
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet: What Just Happened?
There was no visible smoke signal leading up to Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet‘s closing. When I saw the announcement on my Facebook feed last night, I grabbed my calendar to make sure it wasn’t April Fools—a little misguided prank from the companies new summer intern – two glasses of rosé…

Batsheva Dance Company’s “Sadeh21″ at BAM
To be a Batsheva dancer, “you have to disappear.” Those were Bobbi Smith’s instructions to a room of students on Friday morning, as she led us through a section of a 2007 work called Max. Smith, a stunning dancer about as capable of disappearing as an elephant carved from rubies,…

REVIEW: Pina Bausch’s “Kontakthof” at BAM
Pina Bausch has a gift for holding up a beautiful mirror and gently showing us how ridiculous we look. In Kontakthof, scenes unfold wildly out of proportion, with hysterical shrieks meeting compulsive preening meeting a fake mouse corpse. “There are dancers onstage,” Anna Wehsarg comments at one point: “do you…

REVIEW: Jodi Melnick’s ‘Moment Marigold’ at BAM
In Moment Marigold, currently in its world premiere at BAM Fisher, Jodi Melnick presents a contagious investigation of the myriad curves and lines our 206 bones are capable of producing. This is a dance that studies the human body so thoroughly that a heightened physical awareness drifts off the stage…

REVIEW: Reggie Wilson’s ‘Moses(es)’ at BAM
Reggie Wilson is certain of himself. This confidence shows in his hands, crossed in front of his body as he stands onstage at the BAM Harvey Theater, gazing out at the audience. They are strong, durable hands, and minutes later when they are rapidly packing masses of tinsel into a…

REVIEW: Kate Weare’s “Dark Lark” at BAM
Kate Weare is afraid of theatricality. She said it herself in a discussion following Friday evening’s performance of Dark Lark, her latest work for her eponymous company, which is currently in residence at the BAM Fisher (the first company to hold this place). Perhaps, then, Dark Lark enacts a fantasy…

REVIEW: Gallim’s Blush at BAM
Dance has the special distinction of being both the pinnacle and precursor of society. Long before there were pointe shoes, galas and gilded theaters, dance bridged the gap between animals and early humans, in many cultures playing a critical role in the formation of a collective identity. On Wednesday night…