Reviews - ballet

Final Thoughts on The Copier at Cedar Lake

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:56:01 +0000

Ana-Maria Lucaciu in The Copier, photo by Evan I returned to Chelsea on Friday evening for a final viewing of Jill Johnson’s The Copier. As I mentioned in my review of the opening night performance, every viewing of an interactive installation such as The Copier provides a unique and slightly different experience. So I [...]

Cedar Lake’s The Copier: Opening Night, Part 2

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:26:30 +0000

Ana-Maria Lucaciu in Jill Johnson’s The Copier, photo by Gillian Crosson Gillian Crosson, a friend of David Poe (the composer of Cedar Lake’s The Copier), was generous enough to send me some of her beautiful photographs from opening night of the installation. You can view all of her photos from the performance here. Enjoy! Soojin [...]

Cedar Lake’s The Copier: Opening Night

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:50:25 +0000

Cedar Lake dancers in Jill Johnson’s The Copier, photo by Evan I’ve been fortunate enough to follow the progress of Jill Johnson’s The Copier for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet over the past two weeks by observing rehearsals, but I still wasn’t sure what to expect at the installation’s premiere. The space felt and looked different [...]

Cedar Lake’s The Copier: Behind the Scenes, Part 4

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:33:54 +0000

Nickemil Concepcion and Soojin Choi rehearsing Jill Johnson’s The Copier Before yesterday’s tech rehearsal started at Cedar Lake, choreographer Jill Johnson warned me that The Copier will look entirely different when it premieres tomorrow (August 20th) and suggested that I pass this information along to readers. It was my first time seeing the piece from start [...]

Cedar Lake’s The Copier: Behind the Scenes, Part 3

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:08:58 +0000

Cedar Lake dancers rehearsing Jill Johnson’s The Copier Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet opened its doors yesterday afternoon to allow passers-by to watch the last hour of rehearsal for Jill Johnson’s upcoming installation, The Copier. Some people stopped for just a few moments to peek in to the spacious theater. Others seemed intrigued by the [...]

Cedar Lake’s The Copier: Behind the Scenes, Part 2

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:37:09 +0000

Cedar Lake dancers rehearsing Jill Johnson’s The Copier Yesterday afternoon I stopped by Cedar Lake’s theater to catch the end of rehearsal for Jill Johnson’s upcoming installation, The Copier. The dancers were working in the theater, and the stage was now set up in a T shape with plenty of room around the perimeter for the [...]

Cedar Lake’s The Copier: The Audience’s Role

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:57:38 +0000

There’s a discussion going on at The Kinetic Interface of Great Dance about the audience’s role and participation in Cedar Lake’s upcoming installation The Copier, choreographed by Jill Johnson. Doug states in his post that he would like to be involved in a more physical way, and thinks the installation could be an opportunity for [...]

Cedar Lake’s The Copier: Behind the Scenes, Part 1

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:16:51 +0000

Jill Johnson (left) observes the Cedar Lake dancers, photo by Evan August 4, 2008 The studio was silent on Monday afternoon as four clusters of Cedar Lake dancers were weaving their arms together, paying attention to the way their wrists, elbows, and shoulders folded into or retracted out of the others. The complexity of the movement [...]

Cedar Lake’s The Copier: Behind the Scenes

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:02:50 +0000

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet appeared on my radar screen after the company reached out to dance bloggers during their 2008 winter season. I was immediately impressed by the dancers, the diverse repertoire, and the welcoming staff. Since then, I’ve returned to Cedar Lake for several other performances, including the company’s Glassy Essence installation, [...]

Teresa Reichlen: Barnard’s Bunhead

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:11:10 +0000

This month’s Dance Magazine includes an article on professional dancers who balance performing careers with academics. New York City Ballet soloist Teresa Reichlen is featured since she studies at Barnard College on the Upper West Side while performing with NYCB at Lincoln Center. Teresa mentions that she’s interested in biology and chemistry, and [...]

Vail International Dance Festival Kicks Off

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:11:09 +0000

Wendy Whelan and Craig Hall in the 2008 Festival ad The 2008 Vail International Dance Festival, under the direction of former NYCB principal Damian Woetzel, kicked off Sunday night with a special opening performance. Dancers from Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and several others were on the [...]

Gallery 100: Jerome Robbins Continuum

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:16:14 +0000

Image from Gallery 100, photographs of Antique Epigraphs by Paul Kolnik While I was in Saratoga for NYCB’s Gala at SPAC, I stopped by Gallery 100 to see Jerome Robbins Continuum, a display of photographs by Paul Kolnik that show New York City Ballet in Robbins’ ballets. Kolnik has been photographing the company for over thirty [...]

New York City Ballet: Gala at SPAC

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:32:07 +0000

Saturday’s Gala at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center had a relaxed, laid-back feel that matched the hot, humid evening, but the outdoor setting and sticky weather didn’t stop the crowds from dressing up for the occasion. Nor was the event lacking in star power: Rita Moreno, who played “Anita” in the film version of [...]

Blogging from ‘Toga

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:47:08 +0000

I’m off to the Adirondacks this weekend for some more hiking, biking, and kayaking. On Saturday night, I’ll be heading to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center to see New York City Ballet’s summer Gala performance, which is an all-Jerome Robbins program including Brahms/Handel (co-choreographed by Twyla Tharp), Opus 19/The Dreamer, and West Side Story [...]

Cedar Lake Dancers Featured in Dance Magazine

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:38:28 +0000

Back in May, Allison gave me this beautiful Cedar Lake poster (of dancer Ana-Maria Lucaciu, photo by Paul B. Goode) as a birthday present. It’s now framed and finally hanging in my apartment. I love the photograph, and Ohad Naharin’s Decadance has been one of my favorites since seeing it last January. Oddly enough, in [...]