October DanceWatch: Pulse, Parsons, Pearls & more
Jamuna Chiarini
October 3, 2022
From the sublime to the spectacular, the steamy to the spooky, dance takes all forms this month.
For stories published before 2018, visit our archive site.
From the sublime to the spectacular, the steamy to the spooky, dance takes all forms this month.
As dance presenters Walter Jaffe and Paul King move into their 25th season of running White Bird, the elite company they founded, they prepare to pass the torch.
How Elizabethan: The new and old of Nashville Ballet’s “Black Lucy and the Bard” on PBS’s Great Performances.
Xuan Cheng, principal dancer for Oregon Ballet Theatre, is the new principal dancer and ballet mistress for Hong Kong Ballet. She’ll split the next year between Hong Kong and Oregon.
Major milestones for White Bird, BodyVox, and TBA, plus a season packed with contemporary, modern, and classical dance performances from across the cultural spectrums.
Dance review: Allie Hankins’ “By My Own Hand, Part 1: Ghosting” begins before it begins – and that’s a good thing.
Make the most of the last month of summer with a diverse array of outdoor cultural celebrations.
On a warm day in Beaverton, all sorts of dancers stepped out to perform on the Tiny Stage – and the effect was big. A photo essay by Joe Cantrell.
Hannah Krafcik speaks with Takahiro Yamamoto about the creation of his latest performance work.
As summer rises, dance goes outdoors and site-specific (and sometimes stays inside on theater stages, too).
Yamamoto’s quietly stunning work of dance at the Portland Art Museum begs to be widely seen.
The company presents new dances from Andrea Parson and Yoshito Sakuraba, plus a 2004 re-staging from Sarah Slipper.
Amy Leona Havin’s newest work with The Holding Project is a vivid and very contemporary stroll down memory lane.
In its White Bird series performance, the contemporary company brought the crowd to its feet with reflections on life outside the theater doors.
A busy month ranges from dancing felines to new American ballet, experimental works, Andrea Parson’s return, Mexican folklorico and more.
Dancer and writer Hannah Krafcik takes us inside a two-year project by youth and adult dancers to create a piece inspired by children’s games.
Set on a slave ship, the highlight of the company’s performance in White Bird’s We Are One Festival is a ballet by turns gorgeous, gut-wrenching, subtle, sad, dynamic, and celebratory.
The company’s “Taming of the Shrew” takes a steampunk edge, resurrects the work of a 19th century woman composer, and flirts with the idea that the play was written by a woman.
In the spirit of International Dance Day, a busy month in Oregon ranges from Dance Theatre of Harlem to a circus moon shot, steampunk Shakespeare, flamenco, contemporary and more.
Jennifer Gwirtz’s new full-length dance, at Performance Works Northwest through May 1, explores feminist Jewish themes through a universal lens.
Oregon Ballet Theatre’s dancers cut loose spectacularly, and the audience cheers to see live performance once again.
A major new work from choreographer Suzanne Haag, delayed by the pandemic, arrives at last on the Hult Center stage.
“These dancers fit together with a perfectly nonsensical logic”: Two seasoned choreographers dig into surrealist influences at Performance Works NW.
From hip-hop to ballet to contemporary to surreal to the African diaspora, Oregon’s dance scene springs into action.
The Seattle ballet star Noelani Pantastico reflects on her long dancing career and her move into teaching the next generation.
The Portland choreographer talks contemporary ballet, long-winded titles, supporting the arts, ballet’s glass ceiling for women artistic leaders, and her newest work.
The Portland company dives into new work by choreographers Yin Yue, Ihsan Rustem, and Joseph Hernandez.
The storied veteran dance artist makes connections as she creates a memorial to colleagues who’ve passed on.
In a time of crisis, the art and dance of a vibrant culture find a light. Plus highlights of Oregon’s dance calendar.
Preview: Choreographer Ben Stevenson’s version of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale takes to the sky with high romance and lavish design.
February highlights: White Bird plans a changing of the guard; a wild rumpus erupts; women choreographers in Eugene; more.
Eugene Ballet’s “Uncommon Woman” brings to the forefront dances by five contemporary woman choreographers.
The native Portland choreographer returned to his home town as the pandemic hit. He’s emerged with a fresh vision and three new works at A-WOL.
January and early February bring a festival filled with dance, and several co-minglings with other art forms.
Loughran, the dance company’s general manager for 20 years, died on Friday from cancer at age 58.
On the move: Memoirs by Mark Morris and Carol Rich, Victoria Fortuna’s exploration of dance and violence in Buenos Aires, the legacy of a Russian master.
From dance on film at the start of the year to a flurry of Nutcrackers at the end, the ups and downs of Oregon’s Covid-tinged dance year.
Call it meditation, performance, soundscape, transcendence, dance: Driscoll’s ‘Come On In’ solo exhibit pushes boundaries and challenges traditional definitions of dance performance.
“Serious Cupcakes” is one of the contemporary dance company’s most physically adventurous shows.
Soria Ruiz brings architect Eileen Gray’s “animal ballet” sketches to life in a performative exhibition at Oregon Contemporary through Dec. 5.
After a long year of mostly virtual performances, the dance world celebrates the season by throwing the doors open to live shows again.
The veteran dancer and choreographer’s first in a series of three live performances at Performance Works Northwest challenges traditional perspectives on identity and time.
The Shaun Keylock Company returns to the stage after two years to perform the hits of Gregg Bielemeier, a beloved Portland choreographer.
As the holiday hip hop tour heads to Portland, rap pioneer and show MC Kurtis Blow talks about his career, his faith, and his heart transplant.
Generations meet and play when the Keylock company’s young dancers take on the witty choreography of Oregon legend Bielemeier, 71.
push/FOLD’s festival drew national and international contemporary-dance ideas from Brooklyn to New Jersey to Portland to L.A. to the Dominican Republic and Taiwan.
Partners Pasquale and Foit present a two-part event featuring lighthearted movement and a lively four-piece jazz band, followed by a slice of pumpkin pie.
The Portland contemporary dance company gets spooky—and silly—with “BloodyVox,” its seasonal splurge of the macabre.
From “Hip Hop Nutcracker” to “Cinderella,” Keylock & Bielemeier to Linda Austin’s explorations, dance is live and on the move again.
As the dance film genre gains momentum, Portland Dance Film Fest returns to the Clinton Street Theatre to feature filmmakers from across the globe and encourage innovation.
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