What makes a great choreographer? The elements can sound like a collection of superpowers: The ability to evoke the most intense human emotions with just a simple gesture. A gift for “seeing the music.” A creativity that can transform how audiences perceive their world. A talent for turning dreams into onstage realities.
Left: Sara Mearns rehearsing Karole Armitage’s A Dancer’s Dream. Photo by Chris Lee.
In the case of breakout choreographer Kyle Abraham, the appeal of his work lies in its power to surprise. A rippling hip-hop duet might melt into a pair of smiles and an unexpected hug, which somehow unfolds into an upsetting scene of police violence. He can skillfully pair smart humor with disturbing observations about racism, or a romantic tutu with a 1980s boom box. This agility has helped him rack up an impressive collection of commissions, tours, grants and awards over the past two years, seemingly coming out of nowhere to become the new darling of the dance world. Now with a MacArthur “genius grant” worth $625,000, Abraham has the resources to take his vision even further. (Are you a choreographer looking for your own opportunities? Be sure to check out “Choreography Knocks,” a detailed list of workshops, festivals, residencies and more, at dancemagazine.com.)
Our annual choreography issue also talks to a handful of today’s most interesting dancemakers about one of the boldest tools they can use onstage: nudity. In “Baring It All,” Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jonah Bokaer and others talk about what goes into their decisions to present dancers naked. We also hear a performer’s view of what that experience is like. And in “A Muse’s Vision,” New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns shares her perspective on the creative process, and talks about the magic—and pressure—of stringing together series of movements until they become something more. Because ultimately, choreographers’ number-one tools are their dancers.
Jennifer Stahl
Editor in Chief
jstahl@dancemedia.com
Headshot by Nathan Sayers
GöteborgsOperans Danskompani rehearsing Noetic. Photo by Tilo Stengel.
The Grass Is Always Greener…
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s newest work takes on a familiar theme: the need to understand the rules in order to break them. The Belgian choreographer’s Noetic, for Sweden’s GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, explores the human desire to find order, only to long for freedom once that’s achieved. Playing with this idea of building up and breaking down, sculptor Antony Gormley has designed a set with six large rings that support the dancers’ weight and connect to create new structures. Upping the piece’s European cool quotient even further, the dancers are decked out in costumes by Belgian menswear duo Les Hommes. Premieres March 8–April 12 at The Göteborg Opera. opera.se.
SYDNEY Baz Luhrmann’s movies owe a debt to Broadway spectacle—Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and, most recently, The Great Gatsby jump off the screen with electric colors and drama-fueled plots. But he entered new directing territory when reimagining his first major flick, Strictly Ballroom (1992), for the stage. The pasadoble-filled musical about a champion ballroom dancer premieres on March 25 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. strictlyballroomthemusical.com.
Strictly Ballroom: The Musical. Photo courtesy AB Publicity.
NEW YORK CITY Distraction or enhancement? That’s the question about the LED light set for Alonzo King’s work Constellation. At times, electronic artist Jim Campbell provides a giant pegboard of lights; at others, the dancers cradle individual lights in their hands or feet. Either way, King’s oozy, stretchy choreography is never less than gorgeous, and the dancers of LINES Ballet are never less than compelling. A bonus: Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Maya Lahyani will sing live. March 18–23 at The Joyce Theater. joyce.org.
Yujin Kim and Zachary Tang in King’s Constellation. Photo by Margo Moritz, Courtesy LINES.
SAN FRANCISCO Robert Moses typically uses his company to showcase his silky contemporary work. But the closing weekend of the Black Choreographers Festival is a rare chance to see Robert Moses’ Kin dancers take on a range of pieces by other artists. His Draft/By series at the ODC Theater includes choreography by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance alum Bliss Kohlmyer, hip-hop/modern dancer Dexandro Montalvo and former LINES Ballet maverick Gregory Dawson. But Moses loyalists need not worry—the artistic director will show a new work, too. March 6–8. bcfhereandnow.
Robert Moses’ Kin preparing for Draft/By. Photo courtesy Robert Moses.
PHILADELPHIA There is a flurry of flamenco festivals this month, but the Philadelphia Flamenco Festival, March 1–16, is a chance to see some of Spain’s most applauded alongside Philly’s own: Local all-female troupe Pasión Y Arte will host and perform; Spanish star Israel Galván, whose dances blend traditional flamenco with theatrical contemporary movement, will show new work; and his sister Pastora Galván will dance, as well. For the truly unconventional flamenco-goer, Sevillian postmodernist Rosario Toledo will stomp up a storm—in sneakers. pasionyarteflamenco.org.
Spain’s Israel Galván. Photo by Felix Vazquezla, Courtey Feischman Gerber & Associates.
NEW YORK CITY You wouldn’t expect the cool, contained formalist Beth Gill to do something huge and dramatic. But this time out, in a work commissioned by New York Live Arts, that’s what she’s aiming for. Her lighting designer, Thomas Dunn, is capable of giving an uncanny feeling of hot and dry, and her dancers succumb to glaring light and spatial vastness. If this is beginning to sound like being in a desert, you got it: The piece is called New Work for the Desert. March 20–22. newyorklivearts.org.
Gill’s dancers in residency for Desert at Florida State University. Photo by Chris Cameron, Courtesy Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography.
