183 stories by "Leigh Witchel"
Take a Grimm fairy tale and mix it with equal parts ballet, Baroque masque and circus act. Drop it all in a converted tow-truck warehouse in Carroll Gardens and " if you're lucky " you'll ge…
There's something nostalgic about Suspended Cirque, the pint-sized local acrobatic troupe. Watching its performers, you think of a band of traveling players, once upon a time. It's not as po…
Momix is all about its bag of tricks, and its current show at the Joyce has plenty of them. The procession of nature-related sketches in its "Botanica" is a convenient pretense for the ingen…
Everything about Elizabeth Streb's "Kiss the Air!" is an exclamation point. She's been on the scene a quarter-century, making pieces she calls PopAction " a bit of traditional dance mixed wi…
The Alvin Ailey company isn't just about "Revelations." New artistic director Robert Battle put together a program Tuesday night of four varied works " from revivals to a recent commission "…
Wednesday's gala opening for the Alvin Ailey company was less revelation than reassurance. Taking over from Judith Jamison, Robert Battle began his first season with an astute new acquisitio…
Spiritual longing battles carnal desire in "Angel Reapers," the impressionistic, sometimes graphic dance/theater piece that opened Tuesday at The Joyce.
Inspired by the Shakers, a communal s…
There are plenty of Nuts to crack this holiday season, from traditional to trendy. Here are a few of the most promising.
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AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE: Alexei Ratmansky's version, which premier…
It's hard to imagine a holiday season without Nuts " "The Nutcracker," that is. New York City Ballet's version, now almost 58 years old, has all the toppings " a growing Christmas tree, a bl…
Complexions is the kind of company audiences love and critics hate. Audiences love it because it delivers virtuosity and full-throttle razzmatazz every time. We hate it because there's nothi…
Lar Lubovitch works his strengths, and his biggest strength is his swirl. The choreographer -- who's done everything from ice dancing to Broadway ("The Red Shoes") -- set three dances on his…
There wasn't a tutu in sight Tuesday night when American Ballet Theatre opened its City Center season with a gala with a contemporary accent -- a prelude to a week of Twyla Tharp, Merce Cunn…
Never work with children, animals -- or sculpture. They'll all steal the show.
Case in point? "Connected," by the Australian contemporary troupe Chunky Move. (None of the dancers is chunky,…
Tuesday was out-of-town night at Fall for Dance, a sampler of far-flung companies New Yorkers don't often get to see.
The Australian Ballet crossed the Pacific to perform Glen Tetley's "Gem…
New Yorkers love culture, and we love a bargain even more. Combine them and you get Fall for Dance: five programs, 20 groups and each ticket only 10 bucks. No wonder it always sells out.
The…
Does being a great muse make you a great director? Suzanne Farrell was one of choreographer George Balanchine's inspirations and formed her own group dedicated to performing and preserving h…
Houston, we have a problem: Your ballet is the fourth largest in the country and its dancers are top-notch, but it rarely visits New York. And now it's here -- but with only a fraction of th…
The program billed it as "Charles Askegard's farewell," but to his friends"and, having worked with him, I'm one "he's always been Chuck. Yesterday afternoon at Lincoln Center, he said goodby…
There's a lot of personality onstage in "Jewels" -- some sparkling, some flawed. George Balanchine's setting of three ballets matched to gemstones is the centerpiece of the final week of New…
Seeing "Noche Flamenca" at The Joyce, with the stage softly glowing and its brick walls exposed, is like seeing flamenco in an Andalusian tavern -- minus the paella. But top-notch performanc…
If you moved "West Side Story" even farther west -- all the way into the Hudson River -- would you end up with Paul McCartney's water ballet, "Ocean's Kingdom"? If only. The much-hyped colla…
Spanish dance whiz Israel Galván believes in flamenco reduced to the basics. There's no gold in his "La Edad de Oro" (The Golden Age). There are also no castanets, no scenery and no ruffl…
How do you pack the New York City Ballet's the ater to the gills? Ask Paul McCartney to write a ballet about the sea.
The result -- a blockbuster -- is "Ocean's Kingdom," the former Beatl…
If "Riverdance" and "A Chorus Line" had a baby, it would be "Noctu."
That's Gaelic for "stripped" or "exposed," and this pint-size dance spectacle promises a peek through the keyhole into…
Unlike Natalie Portman's tortured bal lerina, Ashley Bouder has no trouble being the Black Swan. The technical brilliance and sensual attack of the role is inside her, waiting to strike.
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