Life as a Modern Dancer

Category: Dance in Review

  • “One. One & One” Equals All – By Garth Grimball

    “One. One & One” Equals All By Garth Grimball Vertigo Dance Company, based in Israel, concluded this year’s American Dance Festival with a performance of “One. One & One” (2017) at the Reynolds Theater on Duke University campus. The dance opens with a solo. Yarden Oz drips and extends her body while Etai Peri pours…

  • In “FRAMEWORK,” Kristin Damrow & Co Explore The Body Inside And Out

    Dancers Brandon Graham,  Anna Greenberg Gold, Sawako Ogo, Sam Grayson, and Allegra Bautista. Photo by Hillary Goidell.   In “FRAMEWORK,” Kristin Damrow & Co Explore The Body Inside And Out By Garth Grimball Kristin Damrow knows how to produce live art. Since “Eames” premiered in 2018 in San Francisco, Kristin Damrow & Company has been…

  • “Four by Four” by Emily Hansel: Reflections on Product as Process

    Mia J. Chong, Chelsea Reichert, and Alex Carrington (left to right). Photo by Steve Disenhof Photography.   “Four by Four” by Emily Hansel: Reflections on Product as Process By Molly Rose-Williams A few weeks ago, I went to a friend’s art opening. It was held in the front room of a large Victorian with lofty…

  • Review/Response: “One Body, Five Dances, Six Perspectives II” with Peiling Kao Dances

    Peiling Kao Dances: One Body, Five Dances, Six Perspectives II May 6th & 8th, 2022  University of Hawai’i, Mānoa Earle Ernst Lab Theater, Honolulu, HI Reviewed by Christopher Blasdel Peiling Kao’s dance concert—One Body, Five dances, Six Perspectives II—consisted of a series of short, commissioned dance vignettes from five guest choreographers. Each of the guest…

  • Review/Response: “Talking Circle” with Risa Jaroslow & Dancers

    From left: Erin Yen, Sharon Dalke, and Chelsea Reichert in Talking Circle. Photo by Robbie Sweeny. Risa Jaroslow & Dancers Talking Circle May 12, 2022 CounterPulse By Sima Belmar One of my favorite things about dance class is the time spent on the sidelines watching others dance. I suppose the main reason why we take…

  • Review/Response: “Are You There God? It’s Me, Jules” with Julie Crothers

    Julie Crothers. Photo by Hans Holtan. Are You There God? It’s Me, Jules NOHspace, San Francisco April 15, 2022, 7pm Choreographed and Performed by Julie Crothers Original music by Ben Juodvalkis with contributions from Greta Hadley and Jeanne Hadley Lighting design by Maxx Kurzunski Review/response by Sima Belmar I recently listened to a conversation between…

  • Zaccho Dance Theatre’s “Love, a state of grace”: aerial, ethereal, magical

    Zaccho Dance Theatre aerialist Ciarra D’Onofrio  at Grace Cathedral. Photo courtesy of Zaccho Dance Theatre.   Zaccho Dance Theatre’s Love, a state of grace: aerial, ethereal, magical By Sima Belmar I couldn’t get the word “empanada” out of my head. I was lying on Mary Armentrout’s Feldenkrais table in Berkeley and the word kept circling…

  • Looking Back and Celebrating: Dance Performances in and from the SF Bay Area in 2021

      FACT/SF in "Diffusion." Erin Yen and Emily Hansel (background), Samuel Melecio-Zambrano and Katherine Neumann (foreground). Photo by Robbie Sweeny. Image description: Four dancers perform in a park. In this image two are in the foreground moving in unison, arms wide to their sides. Two are in the far background running away. The costume is…

  • Wholeness in “Split”

    LizAnne Roman Roberts. Photo by Robbie Sweeny. Image description: Dancer stands downstage in a performance space lit bubblegum pink. Dancer wears a sleeveless button up shirt, dark shorts to her knees, and white socks. The dancer is slightly arching and looking up to the ceiling. Wholeness in Split  By Sarah JG Chenoweth For FACT/SF’s Split…

  • Gestures and Dreams at Queer Date Night

    Octavia Rose Projects in "bodyfabric II" with Jhia Jackson (left), Heidi Cash (center), and Noah James (right). Photo by Kim Anno. Image description: Three dancers pose in close proximity in a space with light wooden flooring and white walls. Two are standing and one is seated in a power wheelchair. Each dancer is frozen in…