Alvin Ailey at the Merriam

Fresh blood for an old legacy

Can new director Robert Battle breathe new vitality into the iconic Alvin Ailey troupe? This month's programs suggest the answer is yes— if he relies on the spiritual work of Ronald K. Brown and Rennie Harris.

Jonathan M. Stein

Feb 09, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Pilobolus Dance Theater at Annenberg (2nd review)

Inside joke

Pilobolus almost begs its audiences not to take it seriously. Yet there's no denying that the group combines real dance talent with athletic panache.

Steve Cohen

Jan 22, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

Pilobolus Dance Theater at Annenberg (1st review)

Goofy fun, or a fungus among us?

After 41 years, Pilobolus continues to offer visual dazzle and antic play. Yet more often than one might wish, its programs lately convey a one-joke tediousness.

Jonathan M. Stein

Jan 21, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

How kids see "The Nutcracker' (3rd helping)

‘Can I be in the ballet?' My Nutracker experiment continues

Precisely how do young children develop an appreciation for great art? Our annual visit to The Nutcracker with our grandchildren provides an ideal laboratory.

Dan Rottenberg

Dec 25, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read

Deborah Hay, queen of improv

The antithesis of a control freak

Unlike most choreographers, Deborah Hay encourages dancers to stamp their own personalities on her work. The short-term results of this experimentation can be underwhelming, but over the long run the rewards are profound.

Merilyn Jackson

Dec 01, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read

Techno-orgy: "Science Per Forms' and "Fresh Juice'

When dancers meet machines

At its best, the new genre of “dance and technology” is a wonderfully realized integration— in which the viewer doesn't have to choose between watching the dance or the technological elements, but can experience both as a synthesized medium.

Merilyn Jackson

Nov 03, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read

Dance at the Fringe: Something missing

Looking for dance in all the wrong places

This year's Philadelphia Live Arts/Fringe Festival offered a great deal of movement but precious little in the way of genuine dance. A loss of funding was the culprit.

Merilyn Jackson

Oct 05, 2012 · Articles · 7 minute read

Jumatatu Poe's "Private Places' at Live Arts Festival

What we can learn from airline stewardesses

Jumatatu Poe's provocative if uneven Private Places ultimately delivers a prescient message: that dehumanizing, societal and capitalist controls on our lives contain the seeds of their own disintegration.

Jonathan M. Stein

Oct 01, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read

Sylvain Émard's Grand Continental at Live Arts Festival

What Barack and Mitt could learn from the Fringe

In Le Grand Continental, ordinary citizens achieved the impossible. Is there a lesson here for local and national governments?

Kelly George

Sep 11, 2012 · Articles · 1 minute read

How to write a dance review

So you want to be a dance critic?

The New York Times Book Review's recent male-dominated issue on “How-To” books provoked an anguished plea for more “How-To” pieces by women. As a long-standing member of the shrinking society of professional American critics, I offer my modest contribution to the cause of gender balance.

Merilyn Jackson

Aug 07, 2012 · Articles · 3 minute read