Critic's choice: Dance highlights of 2011

A year of dancers who think for themselves

Even with a six-month toothache, I took in countless wonderful dance performances in 2011. The programs I mention here especially stand out for the way they caught me by surprise and often left me flustered and panting for more.

Merilyn Jackson

Jan 08, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read

A four-year-old's "Nutcracker' (2nd comment)

Fear of mice, conquered

Our granddaughter was not quite three when we introduced her to The Nutcracker. Last week we brought her back for a second helping. Anyone interested in early childhood development may well ask: What was different this time around?

Dan Rottenberg

Dec 27, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Pennsylvania Ballet's "Nutcracker' (1st review)

Even Scrooge's heart would melt

Once again, Pennsylvania Ballet trotted out a new corps of sugar plum fairies and little angels in what's become a Christmas tradition for the whole Philadelphia metropolitan region.

Janet Anderson

Dec 20, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Compagnie Marie Chouinard at Annenberg

Chopin and Stravinsky confront an alien universe

Marie Chouinard's expressive aggressiveness may be a dated dance genre, but her sheer power propelled her audience into either a future or a past that reminded us that perhaps our present isn't all that bad.

Jonathan M. Stein

Dec 13, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

When choreographers talk (too much)

Here's what I meant to say…..

Why do choreographers engage in post-performance talkbacks to explain what they were trying to say? Why don't they let the artwork speak for itself?

Jim Rutter

Dec 05, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

KÓ¹lÓº Mèlé's "Sacred Journeys' at the Painted

African roots: The real deal

KÓ¹lÓº Mèlé is no mere group of well-meaning ethnics performing to amuse themselves and their audience; it invites us into the infectious beauty, mystery and glamour of the true African aesthetic— which is a long way from tap dancing and shuffling.

Janet Anderson

Nov 29, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Chunky Move's "Connected' at Annenberg

Is it movement, or just twitching?

A collaboration between a choreographer and a sculptor sounds exciting in theory. In practice, it raises more questions than it answers about the nature of artistic connections.

Judy Weightman

Nov 22, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

BalletX's Fall Series

Real life in dance? Well, why not?

BalletX founders Matthew Neenan and Christine Cox started with a dream of pursuing the new and the different in movement. Their extraordinary Fall Series demonstrated that they're not only changing dance, but also changing people's lives in the process.

Janet Anderson

Nov 22, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Pennsylvania Ballet's "Russian Suite'

Big names, hard work, dazzling technique... But what does it mean?

Are celebrity artists really the answer for the future of ballet? This performance by the former Bolshoi icon Alexei Ratmansky offered too much of the ballet confection that's immediately pleasing to the taste of audiences, and little of substance or meaning.

Jonathan M. Stein

Oct 25, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Two Hands' at Annenberg

Magical moments

Two Far East expatriates now based in Philadelphia— the Chinese puppeteer Hua Hua Zhang and the Indonesian choreographer Kun-Yang Lin— joined forces for a program that was enthralling from beginning to end.

Janet Anderson

Oct 18, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read