That weightlessness, or the effect of it, is “what Romanticism was about,” Cordua said. “They all wanted to get to a higher sphere. I found it really interesting to see and meet people that do all those scary things that I don’t find so scary — these artists that do all these extreme things with … Read more
New York City Ballet dancers trickled onstage in mismatched sweatshirts, down vests, practice tutus and leg warmers at the start of a rehearsal for Alexei Ratmansky’s “Paquita.” They disappeared, then reappeared in sleek leotards and tights, crisscrossing the stage to mazurka-like music. Soon the whole coalesced in a great diagonal stretching downstage to upstage, … Read more
A little more than 40 years after its founding, the Stephen Petronio Company is disbanding, it announced on Wednesday. The dance troupe will have its final performances at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in July. “It’s been a wild, beautiful ride,” Petronio, 68, said in a phone interview. “This is the Year of Snake, and … Read more
These days, many people know Camille A. Brown from the worlds of theater and opera, where she has become a frequent collaborator on high-profile projects. (She choreographed two hit shows now on Broadway, “Gypsy” and “Hell’s Kitchen.”) But it’s her work with her company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, that brings us closest to her … Read more
It’s a test tube ballet: an experiment that at first glance might seem like pining for the past. But while Alexei Ratmansky’s new production of “Paquita” finds its footing from ballets of earlier centuries, it lands in the here and now as a daring proposal about legacy and lineage. What makes classical dancing modern? In … Read more
The National Endowment for the Arts is telling arts groups not to use federal funds to promote “diversity, equity and inclusion” or “gender ideology” in ways that run afoul of President Trump’s executive orders — causing confusion and concern. Black Girls Dance, a Chicago-based nonprofit that trains and mentors young dancers, was recently approved for … Read more