Category: Dance in Review

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…

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…

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…

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 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…