Paul Taylor Dance Company brings joy, humor and genius to PlayhouseSquare
Reviewed by Steve Sucato Special to The Plain Dealer With a body of work that is as rich and celebrated as choreographer Paul Taylor’s, the question when his namesake company comes to Cleveland is not whether it will be a good program but whether it will be a great one. Saturday night’s performance by the Paul Taylor Dance Company at PlayhouseSquare’s Ohio Theatre was the … Continue reading Paul Taylor Dance Company brings joy, humor and genius to PlayhouseSquare
Attack Theatre returns to the scene of the crime in ‘The Chalk Line’
Reviewed by Steve Sucato Apparently it wasn’t case closed for Attack Theatre choreographers and artistic directors Peter Kope and Michele De La Reza after their 2011 crime-drama-inspired What?…This is What. Their latest production, The Chalk Line, re-envisions that 2011 dance-theater work. In the Nov. 2 performance, dancer Dane Toney opened the show by running onto the stage to a back wall, where he wrote in chalk, “Season 2 … Continue reading Attack Theatre returns to the scene of the crime in ‘The Chalk Line’
Pittsburgh Ballet opens its season with two modern classics by Twyla Tharp
By Steve Sucato Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre kicks off its 44th season with An Evening of Twyla Tharp, a salute to the irrepressible Emmy- and Tony Award-winning stage and screen choreographer. The Oct. 25-27 program features reprises of two of Tharp’s most popular works. First performed by PBT in 2006, the 35-minute “Nine Sinatra Songs” (1982) has a ballroom setting and features seven couples costumed in gowns and … Continue reading Pittsburgh Ballet opens its season with two modern classics by Twyla Tharp
Zurich’s Zimmermann & de Perrot’s ‘Hans was Heiri’ makes U.S. premiere at Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts
By Steve Sucato Martin Zimmermann and Dimitri de Perrot say of their works, “We do everything very seriously, but take nothing seriously.” The award-winning duo’s Zurich-based Zimmermann & de Perrot combines circus arts, dance, theater and a whole lot of wackiness. The troupe makes its Pittsburgh debut with the U.S. premiere of Hans was Heiri, in three Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts shows at the August Wilson Center. On its website, the company describes … Continue reading Zurich’s Zimmermann & de Perrot’s ‘Hans was Heiri’ makes U.S. premiere at Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts
Airings: Geeksdanz offers up chills and thrills in ‘Manifestations’
By Steve Sucato In April, Ellen Deutsch’s Geeksdanz interpreted the high-tech world of video gaming. Now her fledgling troupe explores a much older, low-tech form of entertainment: ghost stories. Manifestations ─ at Shadyside’s intimate Steel City Improv Theater ─ seeks to tingle spines and chill blood. Four dancers will perform to six stories by award-winning storyteller Alan Irvine, drawn from legends, folk tales and literary classics including Bram Stoker‘s “The Judge’s House”. The interpretations range … Continue reading Airings: Geeksdanz offers up chills and thrills in ‘Manifestations’
Pittsburgh’s Pillow Project to create art amidst ash in ‘The Jazz Furnace’
By Steve Sucato Call it site-specific dance on a gargantuan scale. The Pillow Project takes its improvisational “Postjazz” movement style and video wizardry to a whole new level when it invades the Carrie Blast Furnaces, in Rankin, on Oct. 12, for a daylong extravaganza titled The Jazz Furnace. Built in 1907, the Carrie Furnaces number 6 and 7 tower 92 feet over the Monongahela River. Until 1978, … Continue reading Pittsburgh’s Pillow Project to create art amidst ash in ‘The Jazz Furnace’
BalletX opens DANCECleveland season with engaging program
By Steve Sucato Special to The Plain Dealer DANCECleveland hit a home run with its season opener of BalletX Saturday night at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall. The contemporary ballet troupe from Philadelphia, in its Northeast Ohio debut, presented a memorable mixed repertory program of three engaging ballets performed adroitly by its versatile dancers. To read the full review click here Continue reading BalletX opens DANCECleveland season with engaging program
Pittsburgh’s acclaimed newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival Biggest Yet
By Steve Sucato When Kelly-Strayhorn Theater Executive Director Janera Solomon was putting together the theater’s inaugural newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival, in 2009, few dance artists outside of Pittsburgh had heard of the theater. Now, in its fifth year, the annual festival and the theater are becoming known nationally. That led to a record 40 emerging-choreographer applicants from around the country seeking to take part. “This … Continue reading Pittsburgh’s acclaimed newMoves Contemporary Dance Festival Biggest Yet
Airings: Dancer/Choreographer Jasmine Hearn goes ‘Swimming’
By Steve Sucato No, dancer/choreographer Jasmine Hearn’s that’s what she said doesn’t refer to the punchline of some crude joke. Rather, this site-specific dance series explores the rites of passage that females of color experience in America. The monthly series funded by The Pittsburgh Foundation continues Sat., Sept. 28, with three performances of “Installment 4: Swimming,” at Assemble gallery. Hearn is a Point Park grad who has worked … Continue reading Airings: Dancer/Choreographer Jasmine Hearn goes ‘Swimming’
Montreal’s Compagnie Marie Chouinard stages U.S. premieres in Pittsburgh
By Steve Sucato Canadian choreographer Marie Chouinard says she has butterflies in her stomach over her latest work, “Gymnopédies.” That’s because when I spoke with her recently about the work that premiered in Lisbon, Portugal, this past June, she was still revising it. “I am sure it will turn out good, but my stomach doesn’t know that yet,” joked Chouinard, by phone from Montreal. With … Continue reading Montreal’s Compagnie Marie Chouinard stages U.S. premieres in Pittsburgh
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