Thursday Dec. 20th: lights go up on Nut/Cracked, now in it's 10th season, at New York Live Arts. David Parker and The Bang Group along with several casts of teen dancers from all over the city, perform this comic/subversive, neo-vaudeville version of The Nutcracker, that has...

The holidays are upon us. New York is buzzing with harried shoppers, end-of-term students, and people working hard to finish projects before taking a little time off. Overwhelm abounds. This weekend is the perfect time to take a break, grab a friend, and get relaxed, inspired, and refreshed by some...

Ballet Next, the independent ballet company founded by co-directors Michele Wiles and Charles Askegard, opens its first week-long season on Tuesday, October 23rd in New York City. Nearly a year ago, I wrote about Ballet Next here in The Huffington Post. It seemed time for another...

After a six-year, very successful...

"Art saved my life... art makes everything better."

Yogis often meditate on the mantra "So Hum" or "I am." The goal is to simply show up and experience what is happening in that very moment. When I began writing this piece, I was stuck -- hung-up on a definition. I...

On a warm Friday afternoon, I sat facing twelve casually joking, self-effacing young dancers. Larry Keigwin, to my left, spoke about the piece we were about to see, a new work, aptly named 12 Chairs....

Dance, a visual art; dance, a performing art; an experiential, theatrical, dying art; and now, dance, the poorest art -- it seems, perhaps, the elephant in the room may be: "dance, the art with a huge brand-management problem." Or, "dance, the art form undergoing an identity crisis." Most pointedly, dance...

This weekend I watched The Co(te)lette Film, an award-winning film by Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) and choreographed by Ann Van den Broek, recently released on iTunes by TenduTV. Rarely has a piece of art allowed me to draw on the information around me, not because the work...

"... a fascinating interplay of human, machine, and movement."
-- Ella Baff, Executive and Artisic Director, Jacob's Pillow

On March 24th, Jacob's Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA will co-present Chunky Move in Connected, a contemporary dance and moving sculptural work and...

Today, Thursday March 15, spoken word/hip hop theater artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph's red, black & GREEN: a blues opens at the Walker Art Center. red, black & GREEN: a blues was commissioned by the Walker as a performative/experiential iteration of Joseph's community work, specifically the Life...

My very first love was, is, and always will be dance. With that in mind, I decided to pay homage to both the art form and a few of the types of relationships I've experienced over the years.

Dance, to me is the embodiment of emotion -- it is an...

"... It's ballet plain and simple," reflected Charles Askegard, as he relaxed in an open repose, wide and easy as if gazing across Lake Superior in his home state, Minnesota. We were seated around a table at Casa Nonna, near the theater district in Manhattan, and close to

This piece was written in collaboration with Hannah Krafcik.

The Walker Art Center's ten-day celebration, "The Next Stage: Merce Cunningham at the Walker Art Center," opens this coming Friday, October 28th, and runs through Sunday, November 6th. This celebration symbolizes the end of a collaboration between...

Congolese performing artist Faustin Linyekula has been touring the U.S. Fresh from Yerba Buena Performing Arts Center, Calif., and the Walker Art Center, Minn., he brings more, more, more... future to New York City for The Kitchen's "Crossing the Line" festival this week, Oct...

This week All Is Not Lost, a new interactive dance / music video performed by members of the band OK GO and dancers from Pilobolus was released on YouTube for use in Google Chrome. The work gives viewers license to leave a comment in[side]...

This has been an exciting week for three dance organizations -- and there is a common and unlikely thread that ties their accomplishments together: geography.

Chicago, Thursday morning July 14: the annual Dance / USA conference opened with a key note speech by writer Pico Iyer....

June 1st marks the opening of a new and different breed of dance festival at The Joyce Theater NYC. Gotham Arts Exchange kicks off the summer with the 2-week Gotham Dance Festival, a diversely layered program that showcases both emerging and nationally renowned choreographers.

"New York City has long been central in the history and development of contemporary dance. If we value dance as an art form, we must commit to supporting the development of dance artists and their work, particularly with regard to workspace needs for creative growth, research and development".

I just read Tim Robbin's open letter to Congress. Here are my 2 cents -- from a mom / choreographer / culture critic.

Watching television might not have been an option in my childhood without the following programs: Sesame Street, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and Great Performances. When I...

My son plays World of Warcraft. He is one of more than 12 million subscribers, according to the game's creator, Blizzard Entertainment. As a concerned parent, I know all the statistics: doctors claim anywhere from 10% of the population to 40% of Warcraft players are addicted...