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Four performers share a stage lit in deep blue and purple tones. On the left, a musician sits at a drum kit, focused on his instrument, microphones hanging overhead. At center, another performer is captured mid-jump, arms extended overhead and feet dangle above the floor, as if suspended in motion. Beside him, a musician stands playing an upright bass, leaning slightly into the instrument. A small, moveable stage light sits on the floor in front of him. On the far right, a dancer bends forward in a dynamic pose, one arm reaching back and the other curved in front of her, suggesting swift, expressive movement.
  • Reviews

Shadow Cities: Weaving Histories Through Motion, Music, and Light

Emily “Lady Em” Culbreath

Ephrat Asherie Dance, Arturo O’Farrill, and Kathy Kaufmann take audiences on an exhilarating journey of blurring artistic boundaries.

A group of five individuals, dressed in business attire, all gather together for a selfie in the velvet-carpeted lobby of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Jane, at the front left, is a white, brunette woman with a medium pixie cut. Clad in a magenta blazer and black turtleneck, Jane dons a bright, bespectacled smile. Grinning behind Jane, Mallory, a white woman with dirty blonde hair, wears a black and white gingham dress and holds a silver clasp. Malik, a tawny-skinned Black man in a black button-down and trousers, stands beaming at Mallory’s left. Allison and Chloe, dressed in a white button-down and a floral dress respectively, lean into the photo, offering their smiles as well.
Photo courtesy of Ashayla Byrd
  • Interviews, thINKpieces

The Leaders Behind the Headlines: Conversations with the Kennedy Center’s [Terminated] Dance Programming Team

Ashayla Byrd

What happens when political agendas take precedence over a nation’s desire to feel seen and supported in artistic spaces?

Lisa Kron, playing dance critic Walter Terry, has short brown hair, is dressed in a tan suit and wears thick-rimmed glasses, sits with their legs crossed and a notebook on top of their lap. Opposite, Richard Move as dance icon Martha Graham sits regally in a long dark dress, their hair up in a bun, and their eyes highlighted with dramatic eyeliner. Between them, is a small table with a vase of white flowers, and behind them are two women in a unison dance shape: bowed forward, with one leg extended high up behind them.
Photo: Andrea Mohin
  • Reviews

Long Live the Queen

Brendan McCall

It’s 1963 and 2025 and Richard Move IS Martha Graham

Photo of a dance studio with text End of Year Party! Mingle with tD writers and artists Sunday December 14, 4-7 pm at Cardell Dance Studio, 1713 Melon Street, Philadelphia
  • News

thINKingDANCE End of Year Party

Please join thINKingDANCE on December 14 for an end of year party.

Michael Sakamoto's profile is shown in light against a dark background, his left hand is raised, his eyes closed.
Photo: Cedric Arnold
  • Reviews

Michael Sakamoto– Intercultural Mixologist

Jonathan Stein

Boundaries dissolve in Sakamoto and DJ Spooky’s new Butoh and Hip-Hop multi-media work, time/life/beauty..

A crowd of predominantly white people wear white dresses, t-shirts, and gauze veils draped over their heads, faces visible. Most have painted their faces white with pink around their eyes and are wearing KN95 masks. They are walking forward toward the camera, a tall shadowed building, tree foliage, stop lights, and a square of blue sky behind them. Two people in the front open their mouths mid-song and scrunch their eyebrows together, maybe from the sun and maybe with concern. Deeper into the crowd, people hold a white banner with bold black letters, “WE ARE HAUNTED BY WHAT WE SEE IN GAZA.”
Photo: Rachael Warriner
  • Reviews, thINKpieces

There is a Shoah in Gaza

Xander Cobb

Philadelphian Jews dance and sing in protest of Mural Arts Holocaust Memorial Mural that excludes Arabic and Palestine.

Male dance artist Kun-Yang Lin balances on one leg in flowing red silk, hands flexed gracefully, looking downward while holding a poised dance pose.
Photo: Bill H
  • Interviews

To Move in the In-Between: The Legacy of Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers

Lauren Berlin

Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, among the country’s top Asian American dance companies, marks its final season with a lasting legacy.

Choreographer Charles Askegard guides a poignant moment as Oksana Maslova collapses into Sterling Baca’s arms. Her knees are drawn to her chest, toes pointed, arms extended overhead, lifted off the floor, expressing grief while supported by her partner.
Photo: Adrenaline Film
  • Interviews

The Art of Rising: Ballet Responds to the War in Ukraine

Lauren Berlin

Dance, War, and the Work That Became the Most Important of Maslova’s Career.

A woman sits with her back to us while sitting at a keyboard. A candle on top of it illuminates the faces of about fifty people who sit facing her in a dim orange color. On the shadowy walls we can see framed paintings, a clock, and an artificial head of an elephant.
Photo: Azu Rodriguez
  • Reviews

From the Chrysalis: ayo ohs´ A Minor Relief

Brendan McCall

ayo ohs shows how making art is the only way to move on from loss

Wen Hui, a Chinese woman dressed in a red striped shirt and black pants, looks down past her nose at Japanese counterpart, Eiko Otake, while reaching a claw-shaped hand out to Otake’s face. Otake wears a baggy white dress that hides her form. One of her hands meets Wen Hui’s upper arm, while the other pulls Wen Hui’s hand to her face.
Photo: Zhou Huiyini
  • Reviews

War is (in)human

ankita

We are all tangled. Do you understand?