Posts by Janice Steinberg
Live Arts Fest Features New Dance Companies from SD and SF
Guts, grit, and women with a bitch of a time getting their dresses to zip when Women of Viv and Lavina Rich’s Push Process deconstruct glamour at the Live Arts Fest.
Read MoreMusic is the Lifeblood, Malashock’s Choreography Adds Stunning Physicality
If music is the lifeblood of dance, Malashock’s choreography adds bones, muscles, and powerful visual imagery. From the lilting playfulness of the opening “Great Day” to a final image of transcendence, “Lifeblood Harmony” is a thrilling evening of dance. Just two more shows, tonight and tomorrow. Here’s why you shouldn’t miss it.
Read MoreDance and the Right to Privacy at YouTurn
YouTurn 2014 offered an intriguing progression from a highly performative dance, to one combining a personal focus with performance, to a piece so private it was like peeking through curtains into the dancer’s living room. It also proved that, while bubble wrap never gets old, body painting does.
Read MoreAfro-Brazilian, Hip-hop, Modern, Circus – Compagnie Kafig Does It All
In Compagnie Kafig’s San Diego debut last Wednesday, the first piece, “Correria,” demonstrated the all-male company’s energy and range, which goes way beyond hip-hop to include circus, Afro-Brazilian as well as contemporary dance, the Brazilian martial art form capoeira, and terrific theatricality. But it was with “Agwa” that Kafig created a rapturous, holy artistic experience.
Read MoreHip Hop “Nutcracker” Features Menacing Mice, Best Party Scene Ever
Forget about cute little mice in the battle scene. In “A Culture Shock Nutcracker,” the rodents are rats in slashed tights, creeping in low like a street gang, wonderfully nasty. This hip hop take on “The Nutcracker” ballet gets a lot right its first time out; but there’s room for some redos the next time around.
Read MoreTel Aviv Dance Fest Rewires My Nervous System … and Ripples to San Diego
Seeing the International Exposure contemporary dance festival in Tel Aviv made me feel as if my nervous system got disconnected, and I had to create new neural pathways. The best of the Israeli dance makers are that good. And guess what? This work is rippling out to San Diego.
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