Dance-Enthusiast.com Features

BAREFOOTNOTES: The Mission Continues — in a New Form

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0400

The Dance Enthusiast will shift away from its current model of regular reviews and extensive reportage and move toward a more focused, sustainable form. In the future, we will focus on audience responses, event listings, opportunities for people to share their dance stories, and dance journalism projects as resources allow. Our previously published articles will remain available online, continuing to serve as an archive of the artists, writers, conversations, and enthusiasm that have shaped these years.

IMPRESSIONS: A Sunday in Spring, Cathy Weis Projects’ Sundays on Broadway

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"The bohemian atmosphere encourages a sense of openness in this artistic cocoon nestled in the heart of the city’s chaos. This loft space is home to Cathy Weis Projects, an artist-run nonprofit that produces Sundays on Broadway, a performance salon for experimental artists. Driven by Weis’s commitment to building community through dance, these curated performances are still going strong in periodic weekly installments since 2014." Hannah Lipman, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Karley Wasaff’s "Growing Takes Time" at Noo Arts Wildflower's Green Roof

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"I’m asking people to play together at a time when genuine collective interaction can feel surprisingly rare," says creator director, Karely Wasaff. — Rush Johnston, Greenpoint Brooklyn

IMPRESSIONS: Opera and Dance: "El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego" and "Carmen"

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Two operas seen within weeks of one another prompted me to contemplate how opera productions ask bodies to carry meaning. Some operas are conceived with dance at their core; others ask singers to inhabit their bodies so fully that dedicated choreography scarcely feels absent. What kinds of physical expressiveness best serve a particular opera may depend less upon convention than upon the aesthetic priorities guiding a production." — Catherine Tharin, New York City and Milan

IMPRESSIONS: Summoning Summer with Moriah Evans, Jasmine Hearn, Jeremy Nedd and Sweat Variant

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"These four experimental artists explored embodiment, culture, and lineage to bridge the personal and political at a variety of scales, all to vivid effect." — Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Lydia Johnson Dance Leaves Us with a Sense of Caring at New York Live Arts

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Ultimately, an evening of Johnson’s choreography leaves one with an all-encompassing sense of caring. We feel how carefully the choreography is crafted and executed. And in watching how caringly the dancers relate to one another, we see how beautiful it is to move through life guided by such sentiments. " — Lisa Jo Sagolla, New York

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Daniel Gwirtzman Celebrates Pride & Creativity at New York City Center Studios

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"We have a with a history with this type of interactive programming... and it's always a wonderful opportunity to embrace Pride . We're known for our colorful ethos, not just costuming, but also optimism. I'm happy to bring in and affirm the love of non-heteronormative, not stereotypical, flourishing, healthy, holistic relationships." — Daniel Gwirtzman, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Fresh Tracks 2026 at New York Live Arts

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Fresh Tracks once again brings a slew of experimentations to theatrical fruition, with dance ideas expressed through improvised and composed movements that play alongside text, sound, character, materials, and technology. Drawing from their individual palettes of form, content, and aesthetic, these artists explode the binary between minimalist and maximalist concerns." — Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Doug Varone and Dancers at The Joyce Theater

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"To celebrate his company’s 40th anniversary, choreographer Doug Varone has opted for simplicity. Instead of cramming his season with tributes and nostalgia, Varone is offering two masterpieces: the haunted Boats Leaving, from 2006, and No Matter How It Ends, a vivid and exciting new showcase for his dancers." — Robert Johnson, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Experiments Abound — A Roundup of the 40th Performance Mix Festival

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"This year, New Dance Alliance presented its 40th Performance Mix Festival with a staggering lineup of 35+ artists across nine programs at Abrons Arts Center’s Underground Theater. NDA’s long history of curating and cultivating experimental performance bears evidence of its commitment to community, with veteran Mix artists presented alongside emerging voices from a nearly indefinable array of genres, styles, and lineages of movement and creativity." — Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Works & Process Presents a Summer Preview of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2026

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Pam Tatge, Executive and Artistic Director of Jacob's Pillow, the internationally recognized dance festival in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, introduced choreographers Brinae Ali and Brian Brooks at a recent Works & Process presentation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The evening, held in the museum's basement theater, offered excerpts from works in development that will premiere this summer in the newly rebuilt Doris Duke Theater." — Catherine Tharin, New York City

IMPRESSIONS: New York Theatre Company Presents "The Circuit," an Immersive, Silent Disco Ballet

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Imagine wandering through DUMBO, Brooklyn, on a summer night wearing wireless headphones, immersed in a world where nightlife, EDM music, and concert dance converge into an interactive experience. Created by Josh Zacher and John Kroft, "The Circuit" transforms the city into a stage, turning an ordinary night out into an imaginative, artistic voyage." Miranda Stück, DUMBO

IMPRESSIONS: Scottish Ballet in "Mary, Queen of Scots" at Lincoln Center

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"The greatest strength of the ballet’s choreography is its emotional clarity, which lies in how conspicuously it visualizes intense feelings. And the dramatically-motivated dancing by the production’s well-directed cast buttresses that emotionality immeasurably." — Lisa Jo Sagolla, NYC

DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: A Peek into the Final Preparations for the Performance Mix Festival

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"This year, New Dance Alliance (NDA) presented its 40th Performance Mix Festival with a staggering lineup of 35+ artists across nine programs at Abrons Arts Center’s Underground Theater. The festival is a veritable smorgasbord of experimental performance [...] The artists whose performances I stood to miss were gracious enough to invite me to sit in on their tech rehearsals earlier in the week." — Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, New York

DANCE NEWS: Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute Announce the 2026 Queer Butoh Festival

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Celebrating a decade of radical performance and embodied experimentation, Queer Butoh Festival returns to New York City with four evenings of interdisciplinary performance exploring the evolving landscape of Butoh in NYC and beyond."

IMPRESSIONS: Yaroque Dance Theatre Presents "NOSEDIVE" at Arts on Site

The Dance Enthusiast — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Stepping into Shelby Green’s creative mind is a transcendent experience. As artistic director of Yaroque Dance Theatre, Green draws audiences into an unfolding scrapbook, seamlessly blending themes of memory, community, tenderness, and identity into one absorbing evening." — Miranda Stück, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Tap City Celebrates 25 Years at The Joyce Theater

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

“The tap dance community is really tight knit. The seniors dance alongside the youngsters. We are a family, Tap dance is such a big part of American history, with deep roots in the African-American experience, and a big part of what we do is to honor the past while pointing to the future.” — Tony Waag, Founding Artistic Director of Tap City

IMPRESSIONS: Youth America Grand Prix 2026 Gala — “The Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow”

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Tiny Asya Subashi (age 8) stepped into the limelight in a variation from La Esmeralda. Though not yet on pointes, Subashi displayed luscious épaulement, and an effervescent personality. Best of all, this pipsqueak has the instincts of a full-grown ballerina — she goes for the jugular. Leon Yusei Sai (14) was a cooler character in his variation from Le Talisman. With effortless ballon, crisp “fifths,” and triple turns — and breathtaking modesty — this one is ready to sign a contract." — Robert Johnson, New York

IMPRESSIONS: "The Firebird Variations," Details of Enchantment

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"The Firebird is unique among classic ballets because it is not primarily a love story. It’s a story about the help we need to vanquish greed and narcissism, a.k.a. evil. (The love story is a sideline.) Perhaps it’s not by chance that a flurry of four Firebird productions appeared in the U.S. this season. Maybe we have a hunger for a quick way to topple a tyrant. Where is our magic feather?" — Wendy Perron, New York

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Experimental Artist Ursula Eagly on the Performance Mix Festival's 40th Anniversary

The Dance Enthusiast — Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"For me, this [New Dance Alliance's Performance Mix] is about community and being in conversation with people. For an evening length commission, I'm in control of everything. But in this festival environment, it's more of a challenge to fit yourself into the time constraints. And there are these confines and guidelines. But in exchange, you get to be in conversation with all these artists and that's so wonderful. I really value it, especially right now in my life." — Ursula Eagly, Experimental Artist

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Inside Imani Gaudin’s Creative Universe and Her Latest Work “new york, please”

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"Everything is interdisciplinary in my world. Not multidisciplinary. I feel like “multidisciplinary” is things coming together to enhance this one thing, whereas interdisciplinary is everything coming together to enhance everything." — Imani Gaudin, New York

IMPRESSIONS: Dance Theatre of Harlem Presents New York City Center Season

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"While the story (of Firebird) remains familiar, Holder’s set transports viewers. Two outsized flowers painted on a drop curtain welcome one to dive into this wonderland. An outrageously sexy cut-away tutu showcases the Firebird’s long legs, and adds some feathers to the back of the garment. Va-Va-Va-VOOM! [...] A host of repetiteurs and costume specialists help make this extraordinary revival happen. The company has a hit on its hands." — Henning Rübsam, New York

IMPRESSIONS: E-Moves Festival Presents "Black Men in Dance" at Harlem Stage

The Dance Enthusiast — Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"As the evening drew to a close, the panelists identified two key takeaways. Creative risk is an act of courage. Artistic bravery doesn’t stand in opposition to masculinity; it is a core part of it. These trailblazing Black men continue to inspire the next generation of Black male artists to take chances, be bold, and never back down." — Miranda Stück, New York

POSTCARDS: Martín Almirón on Opening the Stage to the Community That Sustains Tango

The Dance Enthusiast — Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"For students, the stage offers recognition, confidence, and a way to express themselves artistically within a dance they love. For teachers, it honors the often invisible labor of mentorship and makes their role visible as artists, educators, and transmitters of culture." — Martín Almirón, New York

THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST ASKS: Author Maureen Footer on Her New Book “Feel the Floor”

The Dance Enthusiast — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

"He was the trailblazer for bringing jazz to major choreographers such as Frederick Ashton and George Balanchine, so we see the results of his work, but we didn’t know who he was. He moved cultural framework, placing Black dance on white stages and transforming dance on two sides of the ocean with jazz." — Maureen Footer, on Buddy Bradley