Dance

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A young Black woman dancer in a skin-matched leotard & tights and white tutu poses en pointe.

Philadelphia ballerinas share the challenging magic of life in pointe shoes

What’s the pointe?

Ballet dancers cannot just step into the iconic shoes. They must master a difficult technique and make a lifelong quest for the perfect pointe, but these Philly ballerinas tell Camille Bacon-Smith that it’s all worth it.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Features 7 minute read
Lopes bends backward in a desperate, graceful line, one arm outstretched. Soca, looking passionate, holds her at her waist.

The Philadelphia Ballet presents Angel Corella’s Carmen

A well-known story with a sexy edge

Opera fans know the story, but in this world-premiere original long-form ballet by Philadelphia Ballet director Angel Corella, Carmen gets a sexy edge. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 4 minute read
Rainey with another dance partner in mid move, holding them up in a rehearsal space.

Performance Garage presents When Yesterday Meets Tomorrow: Being Black in Ballet Today

Dancing into the conversation

Performance Garage presents a free panel discussion on being Black in ballet with 2023-2024 DanceVisions resident artist Meredith Rainey, choreographer Tommie-Waheed Evans, and founder of Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet Theresa Ruth Howard. Melissa Strong previews.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Profiles 4 minute read
A group of dancers entangled together, their faces hidden by their bodies, a cloudy backdrop and bubbles in front

Silvana Cardell brings Disposable Bodies to the Wilma Theater

A look at the traumas behind immigration through dance

Argentine American choreographer and 2022 Guggenheim recipient Silvana Cardell brings her latest dance-theater work, Disposable Bodies, to the Wilma Theater for four performances this weekend. Carolyn Merritt previews.
Carolyn Merritt

Carolyn Merritt

Previews 2 minute read

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7 Girl BSR 9 26 23a

Philly Fringe 2023: Toni Cannon’s ReFlection and Mae West’s $7 Girl

Circus arts looking inward and outward

Cannonball Festival presents two solo shows at the intersection of trans identity and circus arts, Toni Cannon’s ReFlection and Mae West’s $7 Girl. Melissa Strong reviews.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Reviews 4 minute read
A performer in casualwear in movement, their head tilted back and face expressive, a full band in the background

Philly Fringe 2023: Urban Arts Movement presents Vincent Johnson’s Stank upon a Time: A Story about Funk

A lesson on the blues

Stank upon a Time is a transgressively absurdist exploration of the culture of Black music, from blues to funk, as the soundtrack of revolution and its survival and commodification in the present. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 3 minute read
In the foreground, Chang, in gray, moves gracefully with arms extended; ensemble and audience members sit and move behind her

Philly Fringe 2023: Susan Marshall and Mimi Lien present Rhythm Bath

A sensory delight

An inclusive dance installation presented in partnership with Temple’s Institute on Disabilities offers interdisciplinary delights at Christ Church Neighborhood House in this year’s Fringe. Eileen B. Fisher reviews.
Eileen B. Fisher

Eileen B. Fisher

Reviews 3 minute read
Grinberg, on his knees, faces the shirtless Header in a moment of sexual tension, next to a single lamp.

Philly Fringe 2023: Ben Grinberg and Hazem Header in Fix Me

What some say we shouldn't see

An arresting backstory grounds this able mix of contemporary dance, acrobatics, and theater from Ben Grinberg and Hazem Header in this year’s Fringe. Eileen Fisher reviews.
Eileen B. Fisher

Eileen B. Fisher

Reviews 3 minute read
A light-skinned person submissively, sensually embraces a dark-skinned person in a strappy black ensemble & foreboding face

Philly Fringe 2023: Gunnar Montana Productions presents BLACK WOOD

Sex, sorcery, and power

Gunnar Montana’s immersive BLACK WOOD is a dark and bloody exploration of women’s power through sorcery and sexuality. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Camille Bacon-Smith

Camille Bacon-Smith

Reviews 3 minute read
Godfrey, a nonbinary dancer of Korean heritage, poses in a headstand, legs bent in a graceful S shape.

Philly Fringe 2023: Flamencodanza and KCBCxKCBCII’s Summer Series

Classical dance with contemporary flair

Two Fringe Festival performances feature classical forms of dance while looking to the present and future: Aylin Bayaz and Raúl Mannola’s Flamencodanza and KCBCxKCBCII’s Summer Series. Melissa Strong reviews.
Melissa Strong

Melissa Strong

Reviews 4 minute read