Posts by Janice Steinberg
“Beyond Babel” a Riveting Hip Hop Romeo and Juliet
Their YouTube videos may have over 1.5 billion views, but Keone and Mari Madrid don’t mind playing a 120-seat theater to share their artistic vision in “Beyond Babel,” a hip hop “Romeo and Juliet.” Their tender partnering shows how meltingly smooth their West Coast Urban style can be.
Read MoreInnocence Meets Irony in Mark Morris’s Idea-Rich “Pepperland”
In a fascinating coincidence, La Jolla Music Society presented two dances this season by a noted choreographer using music from the 1960s, and the two couldn’t have been more different. Paul Taylor’s vapid “Changes,” shown here in January, used music by the Mamas and Papas (seriously?) and reduced the 60s to hippie chicks and bell-bottoms. “Pepperland,” in happy contrast, is a work of substance, a celebration of the youthful creativity and idealism of the 1960s … and a profound, important reflection on what became of those dreams.
Read MoreLitvak Dance Makes Stunning Debut
Litvak Dance may be a newborn, but there were no tentative baby steps in the repertory company’s sold-out debut concert last weekend. Litvak exploded onto the stage at UCSD’s Molli and Arthur Wagner Theatre with assured dancers performing work by four choreographers, shifting deftly between styles. And the closing piece by artistic director Sadie Weinberg was so glorious and theatrical, it begs to be shown on a larger stage.
Read MoreShoestring Live Arts Fest Delivers World-Class Dance
The Live Arts Fest put on by Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater is truly a shoestring event—on Saturday, Isaacs was working as a stagehand, handling props. So it’s all the more remarkable that the ten-day festival offered a rich palette of work by international artists, including Christine Dakin, longtime principal with the Martha Graham Dance Company, doing Graham’s legendary solo, “Cante Jondo.”
Read MoreDance about Fear is Brings Fun (not Screams) to Live Arts
“Schrekstoff” offered much to appreciate: clarity, humor, and strong performances by a five-member ensemble. But Lavina Rich warned the audience beforehand that we might get scared. I wish. The only emotion I felt was humor.
Read More“Coop” Opens Live Arts Festival with a Dream of a Dance
Watching “Coop,” the piece by somebodies dance theater that kicked off the Live Arts Fest on Friday, felt like having a deliciously wacky dream. The evening-length work proceeded by a free-associative logic and offered moments of sublime dance.
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