Dance
Editor's Note
By Claudia La RoccoHi Everyone. This is my first month as the Rail’s dance editor. I was going to write one of those letters about how excited I am about this (which is true), and how I have all these ideas for making the section into a vibrant, artistic space (also true, but, honestly, letters like that always kind of irritate me, especially when I’m the one writing them).
Keeping it Realness
By Patricia MilderKeith Hennessy’s Crotch (all the Joseph Beuys references in the world cannot heal the pain, confusion, regret, cruelty, betrayal or trauma…) was a high point of American Realness, Benjamin Pryor’s second annual festival of contemporary performance, which spanned the second weekend in January at the Abrons Arts Center.
All the City’s a Stage
By Meagan BruskewiczSuch was the Facebook status of a fellow New York dancer as APAP|NYC, the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference, descended on the city the second weekend in January. APAP always packs a brutal punch right after the holidays.
Drawing with the Body
By Siobhan BurkeWhen I walked into On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century at the Museum of Modern Art, the first thing I saw was William Forsythe’s 1997 Solo, a dance for black-and-white film, projected on the gallery wall.
On Blind Faith...
By Christine HouThere are many ways to experience dance without extracting “meaning” from it. Without having to answer the questions: What am I looking for? What do I want from this? Instead, we take a leap of faith. We surrender. Thus is Sarah Michelson’s Devotion, which premiered at the Kitchen on January 13.
BIRD BRAIN: Reflecting on Black Swan, and Ballet’s Maybe Moment
By Evan NamerowIn mid-August, I received an e-mail (subject line:“train wreck”) from a friend, inviting me to watch the trailer for Black Swan. Corny, melodramatic, and menacing are all adjectives that come to mind, and when Natalie Portman’s character pulls a feather from her bloody back, I laugh. Is this a drama, horror film, or cautionary tale for the avian flu?
An Excerpt From An Attempt to Understand My Socio-Political Disposition Through Artistic Research on Personal Identity in Relationship to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, Part One
By Tarek HalabyI like you New Yorkers. You know why? Because you’re all really intense. I love that about you! I’ve never been in a city where people do so much in one day. It’s like you’re all in a race!
