2018 ‘Spring to Dance’ chock full of pleasant surprises
ST. LOUIS, MO — I came to this year’s Spring to Dance festival figuring the best-case scenario would be to experience nothing out of the ordinary. Dance St. Louis, the…
Lauren Warnecke From Chicago to Lima to Antananarivo: ‘Dancing Around the World’ with Nejla Yatkin
CHICAGO — World Dance Day is not merely an annual event to Chicago-based choreographer Nejla Yatkin. After growing up in Berlin with familial roots in Turkey, Yatkin has spent the…
Guest Contributors Three days in dance month affirm off-Loop concert dance’s place in #chidance
CHICAGO — We’re in the home stretch of Chicago Dance Month, a celebration of the breadth and depth of dance in the Windy City. For me, that has included a…
“wood bone mill” has Bryan Saner and Matty Davis climbing trees in Saner’s backyard
CHICAGO — As I’ve lately been on something of a hiatus from writing previews or reviews of dance, in order to finish writing a book that includes it as a…
Belle dances with fairy tale friends in Milwaukee Ballet’s new story ballet: ‘Beauty and the Beast’
MILWAUKEE, WI — Milwaukee Ballet is a company that whole-heartedly embraces the story ballet genre. Its latest narrative creation, Beauty and the Beast, will premiere tonight at the Marcus Center…
Kansas City FilmFest focuses lens on local artists
KANSAS CITY, MO — Kicking off Wednesday at Cinemark Palace on the Plaza in Kansas City, MO, the 22nd annual Kansas City FilmFest will feature more than 100 local, regional,…
Challenging works for diamond jubilee kick-off new era for KC Ballet
KANSAS CITY, MO — The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts was buzzing Saturday night, as the Kansas City Ballet ended the first weekend of performances celebrating its 60th anniversary…
Making Visible: An interview with Okwui Okpokwasili
NEW YORK / CHICAGO — I saw Okwui Okpokwasili’s piece Poor People’s TV Room when it premiered at New York Lives Arts last spring and was struck by its richly…
In/Motion Festival elevates dance, on and off screen
CHICAGO — A line of men struggled to shift along the walls of a cell, backs turned and elbows struggling to fit in and out of the spaces between the…
New Dance Horizons is a triumph in Dance St. Louis’ lean year
ST. LOUIS, MO — The mission of Dance St. Louis, a presenting organization founded more than 50 years ago by Washington University professor of dance Annelise Mertz, is pretty simple:…