Dance

For stories published before 2019, visit our archive site.

Thoughts on Martha Graham in modern times

How do past and present mix and meet? A veteran dance critic sorts out the classic from the contemporary and what works or doesn't in the Graham company's January 22 performance in Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

Dance Maker Discussion: Linda Austin on making work, getting inspired, and 25 years of PWNW

The celebrated dance maker and co-founder of Portland’s Performance Works Northwest is celebrating 25 years of the studio and roughly 40 years of making work.

DanceWatch: Flights of February Fancy

The month brings a range of dances from "Carmen" to Goya to Polynesian to the Trocks, flamenco, a world-premiere "Giselle," a dance on death, a spot of Jane Austen, a dance film festival and a Dragon Day parade.

Dance Review: Martha Graham Dance Company brings past and present together at White Bird Dance

Celebrating its 100th anniversary, the acclaimed company showcased classic works by Graham alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary choreographers.

Stage & Studio: The Mycelium Dreams threads of Linda K. Johnson

In her new podcast, Dmae Lo Roberts talks with the veteran dancer, teacher, and activist about her project to "map" the voices and experiences of important figures in Portland's dance and performance scene.

Dance review: ‘SMALLER’ is a lovely ode to Steve Paxton

At Performance Works NW, contemporary dancers and a musician honor the spirit and memory of a pioneer of Small Dance and Contact Improvisation.

DanceWatch: Oregon to India and back

Our columnist Jamuna Chiarini reports while on Odissi dance tour in India. Back in Oregon: Martha Graham, small dance, "A Woman's Song for Peace," Dark Side of the Moon and more.

2024 in Review: The year in dance

From story ballets to contemporary experimental works by Oregon companies and visiting troupes, it's been a year filled with the power and excitement of choreographed movement.

A little Martha Graham for the holidays

Deborah Jowitt's "Errand into the Maze: The Life and Works of Martha Graham" leads a list of books about the dance world that are good for giving (and for reading yourself).

Preview: Eugene Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker,’ a joyful production for Toni Pimble’s final season

This season’s presentation offers audiences one more opportunity to experience the magic touches that retiring artistic director Pimble brings to the beloved ballet.

Review: For Oregon Ballet Theatre’s ‘Nutcracker’, the future looks bright

The holiday classic, continuing at Keller Auditorium through Christmas Eve, is a smooth and sprightly spectacle, one of OBT's best renditions of the Balanchine ballet.

BodyVox’s ‘Serious Seasonal Cupcakes’ is a sweet holiday display

The Portland company's holiday showcase charms with seven short-and-sweet, fresh new dances by established and emerging choreographers connected to BodyVox.

Dance review: Deep dives into the NEW

After six months in residence at New Expressive Works, dancemakers Sean Hoskins, Jessica Post, Jaime Belden, Katherine Longstreth, and Jordan Isadore perform the works they created.

Remembering Sahomi Tachibana

The brilliant Japanese American dancer and teacher, who died in October at age 100, left a deep and lasting imprint on the world of dance both nationally and in Oregon.

December DanceWatch: A winter wonderland of Nutcrackers, a NOT-Cracker, a Snow Queen and more

The season casts its spell on Oregon's dance scene, with companies from OBT to Ballet Fantastique to Grand Kyiv Ballet to BodyVox and many more joining in on the enchantment.

Ever popular ballet classes provide young students with an introduction to a timeless art form that continues to adapt and grow today

Teachers at Portland’s five ballet academies bring their distinctive styles and approaches to both technical training and artistic expression, resulting in an array of offerings for budding dancers.

OIBA kicks off Sugarplum Season

The dancers of Oregon International Ballet Academy, fresh from a tour of China and Japan, return to The Reser with their version of "The Nutcracker" Nov. 23 and 24.

‘Mana Wahine’ (Powerful Women)

Review: New Zealand's Õkāreka Dance Company, presented by White Bird, delves deeply and movingly into Māori culture and tradition within a contemporary dance context.

‘Casual Act’ and ‘Yidam’: Electrifying dance

NW Dance Project kicks off its season with Sarah Slipper's dazzling evocation of Harold Pinter's time-reversing tale of love and betrayal and Ihsan Rustem's equally compelling journey into the meanings of meditation.

Dance review: The abstract, dreamlike duet of ‘Drive Wolves Mad’

At Portland's Performance Works NW, the Seattle choreography duo of Kaitlin McCarthy and Jenny Peterson uses masks, flashes of skin, a ghostly sheet, and comedy to deliver a dreamlike abstraction of society’s values.

November DanceWatch: A rich design for Toni Pimble’s ‘Mowgli’ at Eugene Ballet

A busy month also features Māori dance, traditional and hip-hop Nutcrackers, a Jefferson Dancers extravaganza, Bridge City Dance, the return of Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and a double bill of "Firebird" and "Petrushka."

Shaun Keylock & FACT/SF mix the bill

Review: Portland's Keylock Company and San Francisco's FACT/SF share the stage at New Expressive Works with a divergent program of contemporary dance works.

A remarkable swan song: Toni Pimble enters the last of her 46 years leading Eugene Ballet

The company’s 2024-25 season will highlight several of the groundbreaking woman ballet leader's most popular works, including the debut of her new ballet "The Lark Ascending.”

The something of ‘Nothing #15: a bed’

From roller skates to fish in an aquarium to a hole in the bed, Autumn Knight's dance at PICA suggests a sweeping eventfulness in loss and “the sweetness of doing nothing.”

BODYTRAFFIC opens White Bird’s dance season with verve and flair

The small but powerful Los Angeles company hits Portland's Newmark Theatre stage with four high-energy dances, including Trey McIntyre's "Blue Until June."

OBT’s ‘Hansel and Gretel’ is a unique patchwork retelling of the tale

Review: The ballet company's season opener, first produced in New Zealand in 2019, digs deep into the story's long history, complete with demon rabbits and a delicious little cottage.

October DanceWatch: Scaring up some ghosts and ghouls (and a lot more, too)

From a seasonal "BloodyVox" and dancing murder mystery to White Bird's season opener, jingle dancing, and OBT's "Hansel and Gretel," the month's dance scene is filled with stories.

Portland Dance Film Fest returns for its eighth year of showcasing movement on camera

The Portland-born film festival will feature 27 films over three evenings of diverse screenings at PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater.

TBA:24 and Linda K. Johnson on the importance of embodied experience and map-making

PICA’s TBA:24 festival, spreading across the city Sept. 5-22, boasts a busy lineup including Linda K. Johnson’s "PASTfuture," presented in part by her ongoing "Mycelium Dreams" project.

September DanceWatch: The pace speeds up

Oregon dance meets fall with a flourish of events, from BodyVox's open floor night to TBA Fest, dance from India, world premieres, the Portland Dance Film Festival and more.