By Dale King Performance stages throughout South Florida that would normally host all sorts of dance programs this time of year are silent, dark and vacant. Producers have dismissed dancers, sent staff home and barred patrons from entry as COVID-19 has rudely slammed the door on art forms of all genres. While most dance companies have replaced live shows with online … [Read more...]
Sensational Che Malambo electrifies at Duncan
How does one take advantage of that extra day that comes only once every four years? I would say experience something out of the ordinary and if you were at the Duncan Theatre’s third presentation of its dance series this Feb. 29, that is exactly what happened. Those of us who were there experienced an extraordinary show that both informed and thrilled us. It is clear why … [Read more...]
Dorrance Dance electrifies at Duncan with tap ‘Double Down’
What do you get when you cross America’s original art form with today’s technology? A reinvigorating artistic experience that wows everyone in the audience. Dorrance Dance is an award-winning New York-based dance company that both honors tap dance’s history and propels it into the new age of technology. The company returned to the Duncan Theatre on Feb. 7-8 as part of its … [Read more...]
BalletX opens Duncan series in inventive but mixed-bag fashion
BalletX, a Philadelphia-based contemporary ballet company, opened the Duncan Theatre’s popular Modern Dance Series on Jan. 17 in Lake Worth. Under the leadership of Christine Cox, with an artistic mission to commission ballets from choreographers around the globe that will be inclusive and satisfying to the audience, the company has presented 78 world premieres by 39 … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2019-20: ‘Firebird,’ new local works among dance season highlights
From dancing gauchos to stately ballerinas and innovative tap dancers to body-bending modern movement-makers, South Florida’s 2019-2020 dance season takes off in full swing by early October. With holiday staples such as The Nutcracker, venerated classics such as The Firebird and new programming including Puremovement American Street Dance Theatre in venues from Miami to West … [Read more...]
Paul Taylor troupe sublime in late master’s dances
At last, Esplanade. The Paul Taylor Dance Company performed an exuberant version of what is generally considered Taylor’s most popular work to a very enthusiastic audience March 23 in Lake Worth. To finally see Esplanade performed on the Duncan Theatre stage was like eating the cherry on top of a long-awaited ice cream sundae. The company has participated in Palm Beach … [Read more...]
Celebrating Paul Taylor: Dance troupe to pay tribute to founder in Duncan stay
When the Paul Taylor Dance Company returns to South Florida next week, it will do so for the first time without its founder, a legend of American dance. Paul Taylor, widely considered one of the greatest of all American choreographers, died in August at age 88 of kidney failure. He was a trailblazer, an entertainer and a true master of his craft. The dances he created … [Read more...]
Momix continues to astonish in Duncan show
The title of the performance — Viva Momix: The Greatest Hits Tour — did sound a bit like a Latin band’s last hurrah but Momix’s return to the Duncan Theatre on March 2 was nothing like that. As always, it was a complete delight — an inventive and fun evening filled with excellent dancing and a wonderful sampling of highlights from Momix’s outstanding evening-length works, … [Read more...]
Pianist’s comedy needs stronger musicianship
There is a healthy tradition of clowning in classical music performance, as could be witnessed just this past Monday in New York when the splendid Chinese pianist Yuja Wang joined the British music-and-comedy duo of Igudesman and Joo for a night of general goofing around at Zankel Hall. Looking back a little bit further, we find compositional satire with Peter Schickele and … [Read more...]
Hubbard Street dancers shine even as Duncan program stumbles
We were lucky that the members of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago decided not to take chances with the minus-40 degree temperatures and the polar vortex in their hometown but arrive early in South Florida for their performances Feb. 2 at the Duncan Theatre in Lake Worth. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this marvelous group of young dancers who make up Chicago’s premier … [Read more...]