dance writer

Twyla Tharp celebrates the monumental 60th anniversary of her love affair with choreography in Diamond Jubilee, a concert pairing of dense ensemble pieces currently touring the US. After a weekend-long run in Chicago, Madison, Wisconsin's Overture Hall received the lite version last night. Nearly two hours of non-stop dance was all there in the choreographic offerings, a look back re-staging of her Diabelli (1998), and the unveiling of newly-minted Slacktide (2025), but the latter lacked the live music that Chicago audiences enjoyed days ago. For ten dancers and a pianist, Diabelli tackles Beethoven's 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 in a 60-minute-long party of wit, elegance and frivolity. An accumulation of movement styles, Tharp pokes at formality by shifting from ballroom waltz to jitterbug to Laurel and Hardy-like slapstick, including almost everything but the kitchen sink. The exquisite dancers shuffle, leap, and try to outrun each other. Clad in uniform G...

 Side Effects and Smoking Meat Project Bound Dance and Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre On a mid February evening in Chicago, the Color Club brought warmth to the up-and-coming arts corridor on northwest side. At the brand new Joy Machine Gallery next door, a new and popular art show opened, and the Color Club Tavern filled up with early patrons. But the highlight was up the narrow staircase to the Color Club's second floor ballroom where Project Bound Dance (Bound) and Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre (KADT) presented their shared concert Side Effects and Smoking Meat to a full house and enthusiastic audience. The show opened with Faded Billboards (Relatable) (2024), a playful duet created and performed by Emily Loar and Ali Lorenz. Filled with tension and release, the piece serves well as a light introduction to the Bound style and sensibility. Simplicity and repetition unveil a language blending dextrous virtuosity and strong partnering with pedestrian movement. The pair perform strang...