Heather Desaulniers is a freelance dance writer based in Oakland, California. She is the Editorial Associate and SF/Bay Area columnist for CriticalDance, the dance curator for SF Arts Monthly and a frequent contributor to several dance-focused publications. Website: www.heatherdance.com
Under are the articles written for DanceTabs.
Smuin Contemporary Ballet – Indigo – streamed archive recording of 2016 performance
★★★★✰ Indigo is one of those dances that doesn’t seem totally abstract, yet doesn’t follow a linear path either. It’s more about concept and emotions. Layers and extremes. Just like the colour indigo itself.
Joffrey Ballet – Commedia, Bliss!, Beyond the Shore, The Times Are Racing – San Fransisco
★★★✰✰ The Joffrey Ballet brought a program of four diverse works. Peck’s Times was a hit as was Christopher Wheeldon’s Commedia. The other two works weren’t misses per se…
Nancy Karp + Dancers – piano piano – San Francisco
★★★★✰ the phrase ‘piano piano’ translates as “slowly, slowly, gradually, gently, carefully; quietly; take your time; don’t rush – you’ll figure it out.”
San Francisco Ballet – Dance Innovations, Big Hunger (premiere) bill – San Francisco
★★★✰✰ There were parts I adored and elements that didn’t resonate as much.
Paul Taylor Dance Company – Concertiana, Company B, Esplanade – San Francisco
★★★★✰ Paul Taylor Dance Company shone in the two older works on the program, Esplanade and Company B.
San Francisco Ballet – Program 2, Classical Re(Vision) bill – San Francisco
★★★★✰ San Francisco Ballet’s Program 2 was dubbed Classical Re(Vision) – a remembering of and reconnection with choreography in SFB’s existing repertory catalogue.
San Francisco Ballet – Opening Night Gala – San Francisco
★★★★✰ ‘Spellbound’ delivered in every regard – opulent grandeur, terrific people watching and above all, marvelous dance.
AXIS Dance Company – In•ter•twine, works by Arthur Pita, Jennifer Archibald & Robert Dekkers – San Francisco
★★★★★ AXIS, a bold and innovative leader in physically integrated dance, just presented their latest triple bill including two important premieres…
Alonzo King LINES Ballet – The Personal Element, Azoth – San Francisco
★★★★✰ A double-bill of compelling contemporary movement, the centerpiece of the performance was Azoth, a new collaboration between Artistic Director Alonzo King, tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd and composer/pianist Jason Moran.
Mark Morris Dance Group – Mozart Dances – San Francisco
★★★★✰ Mozart Dances goes far beyond a basic choreographic rendering of the score, instead inviting an active dialogue between disciplines.
Garrett + Moulton Productions – Four Acts of Light & Wonder bill – San Francisco
★★★✰✰ …the most apt descriptor for the entire program was joyful.
Amy Seiwert’s Imagery – SKETCH 9: Perspective bill – San Francisco
★★★★✰ The SKETCH series, from Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, is one of my favorite summer dance events in San Francisco. The company dancers are always terrific, both technically and artistically.
Eifman Ballet – The Pygmalion Effect – San Francisco
★★★★✰ Yes, the narrative has its inherent challenges, but the choreography, performances and design all riveted with drama, intensity and humour.
Lauren Simpson Dance – Dance Exhibit – San Francisco
★★★★✰ I caught the show on closing night and saw a terrific company debut filled with collaboration, rigor and a connection to the visual art community.
Dorrance Dance – ETM: Double Down – San Francisco
★★★★✰ Dorrance Dance have a winning formula – creative innovation, dynamic physical feats, engaging stage presence and feet that move at superhuman speeds.
San Francisco Ballet – Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem, Bound To, “…two united in a single soul…” – San Francisco
★★★✰✰ Program 5, titled Lyric Voices, welcomed back Trey McIntyre’s Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem and Christopher Wheeldon’s Bound To and the new work came from Yuri Possokhov…
Mark Foehringer Dance Project | SF – Like an Ox on the Roof quad bill – San Francisco
★★★✰✰ Foehringer’s ambitious mixed repertory program of three premieres (all with live music) and one restaging revealed a company with deep artistic breadth…
ODC/Dance – World’s on Fire (premiere) – San Francisco
★★★✰✰ The music was striking. And ODC’s company dancers shone. Though as an overall experience, I would describe Fire as mixed.
Jessica Lang Dance – Lyric Pieces, The Calling, Thousand Yard Stare, This Thing Called Love – San Francisco
★★★★★ It was a marvellous showcase of Artistic Director Jessica Lang’s choreographic voice and the nine-member ensemble’s extraordinary talent.
San Francisco Ballet – The Fifth Season, Snowblind, Etudes – San Francisco
★★★✰✰ I was thrilled to see Snowblind returning. It was by far my favorite offering of last year’s Unbound Festival because it captivates on every level: potent storytelling, emotive choreography, fitting design tropes and deep character development.
