Reviews - music

Obama, McCain, and the Arts

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:39:53 +0000

I wasn’t expecting any questions in the last presidential debate to address the candidates’ arts policies, because, let’s face it - the state of the arts doesn’t affect most Americans on a daily basis. People want to hear about issues that hit close to home, like the economy and health care. Thus, funding [...]

Morphoses at City Center: Program 2

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:33:54 +0000

Adrian Danchig-Waring, Wendy Whelan, and Tyler Angle rehearsing Monotones II photo by Yaniv Schulman The second Morphoses program was not only more varied than the first, but more complete as a whole. Three short pieces were bookended by Wheeldon works, with the new Commedia opening the program and Fools’ Paradise closing it. I wrote at length about [...]

Alexei Ratmansky at The New Yorker Festival

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:38:18 +0000

On Saturday afternoon, The New Yorker Festival presented a discussion between dance critic Joan Acocella and Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky at Cedar Lake’s theater in Chelsea. Ratmansky is currently the Bolshoi Ballet’s artistic director, and he’s created works for several companies around the world, including his recent Concerto DSCH for New York City Ballet. [...]

Morphoses: Gala Performance

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:52:31 +0000

Last year, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company tried to prove that “Ballet=Sexy” in an attempt to overturn the belief that ballet is all about tutus and dying swans. After watching Wednesday evening’s gala performance at City Center, it was unclear if that’s still Christopher Wheeldon’s goal for the company. True, there were no swans [...]

Hofesh Shechter’s Uprising

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:01:57 +0000

Last week, I wrote at length about the excerpt from Hofesh Shechter’s Uprising that I saw during the Fall for Dance festival. Of the fifteen pieces (over three programs) I viewed throughout FFD, Uprising was certainly the most exhilarating and memorable. I don’t usually post such long videos, nor do I think videos [...]

rappin’ with parappa

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:32:09 +0000

i’ve played playstation games off and on since college, but in general i’m fairly bored by them. i really don’t remember how i first heard about parappa the rapper for the PS1, but it’s no wonder it caught my eye, with its bright, offbeat, very nintendo-like quirkiness. if you haven’t heard of it, it’s a [...]

Fall for Dance: September 20 and 21, 2008

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:56:25 +0000

Saturday evening and Sunday’s Fall for Dance program offered an attractive sampling of works, two of which were exceptional. I chose this program, in part, because of three of the choreographers: Aszure Barton and Christopher Wheeldon’s works have impressed me, and Hofesh Shechter’s background in percussion and dance (he formerly danced with Batsheva Dance [...]

Fall for Dance: September 19, 2008

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:59:00 +0000

Merce Cunningham Dance Company in Sounddance, photo courtesy of MCDC image galleries Friday evening’s Fall for Dance program at NY City Center showcased five distinct works - thematically, musically, and choreographically - that demonstrated the festival’s success at bringing together diverse dance companies and artists. The performance opened with Merce Cunningham Dance Company in Sounddance. Ten [...]

Crossing the Line: Why Do Politicians Need Artists?

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:05:33 +0000

Political Art Embarrasses Me, photo by Julia Mandle, 2007 The 2nd annual Crossing the Line: FIAF Fall Festival kicked off today and will continue through October 5th with performances by several artists working in film, theater, music, art, and dance. This Saturday, from 4 to 6 PM, there will be a free roundtable discussion called Why [...]

mediocre mario landed

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:30:48 +0000

i took a break from a long game to play one of the few mario games i’ve never really touched, namely that game boy classic super mario land. the game is pretty noteworthy for being one of the first game boy titles, and in that light it’s def. worthy of respect. but from a modern-day [...]

Fall Dance Season is Here!

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:16:02 +0000

The file on my computer called “Summer Dance Dates” has now been re-titled “Fall Dance Dates”, as there seems to be a sudden rush of performances and events filling up my calendar - spanning from now to December. It’s exciting to think about how much is going on in NYC this fall, but a [...]

Ready to Fall for Dance?

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 03:12:01 +0000

One week from today, tickets will go on sale for the 5th annual Fall for Dance Festival at NY City Center. Over the course of ten days, audiences can enjoy six different programs - each featuring multiple companies that cover ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap, contemporary, tango, and many other styles - for just $10 [...]

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 [...]