How did I used to write dance criticism? I walked down a theater’s aisle, greeting colleagues along the way. Once in my seat, I perused the program, took pen and paper out of my bag, and waited for the curtain to go up. The next day, I’d attempt to read my scribbles (difficult, since I’d […]

When I started writing about dance professionally a decade ago, the experience was akin to taking baby steps among giants. There was something profoundly humbling—not to mention terrifying—about reviewing a new Odette/Odile in the same pages as Clement Crisp, who saw his first performance in 1942 and famously quipped: “I want to hear from someone […]

When I first came to dance criticism in the 1970s, the professional critics were predominantly much older than me. I didn’t know them personally and, as the wide-eyed new kid on the block, I assumed most had little or no physical training in the art. As slightly intimidated as I felt at the time—you try […]

During his tenure at The New York Times, Alastair Macaulay has not been accused of being timid. Or boring. As the newspaper’s chief dance critic, he has probably been the most talked-about writer in the dance world. His raves and his pans have become their own news; his words have led to as much chatter […]