Life as a Modern Dancer

Category: Dance in Review

  • “State of Darkness” and the Internet of Dance

    Annique Roberts. Photo by Mohamad Sadek. State of Darkness and the Internet of Dance By Garth Grimball Reproduction is beautiful. Reproduction is corrosive. The bonding of animals through sex to create new life is miraculous. Copying someone else’s intellectual property is unethical, illegal. The former is a welcoming of the new. The latter is a…

  • Shift into Queer Time

    Screenshot from "Borderlessbodies, Transsoils" by Río Saúl Shift into Queer Time By Aiano Nakagawa Today's writing explores the 2nd Annual Queering Dance Festival, presented by Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, California. The 2020 iteration took place on September 19 and 20, 2020 on Twitch, with both live and pre-recorded pieces. Nakagawa reflects on the September…

  • of our bodies, in time

    Screenshot from "bodyfabric" by Octavia Rose Hingle   of our bodies, in time by audrey johnnson Today's writing explores the 2nd Annual Queering Dance Festival, presented by Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, California. The 2020 iteration took place on September 19 and 20, 2020 on Twitch, with both live and pre-recorded pieces.   FROLIC this…

  • The Dancer is Present with Monica Bill Barnes

    Screenshot from the website of Monica Bill Barnes and Company The Dancer is Present with Monica Bill Barnes By Garth Grimball Modern dance is being very considerate. Before March 2020, experimentation meant confronting expectations for many dance makers. The role of the spectator, “acceptable” lengths of time, and the very definition of dancing were all…

  • GUSHing Stories, Joe Goode Performance Group’s Virtual Platform Experience

    GUSHing Stories, Joe Goode Performance Group’s Virtual Platform Experience By Garth Grimball   Imagine a platform. What do you do on it? What is your body doing? Does it feel spacious? Or is it contained? Imagine a virtual platform. What do you do on it? What is your body doing? Does it feel spacious? Or…

  • Redefining Solo

      Redefining Solo By Sima Belmar What: From One to Many: Six Solos Shared An online performance premiere and artist Q&A featuring six commissioned choreographers presenting brand new solos made in their homes for this time of physical distancing to the music of composer Michael Wall.   Who: Works by Melecio Estrella, Molly Heller, Molly Rose-Williams,…

  • Creating a New Model and Landscape for Dance Criticism and Dance Reflection: Honoring Artists’ Voices and Offering Multiple Viewpoints

    From Blog Director Jill Randall: Right now I am knee deep into this topic. A few years back, due to a twindling dance writing community in the San Francisco Bay Area, I started getting into dance previews, reviews, and audience feedback platforms on this site. Today, I want to propose my latest vision for the…

  • Breaking Down with KWENTO

    Catherine Liu. Photo by Andy Strong. Breaking Down with KWENTO By Garth Grimball KWENTO’s Break, a premiere directed and danced by Catherine Liu, artistic director, with an ensemble cast, opened at PianoFight on Jan 31. Break is dance theater. A medium of synthesis that few can get to show and not tell, rather than show…

  • Still Lingering: Reflections on “Action Potential,” Six Months Later

    Shira Yaziv and Megan Lowe. Photo by Sebastian Arrua. Still Lingering: Reflections on “Action Potential,” Six Months Later By Molly Rose-Williams On August 27, 2019, I saw Megan Lowe Dances’ production of “Action Potential” at the Athletic Playground in Emeryville, CA. The site-specific work was directed by Megan Lowe, and created and performed in collaboration…

  • Modern Dance in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2019, as Captured Through 21 Dance Performance Reviews

    From Blog Director Jill Randall: Back in 2012 when I began Life as a Modern Dancer, I did not initially envision it being a site for dance reviews and dance criticism. But as the site grew and changed each year, the need arose for a new platform for dance criticism in the Bay Area. I…