by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal It’s a shame that in 2013 the need still to promote the work of female choreographers and only female choreographers still exists but it does, according to Ellie Goudie-Averill, and her latest project with co-producer Meredith Lyons is designed to do just that.  Zipline, a mixed bill of [...]

by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal There’s no shortage of contemporary dance companies in Philadelphia—indeed, they seem to spring to life with each graduating class, some lasting only as long as the Fringe before former classmates part ways.  But RealLivePeople(in)Motion, although unremarkable in its origin, aims to offer Philadelphia audiences something different. Director Gina [...]

Photo by Alexander Iziliaev By Kat Richter for The Dance Journal It’s not often that ballet leaves you gasping one moment and laughing the next but Pennsylvania Ballet’s latest program, a triple bill featuring two classic Balanchine works, Ballo Della Regina and The Four Temperaments, followed by Christopher Wheeldon’s Carnival of the Animals, did just [...]

By Kat Richter for The Dance Journal An ambitious smorgasbord of Latin music and dance presented by Latin Fiesta in collaboration with Concilio, 1492: Music and Dance from Spain to the Americas, gave voice to an often overlooked sector of the arts community at the Suzanne Roberts Theater during the final week of this year’s [...]

Photo by Kylene Cleaver by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal Woodstock wasn’t known for its dance but that didn’t stop Diane Sharp-Nachsin from tackling the legendary music concert for her company’s contribution to this year’s Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts.  In a playful romp through August of 1969, Sharp Dance Company took audiences [...]

By Kat Richter for The Dance Journal As a tap dancer and long time fan of Savion Glover, I was too star struck to do much more than nod when the legendary hoofer announced, some five years ago, that he wanted to do a show completely in the dark.  I was living in London at [...]

photo by Bill Hebert by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal As I’ve gotten to know the Philadelphia dance community over the past few years, I’ve always been a bit mystified by Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers.  Between the hyphen, the forward slash, the abbreviation of the company’s CHI MAC studio in South Philly and the spelling of [...]

by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal Photos by Alexander Iziliaev Nearly four centuries lie between the writing of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1595 and the creation of George Balanchine’s ballet in 1962 but despite the passage of time, the Bard’s quintessential romantic comedy remains the perfect antidote to the winter blues [...]

by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal Photo by Bill Hebert The word “alchemy” refers to a speculative medieval science in which base metals were supposedly transformed into gold.  In the parlance of Philadelphia’s 21st-century dance community, it refers to the work of choreographer Amy Harding and her crew of six dancers, a mixture of [...]

Photo by Bill Hebert by Kat Richter for The Dance Journal Neo-burlesque troupe Peek-a-Boo Revue packed the house at World Café Live on Friday night for its post-Valentine’s romp, Blow Me a Kiss.  It had all the makings of great burlesque, including live music and nipple tassels enough to clothe an entire army, but it [...]