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Bausch Rite of Spring Opens a Pathway to Africa
By any measure the transposition of Pina Bausch’s groundbreaking Rite of Spring for a company of mostly West African dancers is an epic feat of logistics and determination. The production is currently making good on a tour set to begin just as the world shut down during the pandemic. Originally developed as a cooperative effort with the Pina Bausch Foundation, Sadler’s Wells, with African dance … Continue reading Bausch Rite of Spring Opens a Pathway to Africa
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Romeo and Juliet Lives and Breathes the Bourne/New Adventures Magic
There is so much different and adventurous in the 2019 New Adventures remake of Romeo and Juliet that you are better off just looking at it as a stand-alone creation rather than a modern update. The current US tour now playing at the Ahmanson Theatre is already in revival mode since the show’s groundbreaking premiere in 2019. Except for Prokofiev’s music which binds it to … Continue reading Romeo and Juliet Lives and Breathes the Bourne/New Adventures Magic
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LADP’s “Be Here Now” Recenters the Company in Millepied’s New Evening Length Work
Be Here Now, Benjamin Millepied’s newest work for Los Angeles Dance Project seems something of a recentering for stage performances after two years of streamed performances colored by pandemic responses, dances on film, multiple cancelled tries at premiering an evening length production of Romeo and Juliet, and a series of drive in parking lot performances that made pretty spectacular fare out of a bad … Continue reading LADP’s “Be Here Now” Recenters the Company in Millepied’s New Evening Length Work
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Un Día de Noviembre, Leo Brouwer’s Anthem to 1970s Cuba
Un Día de Noviembre is a title song of sorts from the Humberto Solás film (1972) of the same name. It was not released in Cuba though it has become popular in Cuban cinema history for its portrait of post revolutionary Cuba as seen through the eyes of the film’s central character, Esteban. The moody, somber film shot in black and white limns the style … Continue reading Un Día de Noviembre, Leo Brouwer’s Anthem to 1970s Cuba
LA Dance Project Spring Dances Embraces Its Vibrant Company of Movers
LA Dance Project’s current programing for Spring Dances in their downtown performance space is all about the collaboration between the company’s artistic director Benjamin Millepied and composer Nico Muhly. Three of their many collaborations are on the program. Moving Parts from 2012 was on the company’s debut concert at Disney Hall while Me.You.We.They is from 2024. The third work, Triade, originally was made in a … Continue reading LA Dance Project Spring Dances Embraces Its Vibrant Company of Movers
Re:borN Dance Interactive Finds a Sweet Spot with “HOME”
The Brand Associates Dance Series 2024 curated by veteran Los Angeles producer Jamie Nichols for the Brand Library continues to range far and wide in its 7th season of productions with four concerts in April and May featuring a mix of tap percussion, ethnic and contemporary companies. Saturday’s concert featuring Re:born Dance Interactive and its seven dancers proved to be a moving meditation on … Continue reading Re:borN Dance Interactive Finds a Sweet Spot with “HOME”
Unstill Life is a Generous, Moving Portrait of Friendship, Music, and Dance
Unstill Life, the two-man dance and pianistic portrait with Benjamin Millepied and Alexandre Tharaud is an evening length work with many moving parts. Part concert, part documentary, part portrait of a friendship, and part ocean going dance odyssey, the hour and fifteen-minute program encompasses an affectionate look at two artists lifting one another, urging one another on, and exploring a deep well of sound, film, … Continue reading Unstill Life is a Generous, Moving Portrait of Friendship, Music, and Dance
Alvin Ailey Centers Program on Black Themes, Music, and Dancemakers
At opposite ends of the recent Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater program at the Los Angeles Music Center were works by Kyle Abraham and Alvin Ailey himself. Though made more than sixty years apart they weren’t so different in content. For each, music is the glue that holds them together. In Ailey’s Revelations the score recalls old style gospel music familiar to Ailey from … Continue reading Alvin Ailey Centers Program on Black Themes, Music, and Dancemakers
Los Angeles Dance Review 