says Farewell to BalletMet for Careers in Visual Art and Music | Steve Sucato – Arts Air
Carolina Ballet’s Lara O’Brien Looks Ahead to Family and Her Growing Business | Steve Sucato – Arts Air
By Steve Sucato In addition to cancelled shows, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted final performances for many retiring dancers. Pointe is giving several retiring principals and soloists a chance to reflect on their careers and offer advice to the next generation. Carolina Ballet principal dancer Lara O’Brien planned to retire from the company she hasspent her entire 19-year career with this spring. Her final onstage appearance, as Lady Macbeth … Continue reading Carolina Ballet’s Lara O’Brien Looks Ahead to Family and Her Growing Business | Steve Sucato – Arts Air
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and Dancing Wheels ZOOM into the classroom, bringing students with disabilities a new option to dance
By Michelle Tabnick The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company announces a first-time, long-distance collaboration with Dancing Wheels, our nation’s first professional physically integrated dance company led by wheelchair dance master, Mary Verdi Fletcher, to serve students with multiple disabilities at the A Harry Moore Laboratory School. The A Harry Moore School is one of a few public schools in New Jersey serving mostly low-income students with … Continue reading Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and Dancing Wheels ZOOM into the classroom, bringing students with disabilities a new option to dance
