A monthly digest of select dance news and performance impressions, primarily from the regions I cover in Ohio, and parts of Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania. By Steve Sucato [NEWS AND NOTES] Michigan Arts Funding is at Risk — We Need Your VoiceThe Michigan House of Representatives has passed a budget that eliminates all arts and cultural funding. This isn’t just about numbers on a … Continue reading Airings: August 2025
CORNINGWORKSThe Glue Factory Project – the other shoeThe New Hazlett TheaterPittsburgh, PAOctober 20-24, 2021 Reviewed by Steve Sucato Adding their voices to the endless stream of political and social discourse seemingly dominated by polarizing rhetoric and the ramblings of boorish pundits and outright loons, dancemaker Beth Corning along with co-creator, Kay Cummings offered up a more civil deep dive into the complexities of several of … Continue reading Strife Inspired Art: CORNINGWORKS’ ‘the other shoe’ [REVIEW]
CorningWorks – with a shadow of… New Hazlett Theater Pittsburgh, PA March 27-31, 2019 Reviewed by Steve Sucato In the lead up to her latest GLUE FACTORY PROJECT work with a shadow of…, dancer/choreographer Beth Corning said “I hope nobody makes any sense of this work; none.” Mission accomplished. Pittsburgh’s queen of metaphor outdid herself with the hourlong collection of mind minutia and movement that … Continue reading CorningWorks’ ‘with a shadow of…’ a Muddling of Liminal Space
“Delivered in a series of clever vignettes, six a breast took the road less preachy in getting audience members to think about and relate to how women (perhaps more generationally) have been treated…” Continue reading CorningWorks’ ‘six a breast’ reveals how many women really feel
“Corning’s performance in Remains — A One-Woman Show was a tour-de-force of well-honed artistic brilliance.” Continue reading Corning Triumphs in One-Woman Show about Loss
“…I have never seen someone with her specific set of obstacles move so brilliantly and with so much artistry. To be fair, I don’t see too many dancers in general that move with such brilliance.” Continue reading Texture Contemporary Ballet: Finding New Textures in Other Voices
The work’s thematic questions on existence and humanity’s place in it were a potent heart and mind stimulant Continue reading CorningWorks’ ‘Beckett & Beyond’ an Artistic Triumph
“Forget About Home” offers snapshots of wartime women waiting for a sweetheart to come home, grieving over the loss of a son, and working in factories, a la “Rosie the Riveter.” Continue reading Texture Contemporary Ballet opens its fifth season with works new and revisited
“I find that people tend to curate their lives on social media,” says Custer. “They want to project a certain image and they make sure all their posts and photos match that image.” Continue reading Community Supported Arts production highlights new works by Teena Marie Custer and Roberta Guido
By Steve Sucato Texture Contemporary Ballet wraps up its fourth season with Unleashed Emotion. The program in three acts at the New Hazlett Theater features five ballets that run the gamut of emotions, including the premiere of Texture associate artistic director Kelsey Bartman’s “Old Skin.” The 25-minute “earthy” ballet for five dancers, set to music by Olafur Arnalds, Patrick Wolf and others, explores the idea of … Continue reading Texture Contemporary Ballet’s Season-Ender a mix of Old and New
artsair.art 