Posts by Janice Steinberg
City Ballet Dances in the Moonlight
Can’t City Ballet of San Diego afford shirts for its male dancers? Just kidding. The bare-chested guys looked swell in a show that was a charming mix of setting—UCSD’s Epstein Family Amphitheater—and a program of superbly danced all-new work.
Read MoreBODYTRAFFIC Offers Delectable Food for Thought
BODYTRAFFIC explored an intriguing range of music-dance relationships in work by an international roster of choreographers. Two of the Los Angeles company’s pieces were set to feel-good tunes by the likes of Peggy Lee and Oscar Peterson. Another used sappy songs by male crooners as an ironic counterpoint to almost-nude male solos. And one featured James Brown classics, but often edited into distortion. It made for an evening of superb dancing by eight gorgeous movers … and rich food for thought.
Read MoreComplexions Ballet Dazzles
Propulsive, exuberant, thrilling, Complexions Contemporary Ballet brought dazzling technique and stratospheric energy to the Civic Theatre. And those bodies! Sleek, flesh-toned costumes highlighted exquisitely muscled legs and superb lines.
Read MoreLitvak Dance Offers Spellbinding Premieres
Sadie Weinberg’s vision for Litvak Dance, her four-year-old company, is to attract top choreographers to create work for her powerhouse dancers. For Litvak’s performance last weekend, Weinberg assembled an international dream team. The show featured spellbinding premieres by Israeli dancemaker Ronen Izhaki and rising New York star Rebecca Margolick.
Read MoreTrolley Dances 2022 Elevates
Isaacs has a brilliant eye for composition, and she blended a range of groupings and levels, spotlighted a pair of dancers while the rest clustered; she might have even choreographed the mesmerizing cumulus cloud at the show I saw.
Read MoreLitvak’s “Dancing Outdoors” Offers Strong Geographic, Emotional Range
Strutting out in glitter and fur, Ashley Akhavan and Nick McGhee own the stage in “I hear everybody you know is more relevant than everybody I know.” Dipping, pivoting, vamping, Akhavan is all cool hauteur, while McGhee flashes a “please like me” smile. This deliciously cheeky piece opened “Dancing Outdoors Take 2,” Litvak Dance’s show in the courtyard of ICA in Encinitas on Saturday.
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