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January, 2025. Lisa Kraus dances solo at Tictac Art Centre. Facing stage left, Kraus crosses her left thigh behind her right. Her knees meet. The tops of her left toes press into the ground as her right heel lifts in a demi releve. Kraus releases her sternum to the sky, elbows pulled back, forearms lifted, face tipped toward the ceiling.
Photo: Arnaud Beelen

Part 2: On Dance Writing, Improvisation, and Dancing Forever—An Interview with Lisa Kraus

Charly Santagado

Kraus takes on the role ‘missionary for dancing forever’

Portia, a white trans non-binary person, crouches over a mix of DJ mixer, wires, and opened journals strewn across the floor. They wear a black tank top and athletic shorts, and focus in on a laptop. The glow from the laptop and other technical elements subtly illuminate Portia.
Photo: Ofentse Kwenaite

When the Muzzle Comes Off, Who Do You Bite?

Rachel DeForrest Repinz

Portia Wells finds their bark.

A young man, nude and with his face hidden, squeezes his legs together while his arms are curved downward from his sides, as if his fists are carrying two imaginary buckets. He is in a room next to a white sofa, in front of an abstract painting composed of light blue strokes, and with a vase of violets near his feet.
Photo: Matthew Morrocco

Dancing Beyond the Void

Brendan McCall

An emerging choreographer´s dance about AIDS from a queer, Gen Z perspective

A black and white image of Lucia Dlugoszewski swinging her arms while holding percussion sticks and kneeling in front of a line of wooden blocks. she wears a dress and her expression is focused on the instruments positioned in front of her.
Photo courtesy of Bowerbird

Erick Hawkins Dance Company in Pure Lucia: Quidditas Suchness

Caitlin Green

Hawkins’ dance creates a language of subtleties, compelling and engaging in its simplicity and intentionality

Danielle Currica, one of the four soapbox dancers, lunges low and extended on a diagonal to the left front of the stage. She looks intently, perhaps searching, with wide eyes, wearing a long blue garment with fabric extensions behind her attached to four ropes, faintly seen extending into darkness beyond.
Photo: Jano Cohen

Megan Mazarick’s Searing Subversions

Jonathan Stein

"soapbox" explores the nature of the ‘performative self’ versus our interior lives.

TD Writers Win Awards

Three Flavors of Ballet

Lynn Matluck Brooks
Jennifer Jones, a middle-aged African American woman, smiles radiantly into the camera. Her arms are crossed, and she wears a white V-neck top.
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Jones

Blend In, Stand Out: The First African American Rockette Shares her Story

Megan Mizanty

“Becoming Spectacular” is an earnest memoir of illusion and perfection

The image depicts a striking moment in the first act of Maslow’s Peak. Set in a lush, jungle-like environment, long ropes adorned with hanging foliage and knots descend from above, creating the illusion of vines. A group of BalletX dancers dressed in black, military-fitting costumes with sheer panels stand in formation under dramatic lighting, evoking a sense of intensity and ritual. Each dancer stands behind a rope and synchronously lifts their arms in strong, angular gestures in front of their chest to surround the dropped ropes. The backdrop features dense tropical plants and misty green lighting, enhancing the immersive, nature-inspired atmosphere.
Photo: Vikki Sloviter

A Ballet for Everyone

Ziying Cui

Jennifer Archibald’s world premiere at the BalletX Festival at the Mann

It’s 1986. Lisa Kraus, positioned slightly to the right of center of the image, falls to the side over one ankle, the other leg outstretched behind her. She raises her arms upward and lifts her head back, hair flying behind her. She dances in a spotlight on a mat on the floor that reads “DESERT ISLAND” in all capital letters. The image, captured by acclaimed dance photographer Lois Greenfield, is in black and white.
Photo: Lois Greenfield

Part 1: On Dance Writing, Improvisation, and Dancing Forever—An Interview with Lisa Kraus

Charly Santagado

Kraus reveals the origins of thINKingDANCE and discusses the relevance of dance writing.