Posts by Janice Steinberg
Who Cares? Everyone—City Ballet’s “Balanchine and More”
City Ballet of San Diego opened its “Balanchine and More” with “Who Cares?,” George Balanchine’s 1970 ballet set to nine Gershwin tunes. Lighthearted and flirty, the piece was a delicious kickoff for a program demonstrating the extraordinary care that has made City Ballet a stellar company whose dancers gobble up challenging repertory … and do it to a live orchestra.
Read MoreIn “5 Soldiers,” 5 Dancers Offer Gripping Take on Military Life
“5 Soldiers” takes place at the White Box Theater at Liberty Station. The intimate space is ideal for Rosie Kay’s intimate, intense take on soldiers training, living, and ultimately risking their lives together. It’s ideal, as well, given Liberty Station’s history as a Naval training facility and whatever psychic resonance from those eager, scared, brave young sailors lingers in the walls. And it’s running here for two more nights. Go!
Read MoreA.I.M Offers a Bonus: A Performance by Kyle Abraham
Kyle Abraham took us in his arms and invited us in with three intimate pieces danced by his superb A.I.M (Abraham.In.Motion) company at the Balboa Theatre on Thursday. Then, before anyone could get too comfortable, he ignited the stage with the propulsive, hip hop-flavored “Drive.” The program also offered a rare treat: Abraham himself, filling in—in “The Quiet Dance”—for a company member who couldn’t perform that night.
Read MoreEvocative, Transcendent Dance from Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater
A man sinks to his knees, one hand rising from his chest as if he’s pulling his heart out. It’s a beautifully evocative gesture in a dance filled with such images—“Crossroads,” a premiere by Terry Wilson that opened last weekend’s performance by Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater. It was one of Isaacs’ best-ever.
Read MoreWhat’s Old is New Again: Martha Graham Dance
Fresh. Vital. These are not words I expected to use for the Martha Graham Dance Company’s performance at the Civic Theatre on Wednesday. … What a happy surprise, then, to see the exciting show the Graham company did here, performed by dancers who seemed enraptured by this work.
Read MoreLuminous Dance from Aakash Odedra; Sometimes Too Luminous
Spinning on his heels, arms slashing, Aakash Odedra electrified the stage at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre on Tuesday. For the other solos on the program, titled “Rising,” he turned to three contemporary choreographers: Khan, Russell Maliphant, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. And it happened that the order of the pieces here marked a progression from breathtaking to meh.
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