In the bright daylight of Oct. 17, 1967, a U.S. infantry battalion known as the Black Lions marched into an ambush in the Vietnamese jungle that left 61 of its members dead. Just 20 miles aw…
It's safe to say that Michel Fokine never dreamed of the spaghetti bodies dancing his works in the Mariinsky Ballet today. He could never have imagined the prevailing extremes of flexibility…
The girls of a poet's dreams. A classic Russian folk tale. And a story out of "The Thousand and One Nights." These are hardly revolutionary subjects. But 100 years ago, when Michel Fokine ma…
From the first moments, when three go-go window-washers bop their moneymakers across a balcony over the stage, until the last, when the whole cast starts ponying like a rock-and-roll merry-g…
"Americans are lookin' for somebody who's consistent," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in an interview with Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity last month. "They're lookin' for somebody that's tough …
Who knew Mitt "the Mitt" Romney had such a devastating left jab? Who knew the man characterized by wooden understatement even had a left hand? We saw it in slow-motion splendor in that memor…
You could say American Ballet Theatre's intriguing new production of "The Nutcracker" is all about appetites. Why else begin it in the kitchen, an unusual starting point for the ballet that …
New takes on old standards characterized many of the year's best dance performances. Lucinda Childs's minimalist work from the 1970s gained new life, while Merce Cunningham's company went o…
It felt like the end of a point of view. But if you bit your lip and got through the last Washington performances of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theat…
When Herman Cain announced the suspension of his campaign Saturday, addressing supporters in Atlanta, his words met with murmurs of disappointment. Then he teased the crowd a little, heighte…
It's that "Nutcracker" time of year again, time to welcome back our adorable little friends Fox, Squirrel, Deer, Frog and let's see . . . oh yes, that valiant contingent of Val…
Talk about a radical departure. What we will see when the Merce Cunningham Dance Company performs at the Kennedy Center on Friday and Saturday will never exist again. The troupe is in the fi…
Oy, it's been a year. We're beleaguered. Beaten up. Depressed by the economy, distressed by political dithering, swirled by tornadoes, slammed by hurricanes, shaken by earthquakes. Things mu…
This time, the mass market is leading the avant garde. And it is Beyonce who is pushing the boundaries. Granted, the pop star has done nothing radical or unusual. But by virtue of her enormo…
As Nina Ananiashvili, in a flame-red catsuit and toe shoes to match, slithered across the stage like an elegant, loopy vixen in "Dreams About Japan" at Lisner Auditorium on Sunday night, she…
This is not the first time that the internationally renowned ballerina Nina Ananiashvili has found herself in a tricky position. And as usual, her extraordinary artistry is part of the solut…
The first bit of action in Septime Webre's "The Great Gatsby" is the emergence of the jazz band, rising on a lift from the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater's orchestra pit, the tuba and str…
If your Halloween costume still needs some heat, try a pair of high red lace-up boots with stiletto heels, like the ones that took the first steps in "Mad'moiselle," an attention-getting wor…
The Beijing Dance Theater did a fair job of capturing the dull gloom and psychic thrum of haze in a work called "Haze," performed Wednesday at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater. The da…
Is the National Ballet of China bringing us ballet of the future? Presumably, as China grows its wealth and global ambitions, so will this company and its way of presenting classical Western…
When Suzanne Farrell arrived in Washington a decade ago to launch a ballet troupe at the Kennedy Center, it was as momentous for the arts as when basketball great Michael Jordan moved here t…
After two years of canned Tchaikovsky, the Washington Ballet will dance to a live orchestra during its four-week run of "The Nutcracker" this season, thanks to a $250,000 gift from longtime …
Ballet fans, rejoice: Movie technology has come to your rescue. At the very least, it can help salve a recent wound. You know the one I'm talking about " the history-making news that hit man…
Back in 1984, the news hit the dance doubles hard: "Footloose" was going to have more story than dancing. But that choice has served fans of the original film well " we got more of Kevin Bac…
In her sparkly pink gown on the first week of "Dancing With the Stars," soccer star Hope Solo looked uncomfortably exposed. Naked, even. It wasn't just that her backless dress barely covered…