Life is neither good nor bad—Ravinia’s first full-length ‘Candide,’ however, was very good

HIGHLAND PARK, IL—My last trip to the Ravinia Festival was on opening week in early June. It was unseasonably cold and blustery; wind whipped picnic blankets and…

Continue Reading Life is neither good nor bad—Ravinia’s first full-length ‘Candide,’ however, was very good

At Physical Theater Festival, Aura CuriAtlas’s acrobats act out Steven Hawking’s story

CHICAGO — Two festivals which ran simultaneously this month — the Pivot Arts Festival in Uptown and Edgewater and the Physical Theater Festival in Lakeview…

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First weekend of Pivot Arts Fest challenges Euro-centrism with multidisciplinary forays

CHICAGO — Summer is just beginning, and Chicago is itching to hit the beach. Last Sunday was sunny, but deceptively cold. The chill in the…

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Tap bookends ballet and Hubbard Street in 2019 Spring to Dance finale

ST. LOUIS, MO — On National Tap Dance Day, tappers opened and closed the final evening of Spring to Dance, capping three full days of…

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Musical monotony needn’t be the rule, but at Spring to Dance, it’s a trend

ST. LOUIS, MO — It’s not a new trend. Contemporary dance has shared a kinship with minimalistic music for decades. As an undergraduate dance major…

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Contemporary is king on first night of Spring to Dance

ST. LOUIS, MO — With nightly performances through Saturday at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, the annual Spring to Dance festival is slowly building to…

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International dancewear brand Wear Moi finds a home in Chicago

CHICAGO — Since its humble beginnings in 1992, husband and wife business owners Christophe Ridet and Elisabeth Miegge-Ridet built their line of dance apparel called Wear Moi, going from custom orders…

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Opposites attract in Hedwig’s ‘Sea Level’ at Ruth Page

CHICAGO — The two pieces which make up Hedwig Dances’s spring series are positioned as opposites. The evening, called Sea Level: Above and Below, boasts…

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Saturday at the Epic Center: Beware the dance echo chamber — come to RAD Fest

KALAMAZOO, MI — In 2017, Fox News dropped the slogan “Fair and Balanced.” They claimed it was because the motto had been written by its…

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RAD Fest’s first night of short works puts American gender and race politics front and center

KALAMAZOO, MI — Two rows of chairs form a semi-circle around a projection screen hung at the front of the Judy Joliffe Theater. A third…

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