Dance-Enthusiast.com Features

IMPRESSIONS: Jane Comfort at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club's Ellen Stewart Theatre

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Frisky and irreverent, choreographer Jane Comfort makes no secret of her contempt for America’s decadent political Establishment. The Gulf of America, the premiere that her Jane Comfort and Company presented on March 19, in La MaMa ETC’s Ellen Stewart Theatre, drew on recent events to portray a peaceful community assaulted by militarized police." — Robert Johnson, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Jodi Melnick's "Superbloom (Dancing Into Choreographic Forms)" at the 92NY

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"One of the most arresting moments occurs as Melnick and Mearns, in a meditative duet, envelop their bodies into looped sculptures of flowers. With this image, it is as if they become flowers themselves: representing not only the beauty of a fully realized bloom, but also the process of getting to that place." — Kristen Hedberg, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Mark Morris Dance Group's 45th Anniversary at the Brooklyn Academy of Music

The Dance Enthusiast — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Costumed by Isaac Mizrahi in loose-fitting, long-sleeved jumpsuits — white on the front, black on the back — MOON’s nine dancers suggest the light and dark sides of the moon, or perhaps pajama-clad youngsters lured to view the mysterious object shining in the nighttime sky." — Lisa Jo Sagolla, Brooklyn

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Donald Byrd Revisits "Occurrence #14" at La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"As an aging, aged, old artist, the question I'm asking is around relevance. Can I be relevant? [...] That can't be the same relevance that younger artists have [...] When you've done work for a long time, you become less interested in “pow, pow,” overwhelming the audience [...] I don't care about those things anymore. I care about the relevance of the work. What am I saying? Can I say something that speaks to our humanity in some way that may require contemplation?" — Donald Byrd, New York

DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: Alison Cook Beatty Dance Prepares for Two Evenings of Modern Dance

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"What stood out from my observation of rehearsal, and from my conversations with Cook-Beatty and her company, was their passion for movement and their commitment to one another and to the work. The uplift that comes from being in the same room with that kind of spiritual and physical energy is remarkable, and audiences will have a chance to experience it this weekend." — Amy Meisner-Threet, New York

IMPRESSIONS FROM BOSTON: Stefanie Batten Bland and Daniel Bernard Roumain's "CLOSE UP"

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"What captivates me about CLOSE UP from start to finish is the clarity and force of its images. Vignettes rush past, emerging from darkness; they shift across time and tell nonlinear stories, introducing us to different figures, or spirits, fully inhabited by Batten Bland and Roumain [...] The work unfolds according to a surreal dream logic, and I am swept up in it." — Christine Jowers, Boston

IMPRESSIONS: New York Flamenco Festival (Part II)

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"The New York Flamenco Festival programmed a series of events including Irene Morales in La Argentinita at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and RAW at Joe's Pub, Sara Baras in Vuela at New York City Center, Juan Tomás de la Molía at Joe's Pub, Jon Maya and Andrés Marín in Yarin, Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival, Works & Process, the Guggenheim Museum, Sonia Olla & Ismael Fernández in Vinculo at Joe's Pub, andn Olga Pericet in From Carmencita to Pericet, and the film, La Carmencita, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The history of Spanish dancing in New York is a long one." — Robert Johnson, New York City

IMPRESSIONS: American Ballet Theatre's 2026 Spring Season at Lincoln Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Susan Jaffe, the artistic director of American Ballet Theatre, has introduced a spring season to the company’s New York City schedule. Performed were dances: Raymonda, Mozartiana, Nuages, Neo, Firebird." — Henning Rübsam, New York City

IMPRESSIONS: (VACA) Valentina Baché’s “Dog God//Germ Angels” Presented by Triskelion Arts

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Valentina Baché is a choreographer without inhibition. They take risks playing with violence and danger as they carry us on a journey through a hurricane. They hope this experience will jolt us into action." — Rush Johnston, Brooklyn

IMPRESSIONS: Emma Judkins Presents "At Matins or Evensong" at Kestrels, Brooklyn

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"It’s amazing what a few well-placed lights in a clear and well-tended space can do. Kestrels, an artist-run venue in Gowanus, Brooklyn, is just such a space. The subtly-shifting washes of color and dramatic shadows conjured by lighting designer Shana Crawford narrate Emma Judkins’ extended duet At Matins or Evensong with the kind of care and intention that only light, with its elemental power to illuminate or obscure, can imbue. I begin with light because it’s the first thing I notice, and the thing that I continue to feel present as a voice in this spare and moving work." — Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, Brooklyn, New York

IMPRESSIONS FROM PARIS: Dance Theatre of Harlem at the Palais des Congrès, Paris

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Luke Murphy on the Us Premiere of “Scorched Earth” at St. Ann’s Warehouse

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Within my work, my philosophy is that we can do anything if we learn. And similarly, the shows can be anything they want to be. Leaning into this cinematic genre felt like the right thing to do; I decided to explore the story as an unsolved crime that's being reinvestigated." — Luke Murphy, Creator/Director/Artist

IMPRESSIONS: Lucinda Childs’ Early Works from 1963-1973 at the Guggenheim’s Rotunda

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Viewed from the dizzying height of the fourth spiral of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Lucinda Childs’ early works from 1963-1973 were splendidly fresh. They could have been choreographed at the beginning of a career, or at the end." — Catherine Tharin, New York City

IMPRESSIONS: Norte Maar’s CounterPointe13: Original Collabs between Women Choreographers & Visual Artists

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Brooklyn-based arts organization Norte Maar’s CounterPointe is a singular performance series that centers on pairing women choreographers with women visual artists to produce original pieces on pointe. Their CounterPointe13 presented at The Mark O’Donnell Theater in Brooklyn, marked the 13th anniversary of the series and showcased six imaginative ways pointe and visual art can coexist." — Kristen Hedberg, Brooklyn

IMPRESSIONS: The Choreographic Ensemble of the Paris Conservatoire at the L’Alliance New York

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"There is a beautiful mix of hope and brilliance in watching the next generation of dancers hold legacy through the works of contemporary choreographers Leïla Ka and Robyn Orlin. The Choreographic Ensemble of the Paris Conservatoire, made up of ten pre-professional dancers, performed two imaginative works at L’Alliance New York’s Florence Gould Hall as part of the 2026 Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival." — Miranda Stück

IMPRESSIONS: Monica Bill Barnes & Company in "Lunch Dances" at The New York Public Library

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"What an excellent balance of spoken word, dance, history, architecture, and humanity!" — Deirdre Towers, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Hiroaki Umeda's Somatic Field Project in "Moving State 1" and "assimilating" at Japan Society

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Umeda himself pops, wiggles, wacks and undulates — then plants himself in an inverted Y, while the cosmos goes bonkers on a full screen behind him." — Tom Phillips, New York City

DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: "Graham 100: The Architecture of Emotions" at SUNY Purchase

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"For students in the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase, the centenary of the Martha Graham Dance Company offers a rare opportunity to immerse themselves in the legacy of this great choreographer, who was a pioneer of American modern dance. The 10th edition of the lecture series, titled Graham 100: The Architecture of Emotions offered insights into Graham’s ballets Dark Meadow and Night Journey, on March 11th." — Robert Johnson, Purchase, New York

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Elodie Dufroux, CUNY Dance Initiative Recipient, on the Premiere of “Un-Spoken”

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Having access to beautiful spaces like the BMCC Tribeca! The seats are on a staircase that descends towards the stage, so the audience surrounds the performers; it feels like the audience is embracing the dance [...] It's very special to have the opportunity for my voice to be heard." — Elodie Dufroux, New York

DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: In Motion with Jodi Melnick

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"I’m making a dance about dance, about dancing […] I’m thinking of it as a 'dance bomb,' [...] "I want to just unwind the yarn, the knot — keep making knots of movement and unwinding and see what happens. I believe in the body. It’s all here." — Jodi Melnick, New York

POSTCARDS: Elisa Clark, Mark Morris Dance Group's Rehearsal Director, Reflects on 20 Years with the Company

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"My hope is to encourage anyone and everyone who comes across this POSTCARD to come see the Mark Morris Dance Group as we celebrate our 45th anniversary. I invite you to show up, to give, to receive, to experience, to support, to feel, to witness, to think, to engage and to be present to dance at a time when it is essential to keep choosing the arts." — Elisa Clark, Brooklyn

IMPRESSIONS: Soa Ratsifandrihana in “g r oo v e” at New York Live Arts

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Since 2021, choreographer and performer Soa Ratsifandrihana has toured to stages around the world with a study of her personal groove in her aptly-titled long-form solo g r oo v e [...] The French-Malagasy artist draws as much from her heritage as her résumé, gathering and seamlessly merging an array of social dance forms with postmodern minimalist structures." — Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Loretta Thomas and Moving Visions' "The Widening Gyre" at The Mark O’Donnell Theater

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Veteran dancer Loretta Thomas teaches young female students of all shapes and sizes at her Moving Visions dance studio. On March 8, she assembles them on stage around herself and a couple of other veterans, namely Catherine Gallant and Faith Kimberling, in her ambitious and mostly beautiful program, The Widening Gyre, at The Mark O’Donnell Theater in Brooklyn." — Henning Rübsam, Brooklyn

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: American Dance Guild Book Fair Authors on Reading, Writing — and Dancing

The Dance Enthusiast — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Founded in 1956, the American Dance Guild has long supported dancers and choreographers across the field. With its second annual book fair, it’s turning its attention to something dance doesn’t always make space for: books." — Christine Jowers

IMPRESSIONS: New York Flamenco Festival (Part 1)

The Dance Enthusiast — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"New York remains a source of inspiration for Spanish dancers performing here on tour [...] Rafael Estévez and his colleague Valeriano Paños were among the featured guests at this year’s New York Flamenco Festival."— Robert Johnson, New York