Headliners
It’s not my best writing by a longshot, but I love the headline the Chronicle gave my article on Chitresh Das’s latest production: “Bring in ‘da noise, bring in ‘da classical Indian dance.” Here’s the...
Lines Hits a Groove
I reviewed Lines Ballet’s new “Moroccan Project” for the SF Chronicle: “The dancers of Lines Ballet are contorted, weirdly refined, alien creatures; it’s not often you get to see them hit a groove. But the beat ruled...
Ballets Russes
The new film “Ballets Russes,” which just opened at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Theaters, really is a delight for balletomanes and “dance dunces” (to borrow an Alex Ross coinage) alike. Among my favorite moments...
Bebe Miller
Ever go to a dance performance where you sit, absolutely exasperated for an hour and a half, and then at the end people are applauding and leaping to their feet and you wonder if you’ve lost your mind? So how much more sane did I feel after...
Aesha Ash at LINES
Former New York City Ballet dancer Aesha Ash is the newest member of Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet. I talked to her in advance of the company’s fall season, opening Friday, for the Chronicle: “It wasn’t the most orthodox of...
Compagnie Marie Chouinard was simply an eye-opener at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts last weekend. I had never seen her work before and, like many I heard murmurring in the audience, was thrilled to see such a formalist working with such...
With Oakland Ballet performing Eugene Loring’s “Billy the Kid” over the weekend, and American Ballet Theatre dancing Agnes de Mille’s “Rodeo,” it’s a good moment to read Allan Ulrich’s essay on...
Oakland Ballet Reborn
Maybe it had to be this way. Maybe the Oakland Ballet had to nearly die in order to be reborn. A year ago the company had no dancers, no studio, no season. Friday night it had energy, sass, and momentum to spare. The Oakland Ballet was...
Kirov’s “Beauty”
I reviewed Wednesday night’s performance of the Kirov Ballet for the SF Chronicle: “It was a wondrous sight Wednesday night: Diana Vishneva en pointe, her other leg held artfully behind her, the whole perfect sculpture twirling...
The New Hula
I wrote about Patrick Makuakane’s “progressive hula” for today’s Chronicle Pink Section. “U2 blasts on the stereo system as two dozen women shake their hips. Bare feet touch the auditorium’s tile floor, skirts...
Oakland Ballet’s Comeback
A lot of people are landing on this old entry via Google searches for Oakland Ballet. The old entry is below, but if you want to more know about the return of Oakland Ballet and Ronn Guidi, I suggest you check out this story, which I wrote for...
Dive In
My hunch is most of the dance fans who check this site are in the Bay Area, but if you?re in New York?whether you?re a dance fan or not?go check out Noemie Lafrance?s latest work, ?Agora,? extended through October 1. Of the many spectacular...