A conversation around a table is still a pretty perfect thing. The easy banter between friends, the coziness of sitting around, unhurried, over sandwiches and coffee. That's what turned the …
Turning a movie into a musical is one thing. But turning a beloved cult film like "Diner" into a musical? You risk a run-in with fans who can quote at length their favorite lines from the 19…
Forget about the upcoming visit by Britain's Prince William. The Washington Ballet's "Nutcracker" is full of nice-looking royals. There's a lot of regal male muscle in Artistic Director Sep…
CHARLOTTE " The happiest ballet studio in the world may be the one just down the street from a Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, inside a bright purple building bearing the words "Patricia…
As self-help maxims go, Shakespeare's "To thine own self be true" is hard to beat. But Meryl Streep came close, telling a college audience not long ago, "Whatever is weird about you, maybe i…
For all its glamour and luxury, the Belle Époque had an ugly side. The decorative arts and haute cuisine were flourishing in Paris in the late 19th century, but the era's booming opportu…
It was a sad coincidence that Batsheva Dance Company, the well-known Israeli troupe, opened its two-day run at the Kennedy Center Opera House on the day of a bloody rampage in a Jerusalem sy…
Misty Copeland, a popular soloist with American Ballet Theatre who has become a leader in diversity for ballet, will make her American debut in "Swan Lake" with the Washington Ballet in Apri…
Martha Graham was one of the 20th century's great storytellers, whether she was compressing Greek tragedy into a few terse postures or distilling American optimism and courage into her most …
"I'm going to New York," the skinny 15-year-old announced to her mother. "And there's nothing you can do about it." With that, the Pennsylvania farmgirl hit the big city. Within a few years,…
In August 1942, Ginger Rogers received a neatly typed letter from a Japanese internment camp. "Your head in marble was finally sent off to you," the letter began. A few paragraphs later, the…
What do you give an audience that has everything? Washington's dancegoers are among the nation's most sophisticated and privileged, so companies must think carefully about what to put before…
It is far better to name your artistic creation "Wild Grass," rather than, say, "Weeds." But either way, the image of rambling, untamed growth is going to be inescapable. This wasn't always …
It was a good, true red. Neither pinkish nor orange; a 1950s Revlon red, retro and primal. This red, featured in a strappy jumpsuit for one dancer and the simple top worn by another, was the…
NEW YORK " Susan Stroman looks up to the ceiling and confesses her folly to the overhead lights. "I wanted to do a ballet musical," she grouses, lifting her hands in mock helplessness. "And …
NEW YORK " For the New York City Ballet Gala last month, top-tier fashion designers collaborated with the company's costume shop to create the looks for four works. This intersection of high…
Nothing made sense in "rapture," a new work that PearsonWidrig DanceTheater performed Saturday at Dance Place. But if this first showing was a jumble " a big jumble, to be exact " at least i…
At the start of "Identity/Identite," the Moroccan dancer Hind Benali was hidden under her ample skirt. In effect, that's where she stayed for most of the next hour. Her intriguing but crypt…
If you've ever been responsible for young children, you remember, deep in your bones, how exhausting it can be just to go out for a walk when you've got one toddler hanging on your leg and a…
"One knows very well," wrote Colette, "that a body of good quality will last for a long time." She gave that line to one of her most memorable characters: Lea, the high-priced courtesan in l…
Why does Lady Gaga don couture when she could strap herself into the gothic rock fashions of an Australian named Andy Christ? Gaga might well have envied the performers of Deviated Theatre's…
by Sarah Kaufman | SHERMAN, CONN. " Geese waddle across the road, cows cluster in the shade, yearlings stand around looking gorgeous. ¶ This is a world away from the avant garde. ¶ And…
You could say that Saturday's performance by Nrityanjali, the Gaithersburg-based bharatanatyam dance ensemble, was all about numbers. The evening was titled "Sankhya Vaibhava" ("Glory of Num…
Carla Perlo and Deborah Riley, co-directors of Dance Place, lean back in their comfortable new theater seats. They look down at the sweat-stained men laboring on the stage below. They look u…
Kiss today goodbye, arts lovers. Bid farewell to all the warm (but not too warm), wonderful days of summer we've had. We are heading into fall, and that means serious business: school, midte…