Category: Dance in Review

Maurya Kerr and Alexander Diaz. Photo: Robbie Sweeny. Tender Is the Day in “slow dark dances” By Garth Grimball “Anyone could do that.” How many times has this dictum filtered into the air from an unimpressed observer to a piece of modern art chilling the room’s temperature like air conditioning out of a vent? I’ve…

"Piece X Piece" by LA DANSA DANSA. Photo by Greg Meyers.   Rosanna Tavarez & Bianca Cabrera Travel in Multiple Dimensions By Garth Grimball The weekend of November 11 – 13, ODC Theater ended its 2022 Fall Season with a split bill: Rosanna Tavarez/LA DANSA DANSA and Bianca Cabrera/Blind Tiger Society. Tavarez’s “Piece X Piece”…

Dimensions Dance Theater in "Dai Zoe Bush–The Breaking of the Poro & Sande Bush." Photo by Ed Miller. Dimensions Dance Theater Celebrating 50 Years Lisser Hall, Mills College October 22-23, 2022 By Sima Belmar Oakland-based Dimensions Dance Theater is celebrating its golden anniversary this year, fifty years of making, performing, and teaching dances of the…

Rogelio Lopez. Photo by Ryan Kwok. Rogelio Lopez & Dancers: Entre Despierto y Dormido (Between Awake and Asleep) somewhere in between By Bhumi B Patel What I know is that when I go to see Rogelio Lopez’s work, I’m in for a wonderful kaleidoscope of moments of joy, multi-dimensional interrogation, and gorgeous movement. What I…

Maya Mohsin (left) and Brooke Terry (right) in "Lasos." Photo by Robbie Sweeny.   Lasos – REYES Dance By Melissa Hudson Bell 10/10/22 Two dancers, dressed in garishly loud primary-colored childlike dresses with over-large pockets stand facing each other downstage. Beads of sweat are visible on each, from almost forty minutes of vigorous jumping, running,…

FACT/SF’s Summer Dance Festival Dances Through Genre By Garth Grimball Editor’s Note: For some dance events, securing a dance writer/reviewer can be a difficult task due to timing and availability. But the questions still can linger: How can artists receive feedback and impressions? How are works of art documented in writing for audiences, artists, and…

DISCO RIOT. Photo by Robbie Sweeny.   FACT/SF & DISCO RIOT Dance On Making By Garth Grimball FACT/SF and DISCO RIOT, based in San Diego, presented two works at ODC Theater on August 5-7, closing out FACT/SF’s two week Summer Dance Festival. Bay Area audiences were given the opportunity to see this SoCal company thanks…

“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…

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…

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…