Camille Bacon Smith BSR Authors 090516

Camille Bacon-Smith

Contributor

BSR Contributor Since September 5, 2016

Camille Bacon-Smith is a native Philadelphian with a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She is passionate about the city and its arts community.

Camille Bacon-Smith is a native Philadelphian and she is passionate about the city and its arts community. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and has been a scholar, teacher, writer, and editor.

By this Author

170 results
Page 1
The dancers of the Pennsylvania Ballet onstage at the Performance Garage in spring 2021. (Photo by Alexander Iziliaev.)

Dance lovers ask why the Pennsylvania Ballet is now the Philadelphia Ballet

Dance of the rebrand
As arts producers across town return to in-person performance, the former Pennsylvania Ballet announced a surprising rebrand. Camille Bacon-Smith asks whether it’s moving the company forward.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Essays 4 minute read
Promise and betrayal in early America: ‘Portrait of Lapowinsa’ and ‘Portrait of Tishcohan,’ next to Lenape beadwork. See below for full caption info. (Photo by Joseph Hu.)

Exploring the new early American galleries at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The stories we told ourselves in Philadelphia
The new Robert L. McNeil Jr. Galleries, showcasing art and objects from 1650 to 1850 with a focus on Philadelphia, tell a story many of us still need to hear. Camille Bacon-Smith visits.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Features 7 minute read
Pretty sure he can do anything: BalletX’s Richard Villaverde, center, with Blake Krapels and Stanley Glover. (Photo by Vikki Sloviter.)

BalletX presents Alia Kache and R. Colby Damon at Glen Foerd

Raising spirits on the river
BalletX presents new works by company favorite R. Colby Damon and 2021 choreographic fellow Alia Kache in a live performance outdoors at the Glen Foerd Mansion. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 4 minute read
Bright, lyrical movement: Mayara Piniero and Zecheng Liang in Balanchine’s ‘Allegro Brilliante.’ (photo by Alexander Iziliaev.)

The Pennsylvania Ballet presents ‘Resilience’

Springtime set to music
The Pennsylvania Ballet returns with ‘Resilience,’ a streaming program filmed at the Performance Garage and featuring choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, George Balanchine, Angel Corella, and Dwight Roden. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 4 minute read
An enveloping emotional connection: Weiwei Ma in Kun-Yang Lin’s ‘Inside.’ (Photo by Rob Li.)

The Annenberg Center presents Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers

Community in solitude
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers explores loss, solitude, and hope in five reimagined excerpts from Lin’s longer works and a world premiere danced by the choreographer himself. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 5 minute read
Exploring the self, in community and isolation: the ensemble of ‘Redefine US, from the INside OUT.’ (Image courtesy of HopeBoykinDance.)

The Annenberg presents Hope Boykin’s ‘Redefine US, from the Inside OUT’

Dancing renewed identity
Dancer and choreographer Hope Boykin premieres ‘Redefine US, from the INside OUT,’ a personal and emotional journey that explores identity through suffering and renewal. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 3 minute read
Transported to the world of ‘Sanctuary’: Francesca Forcella in Stephanie Martinez’s ‘Her Blood a Wild River.’ (Photo by Andrea Yorita.)

BalletX Beyond presents Maddie Hanson, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, and Stephanie Martinez

Continuing Beyond
BalletX concludes its spring season of world premieres as it began, dancing with the camera in three new short films by choreographers Maddie Hanson (‘Virtuality’), Gustavo Ramirez Sansano (‘Hernando's Hideaway’), and Stephanie Martinez (‘Her Blood a Wild River’). Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 4 minute read
Carrying each other through illness and sorrow: Shawn Cusseaux and Skyler Lubin in Manuel Vignoulle’s ‘Heal.’ (Photo by Daniel Madoff.)

BalletX presents Tsai Hsi Hung, Manuel Vignoulle, and Francesca Harper

Dancing in the bubble
BalletX continues its season of world-premiere short dance films, with a third installment featuring choreographers Tsai Hsi Hung, Manuel Vignoulle, and Francesca Harper. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 4 minute read
A beneficiary of the Cultural Fund: Theatre in the X’s 2019 production of ‘The Beast of Nubia.’ (Photo by Johanna Austin.)

City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas launches the Philadelphia Arts and Culture Task Force

Will a new task force give arts leaders a voice in future city budgets?
Following a successful citywide fight to restore some of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas helms a new task force to boost the arts sector in future. He spoke with Camille Bacon-Smith about what’s next.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Features 6 minute read
A striking architectural moment: Xin Ying and Lloyd Knight in ‘Dark Meadow.’ (Photo by Brigid Pierce.)

The Annenberg Center presents excerpts of Martha Graham’s best-loved works

The streaming advantage of dance
The Martha Graham Dance Company offered a taste of the company’s rich and emotionally charged repertoire in a series of excerpts from Graham’s best-loved works, performed by Lloyd Knight and Xin Ying. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 4 minute read
An awakening among the greens: Stanley Glover and Roderick Phifer in Robbie Fairchild’s ‘The Cycle.’ (Image courtesy of BalletX.)

BalletX Beyond presents ‘Saudade,’ ‘The Cycle,’ and ‘New Heights’

Dancing with the camera
BalletX dances with the camera in three very short films that explore collaborations between choreographers, dancers, filmmakers, and the urban and natural landscapes of the city and its exurbs. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Articles 4 minute read
‘With-Held’ will be relevant after we put our masks away: Janine Beckles and Joe González for PHILADANCO!. (Photo courtesy of the Annenberg Center.)

PHILADANCO! presents duets and solos with Joe González and Janine Beckles

What dance lovers have been missing
PHILADANCO! explored love and struggle with emotional performances by Joe González and Janine Beckles, in a show that brought distanced audiences as close as possible to the theater. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Articles 4 minute read
Well-ventilated players: the Philadelphia Orchestra is recording performances at the Mann. (Photo by Jeff Fusco.)

Behind the scenes: How did these three Philly arts-makers pivot to digital?

A brave new season, coming to a screen near you
Any serious Philly arts fan knows by now that local companies and venues aren’t sitting out the pandemic. But big or small, how are they making the shift to distanced performances? Camille Bacon-Smith talks to the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Annenberg, and 1812 Productions.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Essays 6 minute read
Because dance over Zoom has its limits: Roderick Phifer (left) and Stanley Glover in Caili Quan’s ‘Love letter.’ (Photo courtesy of BalletX.)

BalletX presents four world premieres on film for its new subscription series

BalletX goes beyond
BalletX opens its 15th season virtually with a quartet of world premieres in film from choreographers as near as the company’s own star, Caili Quan, and as far as New Zealand’s Loughlan Prior. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Articles 4 minute read
Something just out of their grasp? The ‘HOMEbody’ ensemble. (Photo by Juliana Wall.)

Philly Fringe 2020: JCWK Dance Lab’s ‘The Other Side of the Window Screen: HOMEbody’

The home we inhabit
Choreographer Jessica Warchal-King’s JCWK Dance Lab curates a web-based journey through the process of creating a dance that explores the idea of home at the 2020 Philly Fringe. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Articles 2 minute read