All stories by Sarah L. Kaufman on BroadwayStars

Friday, April 1, 2022

American Ballet Theatre turns in an exhilarating ‘Don Quixote’ by Sarah L. Kaufman

At the Kennedy Center, an effervescent cast lifts a production geared to excite.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:06PM

What it’s like to be a Russian artist now by Sarah L. Kaufman

A dancer, director and conductor reflect on what Putin’s funding, and his war in Ukraine, mean for the arts in Russia.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:18AM
Friday, March 25, 2022

Putin suggests sweeping changes at Bolshoi, Mariinsky theaters by Sarah L. Kaufman

The state-controlled news agency Tass reported that Putin asked loyalist conductor Valery Gergiev to consider the idea of merging Moscow’s Bolshoi and its St. Petersburg rival.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:42PM
Thursday, March 17, 2022

Lagging ticket sales, sets stuck on ships: The dance world is struggling to get back on its feet by Sarah L. Kaufman

Getting back onstage won’t be easy for some time, observers say. But there’s some good news ahead, too.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:12AM
Friday, March 11, 2022

From stage to battlefield: Some ballet dancers have taken up arms by Sarah L. Kaufman

Ukrainian ballet dancers take up arms as ballet world responds to Russian invasion.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:06AM
Friday, March 4, 2022

Step Afrika’s ‘Drumfolk’ brings the 1739 Stono Rebellion to life through the power of stepping by Sarah L. Kaufman

When the drums vanished from enslaved Africans’ hands, the beat leaped into the body — and into American culture.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:54PM
Thursday, March 3, 2022

Spring dance, leaping forward with new works, fresh ideas and favorites by Sarah L. Kaufman

Highlights across the country include Mark Morris, Lil Buck, American Ballet Theatre and “Reframing the Narrative” at the Kennedy Center.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:06AM
Saturday, February 19, 2022

Mark Morris tells the hard truth about what it means to be an artist today: ‘Everything’s terrible right now’ by Sarah L. Kaufman

“I’m not going to say, ‘Hooray, I’m celebrating and everything is great.’ It’s just not true. People have lost their whole careers," says the outspoken choreographer.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:36AM
Friday, February 11, 2022

‘MJ’ director Christopher Wheeldon on how he brought Michael Jackson’s dancing to life by Sarah L. Kaufman

“I can make the shape, but what is the intention and the attitude behind that? The people who worked with Michael and danced with him understand that,” the choreographer says of creating…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:18AM
Thursday, February 10, 2022

Washington Ballet’s ‘Swan Lake’ is finally at the Kennedy Center, intimate and also more ambitious than ever by Sarah L. Kaufman

Eun Won Lee and Gian Carlo Perez add depth to a visually striking but uneven production, which runs through Sunday.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:54PM
Wednesday, February 9, 2022

This exuberant dance video is an inspiring showcase of living legends by Sarah L. Kaufman

An answer to the youthful dances typically featured on TikTok, there’s no song to lip-sync, no moves to copy — just pure joy, delivered by great artists of the dance world.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:03AM
Saturday, February 5, 2022

A 107-year-old woman seizes the spotlight at the Dance on Camera Festival by Sarah L. Kaufman

Fundamental human values are the focus of this 50th-anniversary festival: unconventional joys, convulsive histories and social justice.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:33AM
Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Alvin Ailey illuminates what 2021 looked like from a dance perspective: Agitated. Stressed. Detached. by Sarah L. Kaufman

How do you move dancers around in a studio when everyone’s got to stay six feet apart? The answer defines the two premieres given by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Kennedy Cente…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 04:06PM
Saturday, January 29, 2022

As director of the Ailey company, Robert Battle pushed his own creativity aside. The pandemic brought it back. by Sarah L. Kaufman

“In the quiet ... I could hear my choreographic voice again,” says the artist, whose troupe will be at the Kennedy Center Feb 1-6 .

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:42AM
Friday, January 28, 2022

How four Washington Ballet dancers are diving back into ‘Swan Lake’ by Sarah L. Kaufman

Getting through the past two years has left these dancers with new perspectives on mental health, their bodies and their art.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:33AM
Friday, December 10, 2021

With ‘West Side Story,’ choreographer Justin Peck brought dance into the Spielberg universe by Sarah L. Kaufman

The former New York City Ballet dancer says that while working with Spielberg on the remake of the classic movie musical, he showed the director how movement is its own language.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:42AM
Monday, December 6, 2021

Best of dance 2021: Paul Taylor live at the Kennedy Center, Ashwini Ramaswamy and Jacob Jonas’s short films by Sarah L. Kaufman

Despite the covid confinement, dance artists found many ways to unleash their creativity.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:24AM
Saturday, December 4, 2021

At the Kennedy Center, Michelle Dorrance’s tappers pay homage to Ella Fitzgerald and Christmas by Sarah L. Kaufman

World premiere of ‘An Ella’quent Holiday Swing’ turns the Eisenhower Theater into a swinging jazz party.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:42PM
Thursday, November 25, 2021

At the Kennedy Center (at last), Miami City Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ is a perfect Thanksgiving story by Sarah L. Kaufman

After a non-“Nutcracker” year, the holiday ballet returns with a satisfying, traditional take.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:03PM

Don’t share the lipstick! How ballet companies are planning covid-free ‘Nutcrackers.’ by Sarah L. Kaufman

No kids under 12? Virus-tested tykes in custom-designed masks? Protocols vary. But please don’t breathe on the musicians.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:18AM
Friday, November 19, 2021

Akram Khan delivers a powerful indictment of war in ‘Xenos’ at the Kennedy Center by Sarah L. Kaufman

The London-based choreographer is on his final tour of this searing solo performance.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:12PM
Friday, November 12, 2021

You know it feels good to dance. These scientists reveal why. by Sarah L. Kaufman

In “Dancing Is the Best Medicine,” two neuroscientists examine why dance is good for heart, brain and soul.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:03AM
Friday, October 29, 2021

The pandemic was the final blow for some dance companies. How do the survivors stay nimble? by Sarah L. Kaufman

Advocates see troubling signs that the art form, routinely under financial stress, may be shrinking and its structures drastically changing.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:03AM
Friday, October 22, 2021

Ronald K. Brown/Evidence rises to a spiritual level in performance at the Kennedy Center by Sarah L. Kaufman

In “Grace” and “Mercy,” love and connection are central in unexpected ways.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 04:12PM
Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Peloton’s Cody Rigsby is powerfully predictable on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ by Sarah L. Kaufman

The fitness guru, who lacks a connection with his partner, could learn from the show’s same-sex couple, Jojo Siwa and Jenna Johnson.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 05:03PM
Saturday, October 16, 2021

With MacArthur ‘genius’ grant, this 70-year-old choreographer has big plans for the future by Sarah L. Kaufman

“Age doesn’t matter if you keep evolving,” says Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, founder of the Urban Bush Women dance troupe.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:03AM
Friday, October 8, 2021

Paul Taylor Dance Company makes a triumphant return to Kennedy Center by Sarah L. Kaufman

First in-person dance performance at the arts complex since the pandemic feels like a celebration of perseverance through deprivation.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:18PM
Friday, October 1, 2021

She landed a job most dancers would kill for. Then she made an unthinkable pivot. by Sarah L. Kaufman

“The pandemic sped up the process,” Baltimore native Jessica Pinkett says of her decidion to leave Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to become a filmmaker.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:06AM
Tuesday, September 14, 2021

With 10-hour rehearsals and buckets of ice, dancers prepare to retake Broadway stage by Sarah L. Kaufman

Performers in such dance-centric shows as “The Lion King,” “Chicago” and “Hamilton” are flexing an inner strength while they relearn the steps they haven’t done in 18 months.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:24AM
Thursday, September 9, 2021

In theaters or at home, dance is here to move you by Sarah L. Kaufman

Paul Taylor’s “Company B,” Akram Khan in his D.C. debut and new dance films fill stages and screens.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:36AM
Saturday, August 28, 2021

MacKenzie Scott’s multimillion-dollar message: Art is essential everywhere, not just in museums and theaters by Sarah L. Kaufman

By giving large sums to some arts groups you may not have heard of, the philanthropist links culture and social progress.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:42AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards