Reviews

A scene from the 2025 film, The Testament of Ann Lee: Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) opens her arms wide and looks on a slight upward diagonal, lips gently parted, gaze forward, or perhaps “beyond.” The reverent gesture takes up the whole horizontal span of the image. Lee dresses modestly in a muted cerulean dress with long sleeves. A cream colored scarf covers her head and wraps around her bust in an X. The image cuts off just beneath the scarf.
Photo: Courtesy of Disney and Searchlight Pictures
  • Reviews, thINKpieces

Rave, or Revelation? Celibate Orgies & Mixed Messaging in The Testament of Ann Lee

Lauren Berlin

In this cinematic story of the Shakers, contradictory messages about the body compete with ecstatic movement sequences

Two human-shaped puppets seated side by side on a platform, their legs hanging over the edge and their arms extended forward as if gesturing outward. Both puppets feature detailed facial expressions with open mouths. The puppet on the left has curly hair and wears a cheetah-print robe layered over a red bra with black lace, while the puppet on the right appears bald with facial hair and is dressed in shorts and shoes. Puppeteers dressed in dark clothing are partially visible behind and around the figures, with their hands engaged in supporting and controlling the puppets. A dark background and focused lighting emphasize the puppets’ faces, clothing, and posture, creating strong contrast and directing attention to the figures.
Photo: Charlie Lyne
  • Reviews

Sex, Satire, and Puppets on Stage

Emily “Lady Em” Culbreath

A boldly funny and surprisingly tender puppet show uses candid confessions and surreal imagery to explore sex, aging, and human intimacy.

Under a spot light a hand in a white glove is held up as though a small figure is walking. It wears black rimmed glasses with a big plastic nose and fuzzy eyebrows. The arm of the puppeteer is barely visible.
Photo: Brian Hashimoto
  • Reviews

Crafting Tall Tales at PhysFestNYC

Emilee Lord

puppetry and dancers speak with the body

Performer Ishmael Houston-Jones balances on his left foot, his right hand slightly extended forward, an expression of concern on his face. His pants look acid-washed in white and light blue, and on the front of his hoodie is painted a big brown face with wide open eyes.
Photo: Rachel Keane
  • Reviews

A Dance with Many Ghosts Boils Over

Brendan McCall

OO-GA-LA Reimagined: punk, queer, and drop dead gorgeous

A bald white man wearing white tights and tutu stands center stage in a fifth position soussous with arms stretched sideways, in silhouette on a black marley floor, surrounded by a black backdrop.
  • Reviews

The Krakatuk is the Hardest Nut in the World!

E. Wallis Cain Carbonell

“It’s the last place that magic exists.”

Joan Myers Brown and eight fellow choreographers, dancers, and company leaders seated on a panel discussion on a blue-lit stage at the Perelman Theater, following the performance.
Photo: Lauren Berlin
  • Reviews

Philadanco: Then and Now

Lauren Berlin

Aunt Joan, Philadanco, and a Philadelphia Legacy: 65 Years and Counting

A dancer (Gabriel Bruno Eng Gonzalez), wearing white pants and a sleeveless white top, is balanced on the ball of his right foot. His long arms are extended outwords, and both of his legs are bent. Another dancer (Aaron Loux), also wearing white, lunges on his right leg, and holds Gonzalez´s hand to help him suspend his balancing position. Behind the two of them, in front of a screen the color of deep blue, we can see other dancers standing in the distance, looking at them.
Photo: Maria Baranova, courtesy of New York Live Arts
  • Reviews

Artifacts of Thought from the Closeted Mind

Brendan McCall

Forty years on, Tere O’Connor’s dance visions remain personal, unpredictable, and provocative

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.

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

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..