Whether hauntingly strange, surreal, or sublime, true art, when it happens to us, reinvigorates and challenges our preconceived notions of the contemporary world. It confronts us and offers us more than just cheap entertainment, unlike the flippant antics carried out by today’s reality television ‘stars’. True artistry is…
Many scholars have studied the dance forms transplanted from Africa to the Americas, but there was no need to read a heavy book to see what the dances of the African diaspora have in common: Saturday night’s shared bill at the Byron Carlyle — featuring Ife Ile, Afro Contempo, and Afua Hall Dances — was [...]
East Coast. West Coast. Dirty South…Montreal? That French Canadian city may be known for supporting the arts, but it’s not exactly the first joint that comes to mind for urban music and dance. But then Quebec’s own Blueprint Cru made it to the finals on America’s Best Dance Crew this season. And last Thursday at [...]
For the past week I have been in Durham, North Carolina at the American Dance Festival for an institute for dance critics hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts. In fact, there are two Miami-based critics here, me and Miami Artzine columnist and choreographer Letty Bassart.
Late May and into June, after the so-called season has ended and the dancers of Miami City Ballet have put away their toe shoes, a more independent, D-I-Y kind of dance lives on. Choreographers without boards of directors or paid subscribers somehow put together scrappy productions that are often my favorites of the year. This [...]
Members of the SoBe Arts Youth Chamber Ensemble play during a fund-raiser last month in Miami Beach. (Photo by Tomas Loewy) The old tradition of sending the kids away to camp during the summer might not be as prevalent as it used to be, but the idea of spending some downtime during the hot months [...]
Sometimes it’s nice to see your surroundings through new eyes. Last Friday at Inkub8, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a Miami native who has been away from home for a while. When I met Krista Miranda last summer in Zagreb, Croatia at the Performance Studies International conference, she asked me if there [...]
When the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater returns to the Arsht Center this weekend, the revered company will be celebrating Judith Jamison’s 20th anniversary as artistic director. While duly paying homage to Jamison’s accomplishments, Miamians also are thrilled by the naming of a native son as her successor: Liberty City’s own Robert Battle. Battle began choreographing [...]
Some things seem cosmically ordered. Like this weekend: two of Miami’s most vibrant and visible contemporary dance companies celebrate 10 year anniversaries. Miami Contemporary Dance Company is a testimony to the vision of Ray Sullivan. Dance Now! Ensemble is the fruit of an artistic partnership between Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini. For the past decade, [...]
There doesn’t seem to be much left for Neri Torres to learn. Over the past decade, the Cuban-trained choreographer and dancer has developed a full repertoire of Afro-Cuban–inspired concert dance for her Miami-based company Ife-Ile. She is also a sought after commercial choreographer for projects such as the Andy Garcia movie The Lost City, Sesame [...]
