The history goes like this. African Americans in dance have had to gather on their own to celebrate the black tradition in American dance. Modern dance pioneers Edna Guy and Hemsley Winfield held the “First Negro Dance Recital in America” in 1931, and Guy and Alison Burroughs organized a second one, called […]
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater New York City Center December 2, 2009– January 3, 2010 Reviewed by Susan Yung Yusha-Marie Sorzano and Linda Celeste Sims in Matthew Rushing’s Uptown. Photo by Paul Kolnik, Courtesy AAADT. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrated its 50th anniversary recently, and Judith Jamison is completing 20 years as its […]
Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago October 23–24, 2009 The Harris Theater Chicago, IL Reviewed by Lynn Colburn Shapiro Cesar Salinas and Meredith Schultz in Brock Clawson’s Give and Take. Photo by Cheryl Mann, Courtesy GJDC. Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago sparkles with vibrant energy, commanding an eclectic repertory with authority and personality. Under Nan Giordano’s direction, […]
Sitting in an airport lounge while on tour, and listening to a song on her laptop computer, Hope Boykin started to cry. What she had on her laptop was a download of Sweet Honey In The Rock, the richly harmonizing, a cappella women singers with whom the dancer was creating a premiere for the Ailey […]
James Sewell Ballet The Joyce Theater, NYC October 16–21, 2007 Reviewed by Wendy Perron This concert started out weak and ended strong. James Sewell’s opening solo had simple hand and arm movements that were reminiscent of a clock. They expanded into space, but never went beyond what looked like a college assignment. I thought of […]
Celebrating our anniversary isn’t only about where we’ve come from, but where we’re heading. We asked some of the creative thinkers in our field to look into their crystal ball and predict the future of dance. Here they share their visions— some realistic, some utopian, and some tongue-in-cheek. Karole Armitage artistic director, Armitage Gone! Dance […]
How does it feel to be 15? Ask Rennie Harris, whose hip hop dance company, Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM), celebrates its “quincearos” this month at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. “Prince” was Harris’s street name as an adolescent growing up in North Philadelphia; “ScareKrow” stuck with him later on. Despite the tags attached to its practitioners, hip […]
Dance Magazine‘s annual look at who’s new and breaking through in 2006. Powerhouse Cricket Because he jumps higher and quicker than anyone alive, hip hop and underground house dancer James P. Colter is nicknamed “Cricket.” A fearless capoeirista, Cricket bounces across the stage, launching his small, compact body into flight and flipping off […]