21 stories by "Sheila Kogan"
After a pause, there was the world premiere of "Second Duet." It was the most dramatic and emotional dance of the program. Wearing sneakers and casual sportswear, Cassandra Trenary and Aran …
For something completely different, New York City Center commissioned and presented Ayodele Casel's tap dance company for the world premiere of "Where We Dwell." A crowd-pleasing, often rous…
Ballet Vlaanderen was founded in 1969 by dancer/choreographer Jeanne Brabants, and the present artistic director since 2015 is Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, who is known for his own award-winning ch…
The latest offering in New York City Center Encores! concert series was the Jerry Herman musical, "Mack & Mabel." Originally on Broadway during the 1974 season, it received disappointing…
A recent iteration of the classic ballet "Swan Lake" was staged by Derek Deane and danced by the Shanghai Ballet and presented by the Shanghai Ballet with China Arts and Entertainment Group …
Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater exploded onto the stage with raw vitality. Harris, who choreographed most of the works, combined various styles of street dancing (mo…
The music included the catchy, familiar tunes of "The Nutcracker Suite" by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, first featured in classical ballet. The Dorrance version uses the absolutely wonderful ja…
The first piece on the program was the most successful of the three: Mark Morris' "The Letter V". (There was no mention of any specific meaning of the title.) Â The classical music composi…
"The Wrong Man" is a new musical by multi-platinum songwriter Ross Golan with "Hamilton"'s director Thomas Kail. Like "Hamilton," it began as a concept album and grew into a stage performanc…
The Mariinsky Ballet performed the U.S. premiere of "At the Wrong Time," which had been choreographed by Alexander Sergeev and had its world premiere March 26, 2019 in St. Petersburg, Russia…
The fourth piece, titled "3 with D" was choreographed by Javier de Frutos and was the only performance that included live music. Patrick Gallagher was on piano in front of the stage and Dan …
Whatever Glover discussed in the opening " about identity and wearing masks " may have been relevant, but the program could be seen simply as a revue. Â A wide variety of recorded music wa…
Having its world premiere, "Radical Beasts in the Forest of Possibilities" is a collaboration of choreographer Francesca Harper with iconic composer/performer Nona Hendryx and the dancers. H…
The evening consisted of a number of short dances in varying styles, but the final piece, "Valse Triste," was the most successful. Osipova wore a simple, off-the-shoulder, blue dress and Hal…
BalletNext is a company founded by Michele Wiles, former prima ballerina of American Ballet Theater. Wiles has developed a symbiotic relationship with the University of Utah where she trains…
Part of the tradition is the audience's response. There was hooting and hollering from the audience, sounding like they were at a rock concert, but it was impossible not to get caught up in …
By Sheila Kogan, Contributing Writer, May 29, 2018 The Vineyard Theatre is a small, comfortable Off-Broadway theater with a reputation for encouraging daring, creative experimentation. Among…
By Sheila Kogan, Contributing Writer, April 17, 2018 Twenty years ago, third-generation puppeteer, Basil Twist, decided to create a totally abstract work based on the music of Symphonie Fant…
By Sheila Kogan, Contributing Writer, August 3, 2017 Really Rosie began as a half-hour animated television special in 1975. The script and the lyrics were written by the famous children's au…
By Sheila Kogan, Contributing Writer, July 20, 2017 Compagnie XY is a French-based circus, but there's no big top, no trapeze rig, no spangled leotards nor wild animals. Instead, it is a tro…
By Sheila Kogan, Contributing Writer, June 15, 2017 Zero Hour is the one-man show written and performed by Jim Brochu about the legendary performer Zero Mostel. This current incarnation play…
