Eye On the Arts

New York, New York -- Misty Copeland is sprouting new projects faster than the sound of a car honking when the light turns from red to green in midtown Manhattan. And yet, she maintains a centered, resolute demeanor regardless of how many times she faces the public and speaks about her remarkable life and projects. In Copeland's most recent twist of artistic fate she is producing and starring in an Independent Film that scored screenings during the highly regarded TriBeca Film Festival and at Lincoln Center on July 1 at 8:30pm. LifeMotion Productions formed by Misty Copeland along with Emmy-winning writer-producer Leyla Fayyaz, hatched the film directed by Laruen Finerman. In a historic throwback, Finerman pays homage to silent Black films by eliminating all dialogue and instead setting the 28-minute story to music and dance. With great compassion and concern, Rose (Copeland) struggles to care for her aging mother Gloria (the elegant Christina Johnson). Copeland teaches danc

New York, New York June 9 -- Seated in the front row in the Gibney Theater this reviewer sat in the first row I was surprised to find I was part of the opening section of Beauty Happens , choreographed collaboratively by eight dancers of Falcon Dance and Brit Falcon, Artistic Director was commissioned by Gibney and curated by Eva Yea Asantewaa. Eight dancers walk on from the wings, seating themselves as audience in the middle of the front row. After a long wait, a percussive and electronic sound score activates the upper bodies of the dancers, one somersaulting from the second row to the first, then standing vertically on one chair, as the others undulate spines and arms. The activity beneath my row caused a series of eruptions as I reluctantly indulged the discomfort of my location. One dancer finally stood and lunged onto the stage, as two, then four joined. Turns, rond de jambe and attitude turns in the air were mesmerizing. After fifteen minutes, all were on stage standing s

Photo by Anna Henderson New York, New York--GALLIM Dance founder and choreographer, Andrea Miller, is expert at taking minimal movements and sewing them into maximum sensual events. Founded in 2007, the company's ethos is reminiscent of Ohad Naharin's Gaga style of community movement, propelled into a future of continual motion. At the Joyce Theater, Gallim celebrated 15 years of activity and presented a full evening of works. Some claimed Miller's most potent territory, others wandered a bit wide. One of the more memorable pieces State by Andrea Miller along with Kyle Abraham rode over an engrossing score by Nico Jaar. Gesturally conversational, a simmering sensuality undergirds the visually appealing layering of repeated forms. Moving as a single unit, the wonderful India Hobbs. Vivian Pankkanen and Emma Thesing speak in short, isolated motions that create a sense of sisterhood. There was much ado about Song a solo choreographed by the cit

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Línea Recta (Photo by Erin Baiano) New York, New York June 6, 202- - Ballet Hispanico celebrated its second season at City Center. True to its mission, Ballet Hispanico offers a voice to Latine choreographers as well as stellar dancers. The program opened with William Forsythe’s 1987 duet New Sleep , dedicated to the memory and legacy of Tina Ramirez, founding director (1929-2022). Fatima Andere and Antonio Cangiano, were almost always physically connected in high tech, quick partnering to composer Thom Willem’s aggressive score of metallic clanking sounds. Their exquisite pairing superseded the score, with luscious grand ronde de jambs, attitude pirouettes, torso undulations, arabesques en pointe. In Linea Recta , (2016), choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has managed to pay homage to flamenco dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries in Spain. She modernizes the form featuring amazing partnering for eight dancers with music by Eri

The National Dance Company of Ghana June 1, New York, New York-- The BAM Howard Gilman Opera House hosted DanceAfrica Festival 2023, entitled Golden Ghana: Adinkra, Ananse, and Abusua . Outdoors, a dynamic and crowded African street fair celebrated the culture and spectacle that would soon appear on stage. DanceAfrica’s Artistic Director Abdel R. Salaam hosted the National Dance Company of Ghana, the BAM Restoration Dance Youth Ensemble, and the Dance Africa Spirit Walkers. A two act performance began with Procession . First one drummer and then four more announced a pageantry of dancers, all in glorious costumes, paraded down the aisles from the back, following Candle Bearers in white. Soon children from the BAM Restoration Youth Ensemble pranced, skipped and hopped while honoring the elders, seated in the front row, who were the original founding members of DanceAfrica. DanceAfrica Spirit Walkers Memorial: The Living Adinkra , performed by DanceAfrica’s Spirit Wal

Julieta Cervantes New York, New York May 25, 2023 -- It's mind-bending listening to Neil Diamond's songbook because his songs are so much a part of America's musical fabric. Knocking out song after song, the charismatic Will Swenson  embodies Neil Diamond from his early days to the yêars he eclipses Elvis Presley in The Neil Diamond Musical A Beautiful Noise. Seated in front of a therapist , the old Neil Diamond, a fine Mark Jacoby, revisits his life. Through flashbacks he returns to Flatbush, Brooklyn where this shy young boy feels the dark clouds of loneliness and estrangement crowd his head. That is until he receives  a guitar and starts to write songs. A carousel of Diamond hits keeps audiences happy. Swenson and the rockin' band conducted by Sonny Paladino hold their own against some timid direction by Michale Mayer and choreography by Steven Hoggett. Generally, Mayer is considered one of the more astute theater directors and Hogget typically delivers without