Posts by Janice Steinberg
Two Stars Are Born in City Ballet of SD Contemporary Show
The panting sound you hear is me rushing to get this review written when you still have two chances, tonight and tomorrow afternoon, to see “Ballet on the Edge,” City Ballet of San Diego’s annual show of contemporary work. Last night’s opening offered not one but two star-is-born moments – a premiere by up-and-coming dance maker Geoff Gonzalez and a show-stealing turn by apprentice company member Laura Kaufman.
Read Moremovement initiative dares to move … and to thrill
The slogan of [the] movement initiative1375641721-large is “Dare to move,” and daring is clearly bred in the bones of founders/directors Caryn Glass and Ami Ipapo – both are veterans of Streb Extreme Action, the Brooklyn company known for its bruising physicality and aerial work that makes your heart catch in your throat.
Read MoreSydney Dance Company Moves Like a Dream … When You Can See The Dancers
Often, during the Sydney Dance Company’s “2 One Another” at Mandeville Auditorium on Saturday, I wished I could be seeing the piece in rehearsal. I wanted to focus on the movement, free from the sometimes bombastic music and over-bright, hyperactive lighting. Sensory overload may be just what artistic director/choreographer Rafael Bonachela had in mind.
Read MoreHappiness! LJ Playhouse Holds a Festival
Over the years, various performance series here have billed themselves as festivals, but none in my experience compared to arts fests in other countries, in which the festival (from the Latin for “happy”) atmosphere extends beyond the theater and transforms public space. Here are some of the most magical WoW Festival offerings.
Read MoreI’d Follow Kamchàtka Anywhere
The Pied Piper’s tune was so irresistible that rats followed it to their deaths, and the children of Hamelin skipped after the Piper into a mountain tomb. Kamchàtka exercises a similarly spellbinding – though, thankfully, not fatal – allure. Eight members of the Barcelona-based theater troupe are here for La Jolla Playhouse’s WithOut Walls (WoW) Festival. Last night, where Kamchàtka led, I followed. And the journey raised juicy questions about dissolving the fourth or possibly the fifth wall and turning theater into life.
Read MoreWhite Box Becomes Sacred Space – Compagnie Nacera Baleza
Compagnie Nacera Baleza isn’t everyone’s cup of tea; some people left at the break complaining of boredom. But, seen as ritual rather than performance, the French company’s work possessed stunning depth and beauty.
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