Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Unveils 45th Anniversary Season Lineup
(Pittsburgh, PA) – Marking the company’s 45th Anniversary Season, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Terrence S. Orr has unveiled a 2014-2015 lineup punctuated by grand classical ballets, Pittsburgh premieres and reprisals from the company’s 45-year repertoire collection. This milestone season will feature the Pittsburgh premiere of “Beauty and the Beast” for two full performance weekends at the Benedum as well as the company’s first full-length production of … Continue reading Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Unveils 45th Anniversary Season Lineup
Pittsburgh Ballet soloists sound off on ‘Swan Lake’
By Steve Sucato Like professional sports teams, ballet companies go through ups and downs when it comes to talent. While the Steelers have struggled lately with a lack of it, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has been loaded with it. Most impressive have been PBT’s major story ballets. In 2012, the company wowed audiences with Giselle, and followed up with an engaging Cinderella this past April. Now it offers another … Continue reading Pittsburgh Ballet soloists sound off on ‘Swan Lake’
Nationally rising talent Alan Obuzor debuts a new dance work
By Steve Sucato Ever since Alan Obuzor was young, his mother, Marjorie Liese, encouraged her children to try different things. Having enrolled Alan and his three sisters in gymnastics at Gymkhana, in Point Breeze, Liese had them also try dance classes at a studio in the same building. The move would change Obuzor’s life. “After my first ballet class, I told my mother I wanted … Continue reading Nationally rising talent Alan Obuzor debuts a new dance work
Pittsburgh Dance Council brings troupe from shantytown to Downtown
By Steve Sucato Perhaps there is no better illustration of dance’s ability to cross socioeconomic lines than the two works on Compagnie Käfig’s current 14-city U.S. tour. Based in Lyon, France, the troupe for this tour features an all-male cast of 11 street dancers from the Rio de Janeiro shanty towns known as favelas. They perform as part of Pittsburgh Dance Council’s new season on Feb. 1, at Downtown’s … Continue reading Pittsburgh Dance Council brings troupe from shantytown to Downtown
Asase Yaa African-American Dance Theatre to tell uplifting story in ‘Drum Love’
By Steve Sucato Song, music, dance and the richness of the African diaspora come together in Asase Yaa African-American Dance Theatre‘s ballet of Drum Love, presented by Kente Arts Alliance, at the North Side’s New Hazlett Theater. With Drum Love, the Brooklyn-based troupe will make its Pittsburgh debut, having performed around the world including in Japan, Korea, France, Iceland, Ghana, Guinea and the Netherlands. Asase Yaa has also appeared at … Continue reading Asase Yaa African-American Dance Theatre to tell uplifting story in ‘Drum Love’
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet brings world-class moves to Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare (review)
By Steve Sucato When Walmart heiress Nancy Laurie founded New York-based Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet a decade ago, skepticism abounded over the troupe with a big-city budget and a small-town name. Since then, however, the company has created quite the buzz in the dance world for its to-die-for repertory by A-list choreographers and its talented roster of international dancers. Saturday night at PlayhouseSquare’s Ohio Theatre, … Continue reading Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet brings world-class moves to Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare (review)
Choreographers debut works-in-progress at Alloy Studios
By Steve Sucato When Mana Kawamura and Gia T. Cacalano show their works-in-progress at The Alloy Studios Feb. 1, the Friendship studio space itself will play a role. The recipients of a Kelly-Strayhorn Theater Next Stage Dance Residency, both choreographers were given a week in The Alloy Studios at the end of January to create new works. Prior to their residencies, both artists told me … Continue reading Choreographers debut works-in-progress at Alloy Studios
Fiesta Flamenca takes a big step forward
By Steve Sucato Flamenco dance, the most famous export of Spain’s Andalusia region, will take center stage Thu., Jan. 23, at North Side’s New Hazlett Theater — the latest, and largest, celebration of Flamenco Pittsburgh’s bi-annual Fiesta Flamenca. The all-ages program will have a different vibe this time, says Carolina Loyola-Garcia, Flamenco Pittsburgh’s co-founder and director. What started five years ago as a student showcase held at … Continue reading Fiesta Flamenca takes a big step forward
CorningWorks’ ‘Recipes Our Mothers Gave Us’ works a cooking metaphor for life
By Steve Sucato While life doesn’t come with an instruction manual, the wisdom of those who have come before us is supposed to offer guidance. But what if some of that wisdom — those recipes for happiness, success and fulfillment — turn out to be nothing more than clichés passed from generation to generation? In CorningWorks’ latest Glue Factory Project, Recipes Our Mothers Gave Us, three veteran dancers with … Continue reading CorningWorks’ ‘Recipes Our Mothers Gave Us’ works a cooking metaphor for life
2013’s Seven Most Transportive Dance Programs in Pittsburgh
By Steve Sucato In a year filled with great dance programs in Pittsburgh, here are seven that transported audiences from their seats to worlds away. Soap Opera (Attack Theatre, Feb. 2-10). Soap Opera mixed dance, mythology and opera music to tell the fictitious story of a terminally ill concert pianist — and his opera-singer lover’s bedside efforts to keep him alive by reading colorful stories aloud. The work … Continue reading 2013’s Seven Most Transportive Dance Programs in Pittsburgh
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