danceviewdc
writers on dancing

The DanceView Times, Washington, D.C. edition

       Volume 2, Number 5  February 2, 2004         An online supplement to DanceView magazine

Dancers of Character

Bounty Verses, Rainbow Round My Shoulder, and The Winter In Lisbon
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Presented by Washington Performing Arts Society
Opera House
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
January 27, 2004

by Tehreema Mitha
copyright © 2004 by Tehreema Mitha
published 2 February 2004

The second program Alvin Ailey Dance Theater presented this week at The Kennedy Center was well chosen. It gave the audience works from three different choreographers that showcased the best of the Ailey dancers talents' while presenting three different moods and approaches.

Bounty Verses was a Washington premiere, choreographed for The Ailey Company by former AAADT member Dwight Rhoden. With thirteen dancers on stage the energy was pulsating. While we are told that this dance “addresses the non-stop pace and complexity of modern life,” no story line was apparent, but certainly the way that the steps and movements are co-joined is complexity in itself. The choreography was fast-paced, joints tightly fitted into each other, the classical sometimes inseparable from the modern movements, the extensions flowing into jazz hip movements. Likewise, the music was a mosaic of classical pieces mixed with jazz and rock.
read review


reprinted from last week's midweek edition

Fabulous Dancers, Mediocre New Works

Night Creatures, Juba and Heart Song
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Presented by Washington Performing Arts Society
Opera House
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
January 27, 2004

by Clare Croft
copyright © 2004 by Clare Croft
published 28 January 2004

Why can’t anyone make a good piece on this company? In the last few years, only Ron Brown has choreographed a work (Grace) equal to the Ailey dancers’ abilities. The company’s opening night at the Kennedy Center, which featured Washington premieres of Robert Battle’s Juba and Alonzo King’s Heart Song both created in 2003, proved that the trend of mediocre choreography for fabulous dancers continues.
read review

 

 

 

 

What's On This Week

February 3-4 and 7-8
4th Annual Flamenco Festival

The passion and flair of flamenco arrives in Washington, D.C. for the 4th Annual Flamenco Festival. Some of Spain’s most popular flamenco artists, including Manuela Carrasco, Israel Galván, and José Mercé, will be performing. The festival is also presenting the D.C.-premiere of Compañía Andaluza de Danza.
Gala de Sevilla – February 3 at 8 p.m.
José Mercé – Wednesday, February 4 at 8 p.m.
Compañía Andaluza de Danza – February 7 and 8 at 8 p.m.
Lisner Auditorium
21st and H streets N.W.
(301) 808-6900

February 3-8
American Ballet Theatre

The American Ballet Theatre returns once again to the Kennedy Center. This year’s performances includes both classic and contemporary works by the New York-based company. After more than 20 years, Ballet Theatre is bringing La Bayadère back to the Opera Housestarting on Friday. It is the only full-length ballet being performed. Ballet Theatre will also present various works from its repertory.
February 3 through 7 at 7:30 p.m. and February 7 and 8 at 1:30 p.m.
Opera House
Kennedy Center
1-800-444-1324

February 4
Borris Willis Moves

Blending hip-hop choreography and modern dance, Borris Willis Moves presents The Grey Album as part of the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage series.
6 p.m.
Millennium Stage
Kennedy Center
1-800-444-1324

February 6 and 7
Joe Goode Performance Group

The Joe Goode Performance Group presents its new work Folk and Mythic, Montana. The piece transplants Greek mythology into the setting of the American West.
8 p.m.
Ina and Jack Kay Theatre
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
University of Maryland is easy to visit.
Route 193 (University Blvd.) and Stadium Drive
301-405-ARTS

February 7 and 8
Hip-Hop, Dance & Spoken Word Festiva
l
Regional and national dance and spoken word artists for this annual event. Performances include Quiqui Aviles, Marc Bamuthi-Joseph, Full Circle Dance Company, and Silvana Straw.
February 7 at 8 p.m. and February 8 at 4 p.m.
Dance Place
3225 8th St., NE
202-269-1600

– Liz Bartolomeo

— Liz Bartolomeo

Editions:
DanceViewTimes

DanceViewNewYork
DanceViewWest
DanceViewDC
Back issues
Reviews

Index of Reviews
Back Issues
About Us
Forum
Links
Contact Us

Sister Sites:
DanceView
Ballet Alert! Online
Ballet Talk
Ballet Blogs

 

This weeks' articles

 

DanceViewNY
Mindy  Aloff's Letter from New York

The Balanchine Celebration
New York City Ballet:
A Veteran and a Raw Recruit
by Mindy Aloff

Heart and Soul
by Mary Cargill

Kid Stuff
Cas Public's If You Go Down To the Woods Today
by Susan Reiter

DanceViewWest
San Francisco Ballet:
New Wheeldon (Rush)
by Rita Felciano

New Tomasson (7 For Eight)
by Paul Parish

Possokhov's New Firebird for OBT
by Rita Felciano

Moscow Festival Ballet and Scott Wells
by Paul Parish

DanceViewDC
Hamburg Ballet's Nijinsky:
Nijinsky—Lost in the Chaos
by Clare Croft

NijinskyMadness and Metaphor
by Alexandra Tomalonis

Nijinsky and the Ballets Russes
by George Jackson

Batsheva: Breaking Down Walls
by Lisa Traiger

Ronald K. Brown/Evidence
by Clare Croft

Choreographers Showcase
by Tehreema Mitha

Zoltan Nagy
by George Jackson

 

 

 

 

Writers

Clare Croft
George Jackson
Jean Battey Lewis
Sali Ann Kriegsman
Tehreema Mitha

Alexandra Tomalonis (Editor)
Lisa Traiger

DanceView

This site is the online supplement to DanceView, a quarterly review of dance published since 1979.

DanceView is available by subscription ONLY. Don't miss it. It's a good read.  Black and white, 48 pages, no ads. Subscribe today!

 

Copyright ©2004 by by DanceView
last updated on January 21, 2004 -->