Dance-Enthusiast.com Features

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. According to Estévez, waves on the East River, subway cars rattling across a bridge, and the impatience of our swirling crowds all have distinctive rhythms that previous visitors sensitive to rhythm---from poet Federico García Lorca and his dancer friend, La Argentinita, to Carmen Amaya and Vicente Escudero---took home with them, when they returned to Spain..." Robert Johnson, New York

IMPRESSIONS: American Ballet Theatre in Lar Lubovitch’s “Othello: A Dance in Three Acts" at Lincoln Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"American Ballet Theatre opened its three-week spring season at Lincoln Center with 'easy viewing' -- choreographer Lar Lubovitch’s highly accessible Othello: A Dance in Three Acts (1997). Its story of jealousy and betrayal is easy to understand. Its plot, conveyed through crystal-clear gestures and astute staging, is not hard to follow, and its full-blown emotions are easily felt." Lisa Jo Sagolla

IMPRESSIONS from Canada: Ballet BC in INFINITY at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Ballet BC knocked it out of the park with their INFINITY program, which juxtaposed two brilliant choreographers: Jîrí Kylián and Crystal Pite. Both were dealing with deeply psychic processes in poetic ways." Wendy Perron, Vancouver

POSTCARDS: Returning the Portrait to Its Subject — Brenda Zlamany and Julia Gleich

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Making work in time, in space, in sequence, was genuinely new territory for me. Somewhere in the middle of this process I stopped fighting the time. I saw Julia's way of working and mine come together. Her movement and my stills became a single thing on stage." — Visual Artist, Brenda Zlamany, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Compagnie Hervé Koubi's "Sol Invictus" at The Joyce Theater

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"The level of full-out physicality astounds me. I sit in wonder and awe as I witness this group of athletes perform airborne wizardry without a net or cushioning. Each and every part of their bodies seems to have a spring in it." — Henning Rübsam, New York City

IMPRESSIONS: Alessandro Sciarroni's "Save the Last Dance for Me" at Le Skyroom, L'Alliance New York

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"In the naturally lit Skyroom of L’Alliance in Midtown, choreographer Alessandro Sciarroni co-presents Save the Last Dance for Me in collaboration with Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels. While preserving the classic Italian folkdance polka chinata, Save the Last Dance for Me also shares the significance of trust and joy in partner work." — Miranda Stück, New York City

IMPRESSIONS: Manuel Liñán’s Fiesta Flamenca Co-produced by the 2026 Flamenco Festival and Baryshnikov Arts Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Manuel Liñán designed this thrilling event, produced in collaboration with the 2026 Flamenco Festival (2026 FF) and Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) [...] The mood snapped from cool to hot, as one by one, the artists performed Bulerías, the festive solo dance, with their body percussion and gestures reaching to the heavens. Each segment performed thereafter took us to a different part of BAC’s 4th floor Howard Gilman studio, with its wall of glass displaying NYC's resplendent lights." — Deirdre Towers, New York

IMPRESSIONS: French Choreographer Leïla Ka's "Maldonne" is "Womanhood Personified"

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Leïla Ka's Maldonne speaks to the most joyous and tumultuous seasons of a woman's life with imaginative brilliance. It invites us to escape confinement, while holding authenticity and joy close." — Kristen Hedberg, New York

DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: Sokolow Theatre Dance/Ensemble in "Rooms: America at 250" at the Museum of Jewish Heritage

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Rooms, Anna Sokolow's 1955 masterpiece, unfolds like a Beatnik poem and extracts the experience of urban isolation. Set to a textured, erratic jazz score composed by Kenyon Hopkins, eight dancers express moments of loneliness and hopefulness inside a New York tenement. In the current moment, full of uncertainties surrounding artificial intelligence and human disconnection, Sokolow's choreography feels more relevant than ever." — Stacey Menchel Kussel, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Choreographer David Parker on Trinity Irish Dance Company at The Joyce Theater

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"I expected Trinity's dancers to lay down choreographic dialogues about tradition, innovation, and genre along with their taps, and I was not wrong. But what surprised me was the warmth and directness with which they did it." David Parker, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Karen Pearlman’s “Breaking Plates,” a Film about the Not-So-Silent Women of Silent Film

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Blending documentary, comedy, dance, and inquiry, Karen Pearlman playfully challenges our self-image by juxtaposing the early clips of rebellious maids with those of today's young women." — Deirdre Towers, New York

IMPRESSIONS: New York City Ballet in Jerome Robbins' "Dances at a Gathering" and George Balanchine's "Diamonds"

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Two glorious performances of Jerome Robbins’masterwork Dances at a Gathering paired with a newly costumed edition of George Balanchine’s Diamonds made the New York City Ballet shine and sparkle at the end of its winter season." — Henning Rübsam, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Jan Martens Presents "The Dog Days Are Over 2.0" at NYU Skirball

The Dance Enthusiast — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"The dancers in The Dog Days Are Over 2.0 shift their weight and lightly warm up before determinedly walking forward together to put on their sneakers, lined up at the front of the stage. They take their time to tie the laces, balancing on one leg or sitting briefly on the floor. All standing, they begin to bounce." — Catherine Tharin

IMPRESSIONS: Trisha Brown Dance Company in “Dancing with Bob: Rauschenberg, Brown and Cunningham Onstage” at BAM

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"Dancing with Bob is a rare feat of programming and execution that brings these 20th century icons squarely back to the scale of the human. Through the generosity and honesty at work in the dancing bodies of this remarkable ensemble, the legacies of Rauschenberg, Brown, and Cunningham live on as a testament to their — and our — ephemeral and enduring humanity." — Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, Brooklyn

DANCE NEWS: Works & Process Announces Open Call for 2026-27 Residencies

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Each year, Works & Process produces more than 25 creative residencies via a network of over a dozen partner venues in five states. Artists and projects are curated and – as of 2025 – selected through an open call. Residency support can span the entire life of a project, from first explorations in the studio to final rehearsals for the premiere, and even touring.

IMPRESSIONS: Benjamin Millepied's "Reflections: A Triptych"

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"What's fascinating about Millepied's choreography is that no single moment ever seems to replicate. Even within partnering, the dancers' points of contact continually shift from their backs to their hands, to a heel, or to their faces and shoulders. The five-person cast [...] execute a slew of challenging jumps, turns, and floor work, as their arms, mirroring the cyclical nature of Lang's piano music, move like tender tree branches swept by the wind. Their effortlessness is impressive." — Miranda Stück, New York

DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: A Burst of FIREBIRDS as Four Versions of the Iconic 1910 Ballet Take Flight This Spring

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"Not many ballets from the early 20th century survive, but The Firebird, with haunting music by Stravinsky, seems to be irresistible to choreographers. This spring season, we have four versions to look forward to." — Wendy Perron, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Laura Kaufman and Rachel Thalman's Woman in Motion Present “Five Years in Motion”

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"Five Years in Motion demonstrated Woman in Motion’s commitment to commissioning a wide array of choreographic voices while giving us a glimpse into the company’s expansive repertoire. [It] carried us through dynamic, expressive worlds in multiple movement styles, including contemporary ballet, pointe, jazz, and contemporary dance." — Kristen Hedberg, New York

IMPRESSIONS: "What Flows Between Us," Curated by Rachna Nivas, at 92NY

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"Cross-cultural dialog was the theme of What Flows Between Us, an adventurous program curated by dancer Rachna Nivas and hosted by the 92nd Street Y, on February 21, as part of its performance series Women Move the World." — Robert Johnson, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Malpaso Dance Company at The Joyce Theater

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"Malpaso Dance Company, based in Havana, Cuba, presented an evening of three group works, each pressing the body toward physical extremes. The program opened with Dark Meadow Suite, a distilled suite assembled from Martha Graham’s 1946 masterwork, Dark Meadow, and staged by Janet Eilber, artistic director of the Martha Graham Dance Company, as part of the Graham100 celebration. It was followed by two world premieres: Year of the Leopard by Keerati Jinakumwiphat and La Estación by Daileidys Carrazana." — Catherine Tharin, New York City

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Mama Ghizamboule Robinson and Kevin McEwen on West African Dance

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"I had the privilege of speaking with Kevin McEwen and Mama Ghizamboule Robinson about their commitment to sharing African dance within their communities, the inseparable relationship between music and movement in their traditions, their responsibility to the ancestors, and the spirituality and community at the heart of their work." — Christine Jowers

IMPRESSIONS: "Nature of a Fall" (World Premiere) by Adi Boutrous at Théâtre des Abbesses

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"Their bodies are the material and the metaphor. The interaction is the thing. As soon as they recover from the previous fall, they have already begun the next engagement. In this world, everything begins collapsing as soon as it has formed, as if they stand on shifting sand." — Ann Moradian, Paris

IMPRESSIONS: Lyon Opera Ballet in Merce Cunningham’s “BIPED” and Christos Papadopoulos’ “Mycelium”

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"These days we think a lot about dialogues of power between bodies and machines, often framed in terms of nature versus technology. But nature has always had technologies of its own — our bodies being among its array of spectacularly intricate organic machines — and to experience its complexities in operation through dance can be at once breathtaking, humbling, and confounding. Lyon Opera Ballet’s double bill at City Center, presented by Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, elicited such layered responses." — Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, New York

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Basil Twist and Annalisa Dias on "Puppetopia!" at HERE Arts Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

"I think in general that I have always felt more aligned with dance than theater. Puppetry is one of those in-between arts. I mean, I believe that it is its own art form, but it often falls into the theater category, which is more literate. But I think that with puppetry, movement is essentially the most important thing and as such, it's more akin to dance. And music supports that. It's a great formula." — Basil Twist, New York