New York Notebook
Too Close or Too Far
Look past the semiotic title of The Materiality of Impermanence and keep in mind that Kimberly Bartosik is one of the most intriguing descendents of Merce Cunningham. Her use of space and light is innovative, and this piece has an appealingly messy intimacy between a man and a woman. But will it be as eloquent as Merce’s famous essay, “The Impermanent Art?” Feb. 3–6 at DTW. See www.dancetheaterworkshop.org. —Wendy Perron
Moving Mountains
The Dance on Camera festival kicks off the new year with provocative new films on the transformative power of dance. They range from Becoming, a surreal story of movement embedded in nature’s landscape by Joseph Johnson Camí and Ayelen Liberona, to Ruedi Gerber’s Breath Made Visible, a portrait of dance icon Anna Halprin’s lifelong work using dance to heal and unite. Dancing Across Borders documents the extraordinary journey of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Sokvannara Sar, who left his home in Cambodia when offered the gift of ballet in the U.S. by Anne Bass (who made the film). Co-sponsored by Dance Films Association and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the festival takes place at the Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center and will honor the work of Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis. Jan. 29–Feb. 2. See www.dancefilmsassn.org. —Rebecca Ain
EVOCative Parsons
Parsons Dance brings a new version of Remember Me, an enterprising collaboration with the East Village Opera Company, to the Joyce, to alternate with a repertory program. EVOC’s rock renditions of opera standards complement David Parsons’ choreography, which aims to appeal to a wide audience. EVOC’s two lead singers perform “Ave Maria,” “La Donna è Mobile”—14 familiar arias in all—alongside the company’s athletic dancers in Parsons’ muscular modern style. The piece also features aerial dance and digital effects. The second program includes favorites from Parsons’ repertory such as Hand Dance, Sleep Study, and the iconic, freeze-frame Caught, performed by both a man and woman on the same program. Feb. 2–14, www.joyce.org. —Susan Yung
