Reviews

Photo: Eyal Landesman

Inside Oyster

Ellen Gerdes

Oyster communicates at once the hard exterior of staged spectacle and the inner vulnerability of its performers.

Photo: Lindsay Browning

But I Was Invited

Debbie Shapiro

I was peering into the window of a stranger’s bedroom from the outside. The world of Lesya Popil’s Uninvited Guest was mostly private, and exposed.

Spectacle at the Center of RubberbanDance’s Latest

Jim Rutter

In his Poetics, Aristotle derided spectacle as the least important artistic aspect of a performance. RubberbanDance Group’s Gravity of Center shows that sometimes, spectacle’s all you’ve got.

Photo: Hiel Reinout

Something From Nothing: Eleanor Bauer at Christ Church Neighborhood House Theater

R. Eric Thomas

A carefully calibrated explosion of grandiosity, Bauer’s solo is a study of opposing forces in collaboration.

Photo: Bill Hebert

dance fueled. writing driven.

Kilian Kröll

The nEW Festival presented four new works by its 2012 resident choreographers. Ellen Gerdes and Kilian Kröll attended, between them, four performances. They each wrote about the pieces, then mashed their words together.

Listening: Improvised Performances at Falls Bridge

Megan Bridge

The first of two evenings of improvised dancing from Falls Bridge.

Photo: Bill Hebert

An “Open House” for Up-and-Comers

Peter Price

"Open House" at the Performance Garage showcased the strength and diversity of six young companies.

Swimming in a world of Sleight

Beau Hancock

Kirsten Kaschock's enjoyable and multi-layered debut novel deserves multiple readings.

PINA

Lisa Kraus

Art as homage is among the most purely driven forms, whether it be Bach’s musical devotion to his God, or Wim Wenders’ to Pina Bausch.

Photo: Sonny Tong

Lots of Glitter, Few Stars

Jonathan Stein

In this season of Nutcrackers, feuding Republicans, and holiday kitsch, the Annenberg’s Dance Celebration Series brought us “Champions of the Dance.”