touring

REVIEW:  From smooth to spirited, Malpaso Dance Company, presented by Celebrity Series of Boston, lights up a rhythmic nation

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Malpaso Dance Company brings vibrancy to a crescendo saving the best for last.

Artistically directed by Osnel Delgado and co-founded by Delgado and Fernando Sáez, Malpaso Dance Company delivers a multi-faceted performance in three distinct pieces infusing jazz and a variety of international rhythms to create an upbeat, smooth, comical, and lively look at the many international cultures infused into Cuban dance. 

Celebrity Series of Boston presented Malpaso Dance Company for three exclusive performances during one weekend only from January 17 to 18 live and in person at Emerson Paramount Center in Boston Massachusetts and is currently on tour.  This energetic and layered production ran approximately 90 minutes with one intermission.  Click here for more information, here for more on Celebrity Series of Boston’s upcoming events and here to find out where is Malpaso Dance Company’s next tour destination.

Malpaso Dance Company’s Osnel Delgado, Esteban Aguilar, Esven Gonzalez in Ephrat Asherie’s Flor…y Ando. PHOTO by Robert Torres

Simply staged and fueled by Manuel Da Silva’s moody haze and filtered spotlight, the production kicks off to a smooth start with Ephrat Asherie’s dynamic choreography featuring dance trio Esteban Aguilar, Osnel Delgado, and Esven González in street clothes and sneakers as they interconnect nimbly to Aldo López Gavilán ‘s piano-infused and ballet-inspired jazz rhythms. Floor..y Ando is a fresh, brief and low key piece offering a building transition with the pieces that follow which gradually transcends into rollicking, drumming, and pulsing rhythms.

Malpaso Dance Company in Ronald K. Brown’s Why You Follow PHOTO by Robert Torres

Exploring a wide spectrum of cultures, Why You Follow is a long form dance by Ronald K. Brown that delves into upbeat, rolling and mellifluous rhythms from subtle to joyous.  Clifton Taylor’s warm and multi-colored lighting featuring red embellished tones boasts an inviting quality with each step.   Featuring a black backdrop and street clothes embossed by a red flourish, the full company joins together for a combination of freestyle, in sync, and competing moves clapping, sliding, leaping and spinning in bare feet to an array of memorable and catchy rhythms that span from music artists Zap Mama to The Heavy Quarterz.  Breaking off into different groups, these infectious and groovy rhythms make a statement while bringing a brighter spring into each well crafted step by Esteban Aguilar, Daileidys Carrazana, Osnel Delgado, Dayron Dominguez, Esven González, Liz Marian Lorenzo, Laura Rodríguez, Iliana Solis, Jennifer Suárez Ramos, Carlos Valladares, and Greta Yero.

Malpaso Dance Company members Carlos Valladares, Laura Rodriguez, Esven Gonzalez in Osnel Delgado’s A Dancing Island. PHOTO by Robert Torres

Each individual piece builds in mood and intensity and A Dancing Island serves as a grand finale with a bolder, playful, energetic and theatrical performance steeped in horn-infused rhythms and island sounds.  Featuring a variety of warm, flirtatious and subtle comedic moments, A Dancing Island rides a string of lighthearted emotion demonstrated in trembling knees as well as fluttering, winding, and galloping dance moves.  Featuring the full cast, this grand finale mixes the traditional with the contemporary in a string of sporadic humor, tender moments, Osnel Delgado’s tight choreography and playful intonations.  Manuel Da Silva’s animated lighting design sparks to the rhythm while transforming into luminous blues, pinks, and reds.  Featuring high socks, suspenders, and flowing skirts included in Guido Gali’s vibrant costume design, A Dancing Island delivers breezy charm in traditional Cuban dances to piano and horn-infused rhythms which includes spoken word and silent dance.

Malpaso Dance Company members Esven Gonzalez, Daile Carrazana in Osnel Delgado’s A Dancing Island. PHOTO by Robert Torres

From subtle to catchy to exuberant, Malpaso Dance Company can have moments of repetition, but more often delivers uplifting charm and athletic precision  to vivid and compelling cultural rhythms.

Malpaso Dance Company member l-r Iliana Solis, Liz Marian Rodriguez, Laura Rodriguez, Dayron Dominguez and Daile Carrazana in Osnel Delgado’s A Dancing Island. PHOTO by Robert Torres

Celebrity Series of Boston presented Malpaso Dance Company for three exclusive performances during one weekend only from January 17 to 18 live and in person at Emerson Paramount Center in Boston Massachusetts.  Click here for more information, here for more on Celebrity Series of Boston’s upcoming events and here to find out where is Malpaso Dance Company’s next tour destination.

REVIEW: The Martha Graham Dance Company, presented by Celebrity Series of Boston, demonstrates its lasting impact

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Americana played a significant role in a number of meaningful dance performances as Celebrity Series of Boston presented Martha Graham Dance Company for two exclusive performances from Friday, November 22 to Saturday, November 23 live and in person at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.  The show ran 1 hour 40 minutes with one intermission.  Click here for more information and where Martha Graham Dance Company will perform next nearing its centennial year and here for Celebrity Series of Boston’s upcoming events.

Martha Graham Dance Company in Graham’s “Dark Meadow Suite” PHOTO by Robert Torres for Celebrity Series of Boston

Exploring dance through various generations, The Martha Graham Dance Company delivered an intriguing mix of traditional and contemporary performances infusing an array of music genres including classical and tambourine-tinged Americana through storytelling and vivid and symbolic imagery.  From comical to sensual to bold, this distinct selection of dance performances shared some common themes while making a rich and unique impression during each of the four performances.

A leader in the Modernist movement, Martha Graham Company’s Dark Meadow Suite explores a Mexican feel featuring a burnt orange landscape lit by Nick Hung and dancers are adorned in matching burnt orange, black and white layered gowns.  Carlos Chávez’s oboe and fiddle-infused rhythms brings poignancy to the music’s powerful tempo.  It is a sweeping and sensual piece boasted by sharp and sweeping movements as dancers entwine and lean on each other in an elegant trio of pas de deux.

Martha Graham Dance Company in Graham’s “Dark Meadow Suite” PHOTO by Robert Torres for Celebrity Series of Boston jpg

Lloyd Knight and Anne Souder’s pas de deux evokes a flourishing intensity hastening and pulsing in unison as the fiddle grinds and they both gazed upward.  Lloyd’s solo is full of athletic charisma in sharp and carefully executed movements and occasionally dancing on his heels.

Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo combines bluegrass, tap and folk in an upbeat and exuberant piece by Cecil B. DeMille’s niece that first made its debut in 1942.  A famed dancer and choreographer, De Mille demonstrates her multifaceted skills not only through this beautifully choreographed ballet, but through compelling storytelling that could have easily translated to film as it does onstage.

Martha Graham Dance Company in Agnes de Mille’s “Rodeo” PHOTO by Robert Torres for Celebrity Series of Boston

Set in various western settings including a prairie, Rodeo focuses on a cowgirl captivatingly portrayed by Laurel Dally Smith who bursts onto the scene galloping with lively authenticity and endearing comic charm marching to the beat of her own drum.  Dressed as a cowboy and remarkably expressive, the cowgirl finds herself not quite fitting in anywhere.  Smith’s confidence and rambunctiousness seems to come off awkwardly with the ladies and not quite acceptable to the cowboys.  Smith’s self-assured individuality displays her earnestness and determination yet leads her to daydream in isolation.

Aaron Copland’s jubilant score and heart thumping rhythms with a country twang keeps this short tale lighthearted as Smith brings a sympathetic and fanciful nature to this role.  Surrounded by happy couples, Smith is taken by the romance of it all and displays not an ounce of jealousy, but soaking in her surroundings as she craves to belong.

Martha Graham Dance Company in Agnes de Mille’s “Rodeo” PHOTO by Robert Torres for Celebrity Series of Boston

The complementary array of Oana Botez’s pastel colored western attire and period pieces embroidered in floral patterns with distinct hats beautifully stand out against each of Beowulf Boritt’s picturesque settings.  Accented by clapping and jubilant dance, Lloyd Knight’s sporadic instructions to the beat lead the dance as Square Dance Caller. They are the only spoken words in the piece and lends to the carefree and romantic atmosphere prevalent in this performance.  De Mille creates a dreamlike and fanciful world as the cowboys flirt and skirt chase in lively dance routines that include couples partnering in sweeping pas de deux.

Richard Villaverde and the Martha Graham Dance Company in Agnes de Mille’s “Rodeo” PHOTO by Robert Torres for Celebrity Series of Boston

Richard Villaverde as The Champion Roper not only delivers some sweet scenes with Smith, but an excellent tap dancing solo to heart thumping rhythms.

Rodeo’s conclusion is unexpected and somewhat indicative of the time the piece was performed.  It is a comical, heartfelt and romantic piece sharing some similarities to De Mille’s artistry in Oklahoma while it explores discovering your place in the world.  

Martha Graham’s Lamentation proves that a piece does not need to be long to have a lasting impact.  Originally performed in 1930 and infused with fiddle-infused rhythms by Zoltán Kodály, So Young An depicts powerlessness and grief perfectly and poignantly barefoot and bogged down by her clothing in limiting dress and engulfed in its masses and yet reaching out. 

So Young An in Martha Graham’s “Lamentation” PHOTO by Robert Torres for Celebrity Series of Boston

When one is speechless, say it through art.  We the People, choreographed with a catchy country tinge by Jamar Roberts this year, makes powerful statements in various segments that kick off in dance before the music begins.  At once playful, then winding, but consistently commanding the stage, We the People is a powerful array of tight, unified and symbolic chorography on a black backdrop.  In Karen Young’s denim-inspired attire, the dancers seemingly get swept up in the music as they twist, stomp, and slice the air to infectious tambourine-tinged and fiddle-induced rhythms.  Bold and tenacious, performers clap and spin to a driving beat creating vivid imagery and making a lasting impact about the modern world.

Martha Graham Dance Company in Jamar Roberts’ “We The People” PHOTO by Robert Torres for Celebrity Series of Boston

Celebrity Series of Boston presented Martha Graham Dance Company for two exclusive performances from Friday, November 22 to Saturday, November 23 live and in person at Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.  Click here for more information and where Martha Graham Dance Company will perform next nearing its centennial year and here for Celebrity Series of Boston’s upcoming events.

REVIEW:  Karin Trachtenberg’s ‘My Mother Had Two Faces’ examines the woman in the mirror

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

They say beauty is only skin deep.

My Mother Had Two Faces explores beauty in all of its forms and how to accept the person in the mirror including the flaws on both the outside and on the inside.

Written by Karin Trachtenberg in a heartfelt performance and directed and developed by Jessica Lynn Johnson, The Rockwell presented the one woman self reflecting play, My Mother Had Two Faces:  Reflections on Beauty, Aging, and Acceptance live and in person at The Rockwell in Somerville, MA through Sunday, March 3, but this production is currently touring.  Karin will make her next stop at the United Solo Festival at Theatre Row on March 14 in New York City. The show is approximately 60 with no intermission.  Click here for more information and here for further details and for tickets.

Karin Trachtenberg in ‘My Mother Had Two Faces’ Photo credit to Karin Trachtenberg

The magnifying mirror is beauty’s classic frenemy.  It stands out on a vanity counter strewn with jewelry, makeup and all the items it takes for a person to enhance their best features.  The magnifying mirror enlarges all the remarkable parts of the face, but is also unrelenting and unforgiving for all the parts that glaringly need improvement. For Karin’s Swiss mother, it was a beacon of hope and an essential part of her daily routine that gave into an illusion that goes back generations that women must look perfect in today’s society.  As the show most poetically asks, ‘What does it mean to be seen by the envelope and not the letter?’ 

This revelatory production is not just about beauty, but it is a memoir about healing.  As a ritual for Karin’s Buddhist faith, it is a therapeutic journey into the past to get better insight into Karin’s struggles in order to achieve enlightenment.  My Mother Had Two Faces delves into important moments for Karin, her mother, and her family’s history while masking family trauma.

Karin and Lindt chocolate Photo credit to Karin Trachtenberg

Offering free Lindt chocolates as a tribute to Karin’s family heritage, My Mother Had Two Faces is an engaging, bare, honest, and sincere portrayal of the good, the beautiful and the horribly ugly with humor, joy, fear, grace, and anguish in the sting and string of life’s revelations.  Accompanied by slideshows, photos and much more shared through a multimedia screen by 3 Cubed, Karin shares some of her mother’s reflections in a thick and playful Swiss accent and an occasional lighthearted free spiritedness.  Dressed in black, Karin is a blank canvas for her mother and her own various idiosyncrasies, frustrations, hypocrisies, earnest dreams and more.  It is an eye opening journey accompanied only by the wise, sensible, and logical musings of the woman in the mirror exploring her most wonderful and toughest experiences.  Eric Bornstein’s expressive and finely-detailed masks are effective aides during the production with well timed lighting while sound and tech designer Bobby Raps rewinds the clock with a vintage soundtrack that includes the theme song to Mission Impossible and Edith Piaf’s Non je ne regrette rien (No regrets).

Karin Trachtenberg and Eric Bornstein’s masks Photo credit to Karin Trachtenberg

Karin paints a well rounded portrait of her enigmatic and glamorous mother and therefore making invaluable discoveries about herself and her family on this healing journey.  It is funny and moving and may encourage you to take a closer look in the mirror at what makes a person who they are.

Photo credit to Karin Trachtenberg

My Mother Had Two Faces:  Reflections on Beauty, Aging, and Acceptance will next be at the United Solo Festival at Theatre Row on March 14 in New York City. The show is approximately 60 with no intermission.  Click here for further details and for tickets.

REVIEW:  Theatre Kapow’s timely and resonating ‘The Boyg’ makes a connection

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Comic great Robin Williams once said, “I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone.  It’s not.  The worst thing in life is to end up with people that make you feel all alone.”  Williams suffered from depression, but his ability to feel the lows and to make people laugh perhaps contributed to his gift on a deeper level.  Getting the laugh is greater when the pain in which it is earned is also felt, achieving connection.  Perhaps this is why there is also an in-house psychiatrist at The Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, California.

Theatre Kapow captured isolation and resilience in a play centered around a group of people clinging for hope in A.J. Ditty’s resonating play, The Boyg based partially on the life of Per Krohg.  Art and isolation are key elements and are heavily weighed as each character attempts to connect with each other in their own distinct way.

  • Dan Daly’s set and cast Photo credit Matt Lomanno Photography

Celebrating its first indoor production in over a year, Theatre Kapow presented A.J. Ditty’s The Boyg in Derry, New Hampshire in September, toured in Charlestown, Massachusetts as October started, and the show is now available online through October 10.  Click here for tickets and more information.

Before continuing, it is important to note that A.J. Ditty’s The Boyg, named after Ibsen’s classic play Peer Gynt’s groundbreaking literary monster, does not make the play a prerequisite to appreciate this production, but a companion piece.  The show is part play within a play and for those who know Peer Gynt, having read Ibsen’s work may promote a richer understanding, but does not affect the universal appeal of this show.

There is a phantom presence lingering over The Boyg, a sense of tension and dread that builds throughout the production and is rarely addressed until it is unavoidable.  It hides in games, questions, plays, and pleasant conversation and perhaps glimpsed in a pause or a worried glance.  Enhanced by Tayva Young’s mood-induced lighting and versatile sound designed by Jake Hudgins, it is an element as real as any of the characters in this production.

Sabrina Schlegel-Mejia as Mikhail and Rebecca Tucker as Per in ‘The Boyg’ Photo credit Matt Lomanno Photography

Set inside a Norwegian concentration camp during World War II, each character has every reason to try to forget their present circumstances, but struggle within the inevitability of their situation.  Duty, work which is often self defeating, and art seem only to hold more than a moment’s distraction.

R to L: Lisa Boyett as Old Man and Sabrina Schlegel-Mejia as Mikhail Photo credit Matt Lomanno Photography

The cast displays good timing and chemistry even as characters who often struggle to understand each other in their mutual pain.  As barracks leader Odd Nansen, portrayed ardently by Carey Cahoon, Odd seems the most willing to give into whatever is necessary to keep up morale while Professor Francis Bull depicted by Molly Kane Parker, prefers to escape into literature and theatre to cope with the present.   

Rebecca Tucker delivers an intriguing and heartfelt performance as secretive, complex, and anguished Per Krohg who struggles with what it takes to survive.  Tucker’s cat-and-mouse conversations with Nicholas Wilder as harsh and manipulative Captain Denzer and Sabrina Sehlegel-Megia’s earnest portrayal of rebellious and mysterious Mikhail Hjorthson’s haunting recollections of past experiences are particular highlights.

R to Left: Rachael Chapin Longo as Robert and Rebecca Tucker as Per Photo courtesy of Matt Lomanno Photography

What does it take to peel back life’s meaning where there is no other choice?  Reflecting on art and culture while staring into the face of mortality, isn’t life better with connection over dread? 

Directed contemplatively by Matt Cahoon, Theatre Kapow timely production of A.J. Ditty’s The Boyg streaming through October 10.  Click here for more on The Boyg and Theatre Kapow’s new season, Return.

REVIEW: Boston Ballet’s immersive and uplifting ‘BB@yourhome: Look Back Focus Forward’ offers rare performances and more

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

The Boston Ballet launched their first virtual production of the year with an optimistic look at 2021 featuring a selection of rarely performed past performances, an exclusive look back at the Boston Ballet on tour, and where they go from here with a sneak peek into a new project scheduled for April 2021.

Boston Ballet’s virtual program, BB@yourhome: Look Back Focus Forward continues through Sunday, January 31.  Click here for more information and how to access this lighthearted and immersive program.

Derek Dunn in Leonid Yakobson’s Vestris Photo by Rachel Neville Photography; courtesy of Boston Ballet

Opening the program is Derek Dunn, who has a history of wonderful performances including The Nutcracker, Helen Pickett’s Petal and Genius at Play.   After an insightful introduction from Boston Ballet’s Artistic Director Mikko Nissenen and Executive Director Max Hodges, He took on a monumental solo dance demonstrating humor, tension, and a wide range of emotions as Auguste in Leonid Yakobson’s rarely performed Vestris.  In a powered wig and meticulously-detailed Founders garment by Robert Perdziola, Dunn is madcap and witty to a rousing applause, taking on a dance that Mikhail Baryshnikov immortalized.  A particular highlight was a moment of subtle humor as Dunn leans forward and hesitates like a novice dancer, just learning his steps. 

Leonid Yakobson’s Pas de Quatre takes on a lighthearted and fanciful tone as Ji Young Chae, Ekaterine Chubinidze, Maria Baranova, and Nina Matiashvili unite as one in a circular dance adorned in flower crowns and flowing, pristine and romantic tutus.  This is another rarely performed piece that demonstrates a sisterhood between this quartet.  To a poignant score featuring selections from Norma and picturesque staging by Vera Solovyeva and Nikolay Levitsky, the dancers each showcase their own unique talents and much of it is lively, elegant, and charming. 

Corina Gill and Issac Akiba in Leonid Yakobson’s Rodin; photo by Rachel Neville Photography; courtesy of Boston Ballet

Love takes many shapes in Leonid Yakobson’s Rodin in three parts.  It explores each stage of love from first glimpse to passion and it is captivating to see each part come to life.  Sun Woo Lee and Abigail Merlis have playful chemistry as they lean into each other and Abigail smiles as he attempts a kiss.  To Debussy’s classic score, Clair de Lune, Maria Alvarez and Alec Roberts depict the sweet joy and rapture of love as they move in unison in shyness and jubilance. Another highlight was Emily Entingh as she leans back into Michael Ryan and he lifts her up in admiration.

Look Back Focus Forward also reveals exclusive touring footage and Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissenen and principal dancer Lia Cirio share in depth the Boston Ballet’s most exciting and extraordinary experiences on tour and the significance in touring once again.  One of their favorite experiences was premiering Jiri Kylian’s controversial Bella Figura at Lincoln Center in New York City for the Boston Ballet’s 50th anniversary.  Bella Figura is best witnessed to fully take in its daring, haunting, and mysterious subtlety.

Rie Ichikawa in Jiri Kylian’s Bella Figura; photo by Gene Schiavone; courtesy of Boston Ballet

The Boston Ballet also offers a sneak peek into an entirely new and innovative virtual production helmed by renowned international choreographer Ken Ossola that will soon premiere in April 15-25 2021.

BB@yourhome’s Look Back Focus Forward continues streaming through Sunday, January 31.  Click here for more information and tickets.  The Boston Ballet celebrates the work of Jorma Elo in February.  Click here to see the BB@yourhome’s entire virtual schedule.