utah dance

For their first ballet experience, two young reviewers are mesmerized by the exhilarating Ballet West production of The Nutcracker: case example of why it is a Living Historic Landmark

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For many in Salt Lake City, the greatest source of pride has been Willam Christensen’s efforts to make the first American version of The Nutcracker, which he transported from its San Francisco premiere in 1944 to the University of Utah in the 1950s and eventually to its permanent spot in the Ballet West repertoire. One … Read more

Repertory Dance Theatre’s reprise of Natosha Washington’s I AM… is spectacular diamond on stage

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Last year, Repertory Dance Theatre’s world premiere performance of Natosha Washington’s I AM…, which the company commissioned, was outstanding. Coming 13 months later, in line with the company’s season theme of Reflection, the eight dancers, joined by narrator and singer Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin, took the evening-length work to new heights in a riveting display of spectacular … Read more

November concert roundup: NOVA’s Musical Marriages; Bachauer’s Carter Johnson: The Four B’s; Flamenco del Lago’s Why Are the Women Weeping?

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A roundup of several performing arts events this month in Salt Lake City: NOVA Chamber Music Series: Musical Marriages Two musical marriages — one from the 19th century and the other from current times — made for a splendid NOVA Chamber Music Series concert earlier this month. The first half was dedicated to Anthony Cheung … Read more

Repertory Dance Theatre set to reprise Natosha Washington’s evening-length I AM… this week; dancers complete East Coast tour with Whitney Museum of American Art performances

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This preview of Natosha Washington’s I AM, which Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) will reprise this week, was published in 2023, just ahead of the work’s world premiere. Just as essential as a choreographer’s skills in setting the most impactful movement upon a dance company in the studio is their capacity to trust the … Read more

Ballet West’s triple-bill Pictures at an Exhibition is absolutely breathtaking from start to finish

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From 1910, in his seminal art theory book, On the Spiritual in Art, Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian painter who was one of the greatest early abstract artists, envisioned the concentric trinity of the visual arts, music and dance as separate in that each “has its own strength which cannot be substituted for another,”  but also … Read more

The glory of the trinity of art, dance and music: Two Utah premieres, Balanchine classic highlight Ballet West’s Pictures at an Exhibition

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This week, Ballet West’s new production will give the trinity of art, dance and music a resplendent tribute fit for an empress. It will feature Utah premieres of works by two of the best-known international choreographers and a reprise of a Balanchine masterpiece that was the choreographer’s first work he set in America 90 years … Read more

Ballet West gives Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll & Hyde riveting, spine-tingling Utah premiere

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One of numerous striking boundary-busting scenes in the riveting  Ballet West production of Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll & Hyde occurs just past midpoint in the second act. Hyde (David Huffmire) commandeers the attention when he arrives at Deacon Brodie’s Tavern, the after-hours refuge for the sophisticated Victorian gentlemen to indulge their libertine pleasures whatever they might … Read more

Not the ordinary Gothic fiction fare for Halloween: Ballet West’s 61st season set to open with Val Caniparoli’s psychological thriller Jekyll and Hyde

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Three years after Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published, Oscar Wilde, in his 1889 The Decay of Lying: An Observation, wrote, “the transformation of Dr. Jekyll reads dangerously like an experiment out of the Lancet [the famed British medical journal].” As English literature scholar Anne Stiles explained in … Read more

Repertory Dance Theatre’s 59th season opener showcasing Noa Zuk choreography wows audience with invigorating, incisive performances

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Outdoors, Noa Zuk, Repertory Dance Theatre. Photo Credit: Sharon Kain.

Invigorated and sharp in every moment of the trio of works by choreographer Noa Zuk, the Repertory Dance Theatre’s (RDT) dancers put on a master class about the Gaga movement language to open the company’s 59th season. This season’s theme is Reflection, as the company paves the path for the forthcoming 60th anniversary celebration in the … Read more

Daniel Charon to step down as Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company artistic director next spring after 12 seasons: A detailed look at his tenure, forthcoming transition

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Daniel Charon, artistic director of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, has announced that he will step down at the end of his 12th season in the spring of 2025. This feature encompasses interviews with Charon and Thom Dancy, executive director, as well as an overview of Charon’s work over the last 12 years. In the … Read more