The spring performance season is moving full steam ahead with literary-inspired ballets, a queer reimagining of Carmen, and premieres drawing from everything from the upcoming solar eclipse to contemporary American politics. Here’s what’s grabbing our attention.

The weaving together of movement and language into art seems natural and inevitable, given ballet’s long history as a narrative art form, and our current cultural infatuation with visual storytelling as a means of communication. Yet choreographers’ interest in tying ballet directly to literature is a notable turnaround from the 20th century’s Balanchine-influenced rise of abstract, plotless ballets.

It may be winter, but there are plenty of premieres sizzling in the wings. Here are four shows we have on our radar this month.

Maybe even more than most industries, the dance field is obsessed with youth. We fawn over prodigies, we love to predict the next big thing. Yes, Dance Magazine itself is 100 percent guilty of this, with features like “25 to Watch” and On the Rise. But just because a performing career can be short doesn’t […]

Prolific director-choreographer Cathy Marston has made story ballets chic again. Last year began with Marston poised to make a big splash in the U.S., with plans for new creations at The Joffrey Ballet (Of Mice and Men) and San Francisco Ballet (Mrs. Robinson, based on The Graduate), following up remounts at American Ballet Theatre and […]

One of the unexpected benefits of 2020 has been seeing how our favorite dance artists have found new ways to express themselves. In this short film, “DRIFT,” beloved narrative ballet choreographer Cathy Marston puts on her (barefoot) dancing shoes for the first time in about 15 years. In an email she sent out last weekend, […]

With how rapidly the performance landscape has shifted—and continues to shift—as the world grapples with COVID-19, looking ahead can feel fraught. Many artists, organizations and presenters remain in holding patterns. Nevertheless, we wanted to celebrate the projects that have been announced that excite us, even if their details (in particular, their planned performance dates) are […]

Feminist takes on The Graduate and The Godfather, international collaborations and a whole lot of flamenco. The shows we’re most excited to see this March are all about unexpected takes on familiar ideas. The Roadless Road MELBOURNE The 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West recounts a Chinese monk’s pilgrimage to India in search of […]