183 stories by "LEIGH WITCHEL"
The best thing about New York City Ballet's spring opener Tuesday night was that the dancers were onstage at all. Late the night before, they finally wrapped up their contentious labor negot…
For a "punk ballerina," Karole Armitage has some good, old-fashioned ideas. And the harder she pushes at them, the better they are.
The downtown diva looked sharp at Tuesday's opening in an…
There's excitement at DanceBrazil, and lots of crowd-pleasing aerobics -- but the only real variety here is the color of the costumes.
Like Brazil itself, everything's a blend. The compan…
The best thing about Kyle Abra ham's "The Corner" is that it lets the up-and-coming dancers at Ailey II be themselves -- and a little bit more.
These dancers are vying to join the main Ai…
Stephen Petronio's dances can be a tri umph of style over substance, but "Underland" overwhelms your resistance. The program, at The Joyce, starts out slick and glossy, but there's so much g…
I nodded off, and when I came to, she was naked. That was years ago, the first time I saw Eiko & Koma -- partners in life and art -- perform.
They're back and in the buff again, but this …
Richard Move doesn't imitate Mar tha Graham: He chan nels her. And while Mikhail Baryshnikov (nearly incognito in a hat and scarf) and the rest of Wednesday's opening-night audience might ha…
It seemed all of downtown dance -- the die-hard fans and the performers as well -- paid homage Tuesday night to Merce Cunningham, the great mod ern choreographer who died in 2009.
As part…
'I wanted to make dance as loud as the band onstage," says Karole Armitage " and, three decades ago, that's exactly what she did. Now she's bringing back da punk when Armitage Gone! Dance re…
Downtown and Broadway aren't the most comfortable mix, but Larry Keigwin is a club kid who's a chorus boy at heart. His new "EXIT," which opened Tuesday, takes downtown's clubs uptown, but s…
It was old hands on deck Tuesday night when Elisa Monte Dance opened its 30th anniversary season with retired guest dancers performing some of Monte's greatest hits.
But even these distin…
The police often pair rookies with vets, so why not the ballet? At New York City Ballet Thursday night, 19-year-old Taylor Stanley and 27-year-old principal Ashley Bouder made their debuts i…
When Paul Taylor's at his best, no one can touch him. When he's not, you squirm. At his company's opening night gala, the audience did both.
Now that Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham ha…
How do you dance a letter? "Letters of Love on Ripped Paper" works on the puzzle, but this dancing telegram doesn't quite manage a special delivery.
Choreographed by company director Jacq…
It's "Swan Lake," not "Black Swan." The bal let that provided the inspiration for the hit film is once again poised to be a pop culture phenomenon. Fans in London are asking if the ballet is…
When Ronald K. Brown's company performs, the dancers seem to enjoy themselves as much as you do -- and maybe more.
Now finishing its 25th year, Brown's Brooklyn-based Evidence, a Dance Co…
Susan Stroman doesn't promise what she can't deliver -- and what she doesn't promise is high art. What Stroman, a Tony Award-winning pro who turns out slick, well-crafted dances, did deliver…
FOR David Parsons, the oldies really are the goodies. His company opened Wednesday at The Joyce with three mixed bills -- and the best bets are the brief, amiable pieces Parsons made way bac…
New York City Ballet began with B -- for Balanchine. And while it opened its winter repertory season Tuesday night with four of the great choreographer's dances, the performance overall was …
There's nothing hellish about "Tango Inferno." The revue that recently slinked into town showcases the upbeat side of this sultry art in an evening that was enjoyable, if a tad tacky.
"Ta…
There's art in motion at MoMA, where Tri sha Brown and her company are doing an hourlong performance. Starting in the atrium, they move throughout the museum -- but if you're looking for sho…
The city's other Nutcrackers have packed up and gone, but one singular production remains: "Nutcracker Rouge," an opulent, racy take on the holiday tale that straddles the 18th and 21st cent…
Imagine an evening at Alvin Ailey without "Revelations." It's pretty rare -- ask director Judith Jamison about the complaints she gets when that signature work isn't on the bill.
But Sund…
There's a big new "Nutcracker" in town, and it's cracking good. The talented Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky has crafted a witty new version for American Ballet Theatre. Tchaikovsky's…
If you want to under stand ballet, forget "Black Swan" and go see the Trocks.
That's shorthand for Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the 36-year-old, all-male comic ballet troupe tha…
