Author: Lauren Warnecke
When life imitates art: George Floyd, RBG and ‘We’re Gonna Die’
CHICAGO—Ten minutes before the scheduled virtual opening of Theatre Y’s “We’re Gonna Die,” I heard that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. I didn’t want to go,…
Moving is important. What if we took the hint, and actually paused?
NORMAL, Ill.—My feed is filled with virtual dance classes and obituaries. As COVID-19 continues to tear through this country and redefine ways of life, indefinitely,…
Beyond ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ new film takes a deeper dive on Petipa
Icarus Films—the independent film producer that has created documentaries on Ohad Naharin, Pina Bausch and Trisha Brown—has a new dance film making its way to…
Illinois Symphony hits all the right notes—and there were a lot of them—in V-Day program
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Love was in the air at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts Friday, which had big pink hearts projected onto the…
‘An American in Paris’ at Drury Lane has all the movie magic of the original
OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL—The band was inconsistent. So was some of the tap dancing, and a couple actors’ French accents sounded, well, more like German. If…
Illinois Symphony features soloists from among its ranks in intimate ‘Magnificent Mozart’
BLOOMINGTON, IL–As Maestro Ken Lam announced what he called the “main dish” of a three-course musical meal Saturday at Bloomington’s Second Presbyterian Church, musicians adjusted…
Big Muddy’s minimalist, modern day ‘Christmas Carol’ aims to forge a path for a Dickensian dance tradition
ST. LOUIS–It’s only been a week since the inaugural Big Muddy Dance Festival, and The Big Muddy Dance Company, who produced the expo, performances and workshop series…
Dance weaves a thread through 2019 Chicago International Film Festival
CHICAGO—A triptych of films screened Thursday to Sunday, collectively marketed under the header In Focus: Dance, forms an anchor point of the 2019 Chicago International…
Second ‘Evening of Ballet Stars’ a mix of contemporary and classic pas de deux
ST. LOUIS—With their second edition of “An Evening of Ballet Stars,” Dance St. Louis aimed to find out if lighting does, indeed, strike twice in…
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…