Aspen Santa Fe Ballet returns with three commissioned ballets to launch Pittsburgh Dance Council’s season
By Steve Sucato The last time Aspen Santa Fe Ballet performed in Pittsburgh, four years ago, the company was just becoming a staple on the U.S. touring circuit. Now, having built its stalwart reputation on new contemporary-dance works by world-class choreographers, the small troupe of 11 dancers makes its long-anticipated return to the Byham Theater to kick off Pittsburgh Dance Council’s new season. The Oct. … Continue reading Aspen Santa Fe Ballet returns with three commissioned ballets to launch Pittsburgh Dance Council’s season
Moroccan choreographer Hind Benali takes a journey of self-discovery in ‘Identity’
By Steve Sucato Moroccan-based dancer/choreographer Hind Benali’s new work, Identity, began as a solo journey of self-discovery after the deaths of her two grandmothers in the same year. Both were of Algerian decent, and both lived with her. “All the traditional parts of my identity came from them,” Benali said recently by telephone from Washington, D.C., where the company was performing the work. “The question then … Continue reading Moroccan choreographer Hind Benali takes a journey of self-discovery in ‘Identity’
In return to Northeast Ohio, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet wows with ‘Return to a Strange Land’
By STEVE SUCATO Special to The Plain Dealer AKRON, Ohio — DANCECleveland, in conjunction with The University of Akron’s EJ Thomas Hall, kicked off its 2014-2015 with the return of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Sunday. The 11-member touring company, last seen in the region in 2010, brought with it to the former home of the Ohio Ballet — another troupe known for its touring popularity … Continue reading In return to Northeast Ohio, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet wows with ‘Return to a Strange Land’
Two world premieres highlight LehrerDance’s solid night of dance
By Steve Sucato News Contributing Reviewer For the third year running, Buffalo’s LehrerDance opened the M&T Bank Dance Series in University at Buffalo Center for the Arts. The internationally touring professional dance company presented six works by artistic director/choreographer Jon Lehrer, including two world premieres Saturday night on the Mainstage Theatre. The vibrant program opened with “Fused by 8” (2009), a work in which its … Continue reading Two world premieres highlight LehrerDance’s solid night of dance
Attack Theatre launches its 20th-anniversary season
By Steve Sucato It was 1994, and movies like Speed and Pulp Fiction were packing theaters; a Chicago law professor named Barack Obama had yet to run for state senate. And in Pittsburgh, two former Dance Alloy dancers formed a new company that would indelibly change Pittsburgh’s dance landscape. Combining athletic modern dance, original live music, multimedia and interdisciplinary art forms, Attack Theatre, led by co-artistic … Continue reading Attack Theatre launches its 20th-anniversary season
Hubbard Street + The Second City present the world premiere of The Art of Falling
By Zachary Whittenburg CHICAGO – Hubbard Street Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton; Andrew Alexander, CEO/Executive Producer of The Second City, Inc.; and Kelly Leonard, Executive Vice President of The Second City are excited to present the world premiere of The Art of Falling, an unprecedented and collaboratively devised production first announced in February 2014 at The Second City. Helmed by Jeff Award–winning director Billy Bungeroth (The Second … Continue reading Hubbard Street + The Second City present the world premiere of The Art of Falling
Fine Texture
By Steve Sucato You could say the title of Texture Contemporary Ballet’s latest program, Synergy, also names what has made the three-year-old troupe a success. The combined efforts of artistic director Alan Obuzor, associate artistic director Kelsey Bartman and an array of energetic dancers and choreographers have consistently produced programs whose total effect has exceeded the sum of their individual contributions. This Sept. 26-28 program, mixing new and … Continue reading Fine Texture
Seventh edition of LightLab performance series to focus on dance
By Steve Sucato The seventh edition of the LightLab performance series takes place Sept. 27 at Carnegie Mellon University’s Miller Gallery. The series, co-curated by musician David Bernabo and dancer/choreographer Taylor Knight, fosters what Bernabo calls “more progressive dance, music, film and performance art pieces.”This 45-minute all-dance edition, part of the 2014 Pittsburgh Biennial, includes dancer/choreographer Jil Stifel’s new work-in-progress solo “my dna,” from her upcoming evening-length … Continue reading Seventh edition of LightLab performance series to focus on dance
Predation, victimization, art and rebirth in Mark Conway Thompson’s ‘Kimono’
By Steve Sucato Predation is a theme that movement artist Mark Conway Thompson says he has been returning to in his works since 2007. “That has a lot to do with what I think is wrong with the world today,” says Thompson. The domestic-violence case of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is just one example now in the headlines. Such episodes, along with … Continue reading Predation, victimization, art and rebirth in Mark Conway Thompson’s ‘Kimono’
Legendary dancer Carmen De Lavallade visits with her one-woman show
By Steve Sucato Pittsburgh dance audiences are treated to a host of great performances annually from new and established artists, some with global renown. Rarer are visits by living legends. Dancer, choreographer and actress Carmen De Lavallade qualifies. De Lavallade brings her acclaimed new one-woman show, As I Remember It, to the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater for two shows this week. The Pittsburgh premiere of the intimate, hour-long … Continue reading Legendary dancer Carmen De Lavallade visits with her one-woman show
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