Dance List 21
Through March 1
This list is late, but it’s here!
Last month I mentioned “neat new publishing projects” that have been helping me stay connected to dance as I devote much of my time and mental space to keeping a small human alive. Along those lines, I wanted to share a few more dancer-led publications (in addition to Row 3 Relays) that I’ve been admiring, many of them just starting up. (I’m reminded of Jill Johnston’s “Critics’ Critics,” 1965: “And speaking of artists, why is it that more dancers don’t practice the art of writing about their work?”)
I also loved this essay by artist and former competition dancer Maya Man, on Dance Moms and the parallels between performing for social media and for the competition dance stage. (Find out why she “now see[s] Abby Lee Miller as ‘The Algorithm’ itself.”)
On the topic of arts writing more broadly: I so appreciated this rigorous assessment of “the state of the field” from The Black Embodiments Studio, including some thoughts on the ubiquity of Substack (sent via Substack), acknowledging the practical appeal of this platform while underscoring the need for alternatives: “We must develop ways of producing and circulating art writing that is not dependent upon corporate software.” All of the publications listed above are Substacks, and so is this one. (Now I’m trying to imagine Jill Johnston starting a Substack.)
Some updates to this Substack: I’m introducing two new mini sections of Dance List. “Out of Town Highlight” is something noteworthy happening near but outside of New York City’s five boroughs (the geographic boundary I’ve imposed for the sake of keeping this project manageable). And “Virtual Highlight” is something to engage with online: sometimes new or time-sensitive; sometimes (like this month) just a dance gem hanging out on the internet, of which there are so many.
A few notes for navigating this list:
The events are listed in order of opening date. Where listed as “through” a certain date, the event has already opened.
The list has two main sections: performances (week by week) followed by a roundup of dance-related screenings, talks, and exhibitions. (New this month are two mini sections at the end: out of town highlight and virtual highlight.)
I often add to Dance List as I learn of new events. The latest is on the Danceletter website. To submit an addition or a correction, reply to this email or write to me at danceletter@substack.com. (To keep the workload of this project manageable, I tend not to list student recitals or showcases, as much as I appreciate them!)
* = free or suggested-donation event
When I have work/news of my own to share, you can find it at the end under p.s.
Performances
Week of Monday, Feb. 9
Feb. 10-15: Malpaso Dance Company, in works by Daile Carrazana, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, and Martha Graham, at the Joyce Theater
Feb. 12: Adrian Lee, Starting Somewhere at Arts on Site
Feb. 12-14: kNoname Artist | Roderick George, The Grave’s Tears at New York Live Arts
Feb. 12-14: Stacy Grossfield, metamorphosis III, episode 4 at the Collapsable Hole
Feb. 12-March 1: Mark Bankin, Scarecrow at the Tank
Feb. 13: Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet, Remembering at BAM Fisher
Feb. 13: “Get Rhythm” at Arts on Site
Feb. 13-14: Peter Stathas, Marta Renzi, and Gerri Houlian, What We Hold, with a special tribute to Liz Thompson, at Mark Morris Dance Center
Feb. 15: Emily Aslin | Aslin Projects and Miranda (Randi) Blumanstock, “Convene” at Arts on Site
Through March 1: New York City Ballet spring season at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
Week of Monday, Feb. 16
Feb. 17-22: Trinity Irish Dance Company at the Joyce Theater
Feb. 19: “MISFITS / ARCH,” feat. Dareon Blowe and Carlos Franquiz III, at Arts on Site
Feb. 19-20: OR Works / Olga Rabetskaya, La Playa at New York Live Arts
Feb. 19-20: lu yim, Bottom Edge Air at Pageant
Feb. 19-21: Lyon Opera Ballet, in works by Merce Cunningham and Christos Papadopoulos, part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, at City Center
Feb. 20: Showcase of MISFITS, hosted by MISFITS Dance Collective, at Arts on Site
Feb. 20-21: Joffrey Concert Group, “In My Art” at Ailey Citigroup Theater
Feb. 20-22: (LA)HORDE and Ballet national de Marseille, Age of Content, part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, at BAM
Feb. 21-22: Benjamin Millepied / L.A. Dance Project, Reflections: A Triptych, part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, at PAC NYC
Feb. 21-22: SPEAK, feat. Rachna Nivas, Rukhmani Mehta, Michelle Dorrance, and Dormeshia, part of What Flows Between Us: A Festival of India’s Classical Arts in Cross-Cultural Dialogue, curated by Rachna Nivas, at 92NY
Feb. 21: Dylan Pearce, Everything Human Is Alien to Me at Arts on Site
Feb. 22: Brandon Coleman, “Episodes” at Arts on Site
Through March 1: Mark Bankin, Scarecrow at the Tank
Through March 1: New York City Ballet spring season at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
Week of Monday, Feb. 23
Feb. 24-March 1: Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE at the Joyce Theater
Feb. 25: NEW@Graham: Graham and Tech at Martha Graham Studio Theater
Feb. 25-26: Jan Martens, The Dog Days Are Over 2.0, part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, at NYU Skirball
Feb. 26: Adam Wedesky, internal weather at Arts on Site
Feb. 26-28: Trisha Brown Dance Company, in works by Trisha Brown and Merce Cunningham, part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, at BAM
Feb. 26-March 8: Flamenco Festival at various venues
Feb. 26, 28, March 1: Gala Flamenca, feat. Eva Yerbabuena, Manuel Liñán, El Farru, and Juan Tomás de la Molía, at City Center
Feb. 27: Estévez / Paños y Compañía, La Confluencia at City Center
Feb. 28: Irene Morales, RAW at the Public Theater
Feb. 27: Juilliard415 With Tafelmusik, “Rameau and the Art of Dance,” feat. Baroque dancers Caroline Copeland and Julian Donahue, at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center
Feb. 27: “Target Practice,” with works by Rylan Joenk, Poppy Louise Miller, and Denim, at Arts on Site
Feb. 27-28: Leïla Ka, Maldonne, part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, at New York Live Arts
Feb. 27-28: Amanda Krische, Double Blade at Danspace Project
Feb. 27-28: Take Root, feat. Chelsea Thedinga and Petra Zanki, at Green Space
Feb. 28: Queer Movie Movers Dance Compilation at BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance
Feb. 28: Chloé Roberts, People at Arts on Site
Feb. 28-March 1: Alessandro Sciarroni, Save the Last Dance for Me, part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, at L'Alliance New York
March 1: Fertile Ground: New Works Showcase, feat. Julienne Buenaventura, Lucy Kudlinski, Meg Hasou, Stribrny Dance, Temple of Fine Arts, and Willow Green, at Green Space
Through March 1: Mark Bankin, Scarecrow at the Tank
Through March 1: New York City Ballet spring season at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
Screenings, Talks & Exhibitions
*Feb. 22: Playing the Hits: Dancing with the Stars!, curated by Kim Brandt, feat. Wally Cardona and Tool Is Loot, at the Chocolate Factory
Feb. 23: An Evening with (LA)HORDE at the Museum of Modern Art
*Feb. 23: Robert Rauschenberg’s Collaborations with Trisha Brown & Merce Cunningham, moderated by Nancy Dalva, with Carolyn Lucas, Andrea Weber, and Francine Snyder, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
*Feb. 25: The Dance Historian Is In: Adrienne Gibbons Oehlers on the Radio City Rockettes at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Electric Bohemian: Flamenco and the Arts in Greenwich Village (1950-1970), with K. Meira Goldberg and Elijah Wald in conversation, part of Flamenco Festival, at CUNY Graduate Center
*Feb. 28: La Argentinita in New York: New York in La Argentinita, a lecture by José Javier León, followed by live performance of Flamenco Festival artists, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Through Feb. 22: Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor, curated by Derrick León Washington, at the Museum of the City of New York
Out of Town Highlight
Something to see outside the five boroughs:
Feb. 16-22: The Dark, a new winter festival presented by PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance in Chatham, NY, at venues around Columbia County
Virtual Highlight
Something to watch or do on the internet:
*Online indefinitely: Portrait of Ailey, a documentary in eight chapters on the life and work of Alvin Ailey, directed by Ailey II artistic director emerita Sylvia Waters in collaboration with Dominique Singer and the Ailey Archives. (Released in 2024 alongside the Whitney’s monumental Edges of Ailey exhibit.)
p.s.
The spring semester has begun, and I’m excited to again be teaching Dance in NYC, a course in which we see performances around the city and talk/write about them (very fun; also very time-consuming in both planning and execution!) I’m still working on bringing back Danceletter Convos, and paid subscriptions will remain on hold until then; in the meantime, if you’re a paid subscriber, you can access the full archive here.