CHICAGO—Leaving Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Friday, tannins of RE | Dance’s “A Delicate Hand” still swirled in my brain. Its grape and oaky hues on costumes clothing dancers of a certain age reveling in bodies honed by decades in motion as they bob and weave among glowing cubes which cast an ethereal radiance on these hallowed grounds. I’m getting ahead of…

DES MOINES, Iowa—A modest crowd, in comparison to the number of available seats, filed into the immense Des Moines Civic Center on Oct. 29 for Ballet Des Moines’ season opener, “Kiss,” a full-length evening created in collaboration with Chicago’s Stephanie Martinez and Para.Mar Dance Theater. Martinez’ pre-pandemic life often included moments like this: bowing to an audience of strangers in…

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — I thought I knew Owen/Cox Dance Group. Turns out, a 10-minute dance film, released last month on Easter Sunday, changed my perception of this now-seasoned Kansas City-based ensemble. Call it an air of spontaneity, maybe, or perhaps a sense of reverent rebellion. Honestly, I can’t quite put my finger on what’s different about “And the darkness has…

OWENSBORO, Ky. — Parents, siblings and family friends filed into the RiverPark Center last March for In Concert, Owensboro Dance Theatre’s annual spring production. Masked patrons with bouquets tucked under their arms navigated through the rows of Cannon Hall, half of which were draped with caution tape to encourage social distancing. The first half of In Concert read like most…

ST. LOUIS —The return to live shows is on the horizon for the Big Muddy Dance Company, which has made the most of a global bad hand by quickly pivoting to digital and remaining steadfastly focused throughout the pandemic. The company has thus far taken two approaches to digital dance; in November, Lemp Legends was a cinematic tour through the…

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — In an all-digital format, the 12th edition of the Regional Alternative Dance Festival (RAD Fest) brought tastes of this splendid festival to an at-home audience. The schedule kept to the conventions of years past, with two streamed concerts, a youth performance, a dance film screening, classes and discussions held throughout the weekend. Watching the smattering of dance works…

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — To describe what happened last Tuesday evening feels a little like a betrayal of trust. I was one of two audience members for an episode of Nichole Canuso Dance Company’s Being/With: Home — available through March 14 via limited digital engagements presented by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center and the Bates Dance Festival (Lewiston, Maine). That…

TFW No GF was released on Valentine’s Day. As a cruel joke? Or in ironic solidarity with the film’s subjects? Both, I hope. Alex Lee Moyer’s documentary film, premiered at the digital edition of SXSW in 2020, tells the stories of five men. More specifically, they are white, millennial internet trolls identified only by their first names or handles: Sean,…

ST. LOUIS — The show must go on, as they say. Though this mantra has been questioned throughout the past year, as a raging pandemic, political upheaval, social unrest and economic despair have put arts organizations’ very survival to the test. The Big Muddy Dance Company opted to press ahead, making the most of a bad situation by pivoting to…

ST. LOUIS—When the Big Muddy Dance Company made Lemp Legends for the Edison Theatre in 2018, I would bet, dollars to donuts, they expected to remount it at some point. What they likely didn’t expect was a re-imagination quite like this. Lemp Legends marks many firsts for Big Muddy. It was their first full-length work and first attempt at narrative…