Tag: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh City Paper

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’

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Pittsburgh City Paper

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

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Airings

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’

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Pittsburgh City Paper

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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Pittsburgh City Paper

Prolific Texture Contemporary Ballet goes ‘Nearly Wild’

Texture Contemporary Ballet dancers Amanda Summer and Alan Obuzor. Photo by Katie Ging. By Steve Sucato To say that Texture Contemporary Ballet’s Alan Obuzor and Kelsey Bartman are prolific dance-makers might be an understatement. Since founding the Pittsburgh-based troupe in 2011, the pair has had a hand in creating more than 30 new ballets for it. For many choreographers, that would be a decade’s worth … Continue reading Prolific Texture Contemporary Ballet goes ‘Nearly Wild’

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Pittsburgh City Paper

Pittsburgh’s Fall dance season brings everything from showcases of local talent to international touring companies

By Steve Sucato Pittsburgh’s dance scene has seen lots of changes of late, including the addition of new dance troupes Geeksdanz, Maree ReMalia/merrygogo and Yes Brain Dance Theater. Most recently there is ReedDance, the retooled successor to the now-defunct August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, still headed by Greer Reed. The fall dance season includes both the new and the familiar. Texture Contemporary Ballet goes Nearly Wild in its … Continue reading Pittsburgh’s Fall dance season brings everything from showcases of local talent to international touring companies

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Pittsburgh City Paper

New York-based Pittsburgh-favorite choreographer Sidra Bell reveals her latest work-in-progress

By Steve Sucato Pittsburgh’s dance community over the past several years has had a love affair with New York-based choreographers. Artists such as Nora Chipaumire, Camille A. Brown and local transplant Kyle Abraham have all established an ongoing presence here through works that have engaged and delighted local audiences and presenters. Another New Yorker whose works have frequented local stages is Sidra Bell. Bell and … Continue reading New York-based Pittsburgh-favorite choreographer Sidra Bell reveals her latest work-in-progress

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Pittsburgh City Paper

With its ‘The Green Swan’, the Pillow Project digs deeper into improv

By Steve Sucato For nearly a decade, Pearlann Porter’ s Pillow Project has been on the leading edge of dance in Pittsburgh. Founded by Porter in 2004, the company created an instant buzz, bolstered by large-scale rock ‘ n’ roll dance extravaganzas like 2005′ s Concept Album Tour, at Shadyside‘ s Hunt Armory. Then, the company transformed itself by producing intimate cutting-edge multimedia works such as … Continue reading With its ‘The Green Swan’, the Pillow Project digs deeper into improv

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Pittsburgh City Paper

Many of the Pittsburgh’s best dancers and dance troupes put on a PrideFest showcase

By Steve Sucato A highlight of Pittsburgh’s annual PrideFest celebration is its dance showcase, curated each year by local dance aficionado Richard Parsakian. The showcase offers an eclectic mix of local professional dance talent, from ballet to belly dance. This year’s showcase, part of PrideFest’s free June 16 street fair on Liberty Avenue, Downtown, highlights seven troupes on two stages (at Sixth Street and 10th Street). One … Continue reading Many of the Pittsburgh’s best dancers and dance troupes put on a PrideFest showcase

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Dance Reviews 2013

Corning Masterful in New One-Woman Show about Loss

CorningWorks: The Glue Factory Project – Remains New Hazlett Theater Pittsburgh, PA June 5, 2013 Reviewed by Steve Sucato Choreographers as much or perhaps more than any other artists turn to their personal lives for inspiration in creating their works. Veteran dancer/choreographer Beth Corning in her last several productions for her Glue Factory Project – a performance series featuring dancers over the age of forty … Continue reading Corning Masterful in New One-Woman Show about Loss

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